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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


GIFT  OF 


Clifford  Wurf el 


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Progressive  Men  of  Minnesota. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES  AND  PORTRAITS 


LEADERS  IN  BOSINESS,  POLITICS  AND  THE  PROFESSIONS; 


TOGETHER    WITH    AN 


HISTORICAL  AND  DESCRIPTIVE  SKETCH  OF  THE  STATE. 


Edited  by  MARION  D.  SHUTTER,  D.  D„  and  J.  S,  MeLAIN,  M.  A. 


MINNEAPOLIS: 

The    MlNNEAPOI-IS  JOI-KXAL. 

1897. 


4  F606: 


Copj'righted  by  The  Minneapolis  Journal. 
1S97 


PKKFACE. 


Il  is  a  generally  accepted  proposition  that  the  growth  and  development  ot  any  coin- 
munit)-  along  right  lines  depend  more  upon  the  character  of  its  ])o])ulalion  than  upon  any 
other  causes;  and  to  a  correct  understanding  of  the  forces  which  have  contributed  to  the 
upbuilding  of  this  commonwealth  some  knowledge  of  the'  men  who  have  been  instrumental 
in  making  Minnesota  what  it  is,  is  necessar\-.  The  population  of  the  state  is  increasing  at  a 
rapid  rate  and  man)-  thousands  from  other  states  and  countries  become  resiilents  every  ,\'ear, 
who  are  unfamiliar  with  its  history  and  unacquainted  with  the  men  who  lia\e  made  that 
history.  The  purpose  of  this  \olume  is  to  furnish  a  con\-enient  and  trustworlh)-  source  from 
which  accurate  knowledge  of  the  histor\-  of  the  state  may  be  obtained.  .Special  efforts  have 
been  made  to  collect  information  with  regard  to  the  men  active  and  foremost  in  business, 
professional  and  official  life  to-day,  and  also  with  regard  to  those  who  ha\c.:  in  the  past  pla_\-ed 
leading  parts  in  the  making  of  a  great  state.  In  addition  to  the  biographical  sketches, 
the"  reader  will  find  here  a  carefully  pre])ared  description  of  Minnesota,  \-iewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  its  natural  resources  and  from  that  of  its  pulilic  historw 


MINNESOTA; 


Its  History  and   Resources. 


MARION  D.  SHUrTER. 


'"Should  you  ask  me,  Whence  these  stories, 
Whence  these  legends  and  traditions? 

I  should  answer,  I  should  tell  you, 
hVom  the  forests  and  tlie  prairies, 
I'Voni  the  g^reat  lakes  of  the  Nortldand, 
From  the  land  of  the  (  )jil)\vays, 
hVom  the  land  of  the  Dakotas." 

— Lonjrfellow. 


The  writer  has  undertaken  to  jiresent,  in  the 
following  pages,  a  brief  historical  sketch  of  the 
state  of  jMinnesota  and  some  account  of  its  pres- 
ent resources. 

Just  thirt\-eight  years  have  elapsed  since  the 
star  representing  the  "land  of  the  sky-tinted 
water"  was  placed  upon  the  national  banner. 
There  are  those  living  to-day  whose  nieuKiries  go 
back  be\'ond  the  ftirniation  of  the  state,  and  even 
back  to  the  times  that  antedatetl  the  organization 
of  the  territory.  The  first  governor  elected  after 
the  state  had  been  admitted  to  the  union  is  still 
with  us  in  a  hale  aiul  vigorous  old  age.  He  has 
just  presided  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  State 
Historical  Society.  Many  of  those  survive  who 
helped  to  shape  the  early  affairs  of  the  state  and 
to  lay  the  foundations  of  its  after  greatness.  Some 
of  these  are  mentioned  in  this  sketch,  and  also  in 
the  body  of  the  ]iresent  work.  It  is,  however, 
more  the  object  of  this  x'olume  to  set  forth  what 
is  being  done  by  those  who  are  making  history 


to-day,  who  are  now  directing  the  course  of 
e\ents.  The  lives  and  deeds  of  the  hathers  are 
elsewhere  recorded.  They  have  laljored,  and  the 
present  generation  has  entered  into  their  labors. 
They  have  laid  the  corner-stone,  and  it  is  for  those 
who  are  taking  their  places  to  build  a  structure 
that  shall  be  worthy  of  their  toils  and  sacrifices. 
L.et  us  face  the  future  in  the  same  hope  and 
courage  with  which  (.)nr  fathers  con(|uered  the 
past. 

That  future  is  bright  with  promise.  The  geo- 
graphical position  and  natural  resources  of  this 
state  are  prophetic  of  destiny.  Some  such  intima- 
tion seems  to  have  danced  through  the  brain  of 
the  Aborigine :  for  the  Dakotahs  used  to  claim  su- 
periority over  their  other  savage  brethren,  because 
their  "sacred  men  asserted  that  the  mouth  of  the 
Minnesota  river  was  immediately  over  the  centerof 
the  earth  and  immediately  under  the  center  of 
the  heavens."  Dismissing  this  tribal  fancv.  it 
is  wortln'  of  note  that  liarou   D'.Vvagour,  while 


10 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


guvenioi"  of  Canada,  sent  to  the  French  govern- 
ment (August  14,  i663ja  message  in  which,  after 
leferring  to  Lake  Huron,  he  wrote:  "JJeyond  is 
met  another  called  Lake  Superior,  the  waters  ot 
which,  it  is  believed,  flow  into  New  Spain,  and 
this,  according  to  the  general  opinion,  ought  to 
be  the  center  of  the  country."  To  come  to  more 
modern  times,  the  words  of  William  H.  Seward, 
at  St.  Paul  in  i860,  though  often  quoted,  may  be 
referred  to  once  more.  "T  now  believe,"  he  said, 
after  a  survey  of  the  country,  its  place,  and  its 
resources,  "that  the  ultimate  seat  of  government 
on  this  great  continent  will  be  found  somewhere 
within  a  radius  of  not  very  far  from  the  spot  on 
which  I  now  stand,  at  the  head  of  navigation  on 
the  ^lississippi  river."  These  are  some  of  the  pre- 
dictions of  Minnesota's  destiny,  from  the  wild 
dreams  of  the  original  savage  to  the  sober 
words  of  the  recent  distinguished  statesman. 

But  for  the  present,  we  must  turn  from  specula- 
lions  concerning  the  future,  to  review  the  history 
of  the  past. 

I. 

THE  ABORIGINES. 

On  the  13th  of  January,  1851,  when  Alexander 
Ramsey  was  taking  the  chair  as  president  of  the 
Historical  Society,  he  said:  "Minnesota  has  a 
history  and  that  not  altogether  an  unwritten 
one,  which  can  unravel  many  a  page  of  deep, 
engrossing  interest;  which  is  rich  in  tales  of 
daring  enterprise,  of  faithful  endurances,  of  high 
liopcs;  which  is  marked  l)y  tiie  early  traveler's 
foot-prints,  and  by  the  ancient  explorer's  pencil; 
which  is  glowing  with  the  myths  and  traditions 
of  our  aboriginal  races,  sprinkled  over  with  their 
battle-fields,  with  the  sites  of  their  ancient  vil- 
lages, and  with  the  wah-kaun  stones  of  their 
teeming  mythology.''  With  these  "original  races" 
our  sketch  must  begin. 

Even  earlier  than  the  year  1634,  the  Indians 
arounrl  the  great  lakes  had  learned  to  carry  their 
furs  to  Quebec,  where  they  received  in  cxcliange 
such  articles  of  European  manufacture  as  suited 
tlicir  needs  or  pleased  their  fancy;  but  in  this 
\ear  (1634),  two  priests  named  Brebocuf  and 
Daniel,  (ired  with  zeal  ff)r  the  Church,  accom- 
panied a  party  of  Hurons  from  Quebec  back  to 
their  distant  home.     Neil  tells  us  that  they  were 


the  first  Europeans  who  erected  a  house  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Lake  Huron;  and  that  "seven 
years  later,  a  bark  canoe  containing  priests  of  the 
same  order,  passed  through  the  river  Ottawa  and 
coasted  along  the  shores  of  Lake  Huron  to  visit, 
by  invitation,  the  Ojibways,  at  the  outlet  of  Lake 
Superior."  It  required  seventeen  days  from  the 
time  of  starting  for  that  bark  canoe  to  reach  the 
l^alls  of  St.  Mary;  and  here  the  priests  found  two 
thousand  of  the  tribe  assembled,  waiting  to  re- 
ceive them  and  listen  to  their  message. 

It  was  upon  this  missionary  journey  that  the 
white  men  heard,  for  the  first  time,  of  the  tribe  of 
the  Dakotahs,  on  the  site  of  whose  lodges  and 
wigwams  the  cities  and  towns  of  Minnesota  have 
arisen. 

The  Ojibways  informed  the  priests  that  the 
Dakotahs  lived  eighteen  days'  journey  farther 
towards  the  west.  This  was  in  1634.  It  was 
twenty  years  later  before  the  white  man  pene- 
trated the  Dakotah  territory.  In  this  year  two 
young  men,  "connected  with  the  fur  trade,  fol- 
lowed a  party  of  Indians  in  their  hunting  excur- 
sions," and  were  finally  thus  conducted  to  the 
borders  of  the  Dakotahs.  This  was  in  1654. 
When  they  returned  to  Quebec,  they  gave  such 
glowing  accounts  of  the  lands,  lakes,  rivers,  peo- 
ple, resources,  that  both  trader  and  priest  became 
enthusiastic  for  its  conquest.  The  trader  at  first 
fared  better  than  the  priest;  for  good  Father 
Mesnard  -was  lost  in  attempting  to  reach  the  newly 
discovered  savages;  and  tradition  asserts  that  only 
his  cassock  and  prayer-book  completed,  in  some 
mysterious  way,  the  journey,  and  were  kept  for 
many  years  by  the  Dakotahs  as  amulets. 

The  word  Dakotah,  by  which  the  original  occu- 
pants of  the  soil  of  Minnesota  designated  them- 
selves, signifies  allied,  or  joined  together,  or 
federated.  Nearly  two  centuries  ago,  it  was  writ- 
ten of  them,  "For  si.xty  leagues  from  the  extremity 
of  the  up[)er  lake  towards  sunset,  and,  as  it  were, 
in  the  center  of  the  western  nations,  they  have 
all  united  their  force  by  a  general  league."  The 
name  .Sioux  which  is  most  familiar  to  us,  origi- 
nated with  the  early  French  discoverers.  The 
Ojibways  of  Lake  Superior  had,  from  time  im- 
memorial, waged  war  against  the  Dakotahs,  and 
natm-ally  always  referred  to  them  as  enemies.  The 
term  they  used  was  Nadowaysioux.  The  French, 
according  to  Charlevoix,  abbreviated  this  term  by 


PROGRESSIVE  MEM  OF  MINNESOTA. 


11 


using  t)iily  tlic  latter  ])ai"t  of  it.  He  sa)s:  ''Tlic 
name  of  Sioux  that  we  give  to  these  Indiaii.s  is 
entirely  of  our  own  making;  or,  ratlier,  it  is  the 
last  two  syllal)les  of  the  name  of  Xadouessionx, 
as  many  nations  eall  them." 

There  have  been  three  great  divisions  of  the 
Dakotalis,  or  Sioux;  and  these  have  been  still 
farther  sul)clivided.  These  subdivisions  are  too 
numerous  to  mention  in  such  a  sketch  as  the 
present  one.  The  lir.st  of  the  three  ))rincipal  divi- 
sions was  called  the  Isanyati,  whose  chief  i)and 
was  the  .M'dewakantonwan,  and  tluir  territory 
was  around  the  shores  of  Alille  Lacs  and  along 
the  borders  of  Rum  river.  The  second  of  these 
divisions  was  the  llianktonwan.  most  connncjnly 
called  Yankton  ;  and  they  are  said  to  have  occu- 
pied the  region  west  of  Mille  Lacs  and  north  of 
the  Minnesota  river.  The  tliird  division  is  the 
Titonwan,  wIkj  dwelt  at  Lac  i|ui  I'arle  and  !'>ig 
Stone  lake. 

The  language  of  the  Lakotahs  was  different 
from  that  of  other  Indian  tribes,  and  was  no  more 
understood  by  those  tribes  than  by  the  white 
men.  The  first  mention  of  a  1  )akotah  word  in 
a  Euroijean  1)ook  is  found  in  bather  Hennepin's 
accoimt.  \\'hen  the  savages  saw  him  reading  his 
breviary  they  exclaimed,  "W'akan-de!"  His  com- 
panions interpreted  it  as  an  expression  of  dis- 
pleasure and  begged  b'ather  Hennepin  to  be  less 
public  in  his  devotions,  fearing  that  the  Lidians 
would  murder  them  all.  The  father  complied, 
althcnigh  they  afterwards  discovered  that  the  word 
was  simpl\-  an  exjiression  of  surprise  and  wonder. 
A  granunar  and  dictionarv  of  the  Dakotah  lan- 
guage, compiled  l)y  Rev.  S.  R.  Riggs,  of  Lac  qui 
Parle,  has  been  published  bv  tb.e  .Smithsonian 
Institute,  under  the  auspices  of  the  JNIinnesota 
Historical  Society.  The  language,  as  embodied 
in  these  works,  reflects  the  surroundings,  the 
mental  habits,  and  the  state  of  progress  of  these 
savages.  Their  vocabularv  of  trees  and  shrubs 
"covers  probably  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  varieties 
which  grow  in  their  country,  .  .  but  they 
have  very  few  specific  names  for  flowers."  The 
sense  of  beauty  is  almost  cntireh-  lacking.  One 
can  not  make  bows  and  arrows  and  tent-poles 
out  of  flowers.  Fish  and  liirds  all  have  names, 
and  there  are  words  which  show  an  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  their  habits.  Engaged  in  con- 
stantly dissecting  wild  animals,  "their  vocabulary 


of  terms  denoting  the  different  parts  of  the  body 
is  extensive  and  definite."  Hut  "in  terms  to  de- 
note abstract  ideas,  the  Dakotah  language  is  un- 
douljtedly  defective,"  The  ideas  themselves  were 
absent.  In  this  ctjnnection,  Mr.  Riggs  says:  "It 
is  only  just  to  reniark  that  the  language  under 
consideration  is  possessed  of  great  flexibility; 
almost  all  words  expressing  (piality  ma}-  be  so 
changed  as  tcj  stand  for  those  (puilities  m  the 
abstract."  The  Dakotah  noun  is  not  properly 
declinable.  X'ariations  are  denoted  by  afifixing 
and  suffixing  pronouns.  These  are  of  great  num- 
ber and  power  of  expressicju.  ".Xothing  can  be 
found  anywhere  more  hill  and  flexible  than  the 
Dakotah  verb.  The  affixes  and  reduplications 
and  ])ronouns  and  prepositions  all  come  in  to 
make  it  of  such  a  stately  i)ile  of  thought  as  is  to  be 
found  nowhere  else.  .\  single  paradigm  presents 
more  than  a  thousand  variations."  In  the  arrange- 
ment of  predicate  and  substantive  in  a  sentence, 
"the  Dakotah  language  is  eminently  simple  and 
natural.  The  .sentence  'f iive  me  bread,"  a  Dakotah 
transposes  to  'Bread  me  give.'  Such  is  the  genius 
of  the  language  that  in  translating  a  sentence  or 
verse  from  the  F.ible,  one  expects  to  begin  not  at 
tlie  beginning,  liut  at  the  end.  And,  such,  too,  is 
the  conunon  practice  of  their  best  interpreters; 
where  the  person  who  is  speaking  leaves  off, 
there  they  usually  commence  and  jjroceed  back- 
ward to  the  beginning.  In  this  wav,  the  connec- 
tion of  a  sentence  is  more  easily  retained  in  the 
mind  and  more  naturally  evolved.'' 

Passing  on  to  the  religion  of  the  Dakotahs. 
\vithout  entering  into  the  details  of  their  belief  and 
worship,  we  may  use  the  comprehensive  state- 
ment of  General  Sibley:  "The  religion  of  the 
Dakotahs  is  a  mere  myth.  It  has  been  asserted 
that  the  Indian  race  are  monotheists,  and  there- 
fore far  in  advance  of  other  jiagans  who  believe 
in  a  multijilicity  of  deities;  that  thev  look  for- 
ward to  a  future  state  and  to  its  retributions.  I 
regret  to  be  obliged  to  express  an  o]iinion  on  this 
subject  which  must  conflict  with  such  favorable 
impressions.  The  belief  attributed  to  the  eastern 
tribes  of  a  happy  lumting-ground  for  the  good 
and  wastes  devoid  of  game  for  the  bad,  in  another 
sphere  of  existence  finds  no  response  in  the  breast 
of  a  Dakotah.  He  seeks  to  propitiate  what  he 
calls  the  Great  .'spirit  and  a  multitude  of  minor 
spirits,  especially  those  eiubodied  in  oval-shaped 


12 


PROGRESSIVE   MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


stones,  by  sacrifices  of  tobacco  and  other  trifling 
articles,  not  because  he  hopes  or  cares  for  reward 
in  a  higher  state  of  being,  but  Ijecause  he  depre- 
cates the  visitations  of  their  anger  upon  the  earth 
in  the  form  of  disease,  accident,  or  death,  to  him- 
self or  his  family.  I  have  no  reason  to  believe 
that  any  Dakotah,  among  the  very  many  with 
whom  I  have  conversed  on  the  subject,  was  ever 
deterred  from  the  conunission  of  a  crime  by  a 
fear  of  pimishment  in  another  world,  nor  have  I 
been  able  to  satisfy  myself  that  their  impressions 
of  a  future  state  are  anything  but  shadowy,  uncer- 
tain and  unsatisfactory." 

The  manners  and  customs  of  the  Dakotah 
tribes  present  an  interesting  field  of  research ;  but 
our  present  sketch  must  lie  confined  to  a  hurried 
survey.  The  Dakotahs  were  fond  of  war,  and  so 
relentless  in  battle  that  other  tribes  feared  theiu. 
Their  children  were  cradled  to  the  sound  of  bat- 
tle-music: and  the  first  playthings  were  miniature 
bows  and  arrows.  War  and  the  chase  were  the 
Dakotah's  chief  employments;  and  in  the  intervals 
he  observed  the  feasts  and  dances  of  religion.  The 
domestic  life  was  that  of  all  savages.  The  wife  or 
wives — for  they  were  polygamous — was  ol^tained 
by  purchase  and  devoted  to  the  service  of  a  slave 
or  drudge.  In  moving  from  place  to  place,  the 
Dakotah  wuman  carried  the  lodge,  camp-kettles, 
axe,  babies  and  small  dogs  upon  her  back.  She 
erected  the  teepee,  cut  the  wood,  built  the  fires, 
and  cooked  the  meals.  She  was  subject  to  all  the 
whims  of  her  husband,  and  was  usually  treated 
w'ith  harshness  and  cruelty.  .'Xs  a  result,  suicides 
were  frequent  among  Dakotah  women.  The  food 
of  these  Indians  was  principally  fish,  venison,  buf- 
falo and  dog-meat.  One  of  the  old  chiefs  once 
declared  to  a  party  of  explorers:  "The  savage 
loves  dog-meat  as  well  as  the  white  man  loves 
pork."  They  did  not  cultivate  the  soil.  -Some- 
times they  used  a  species  of  wild  rice  that  grew 
in  the  swamps.  Dependent  upon  the  stream  and 
the  chase,  they  were  constantly  oscillating  be- 
tween starvation  and  gluttony.  Without  regular 
hours  for  eating,  they  were  also  without  regular 
hours  for  sleep.  In  person  they  were  filthy  and 
full  of  vermin.  Their  bodies  w'cre  more  familiar 
witli  paint  than  with  water.  .Xdultrrcms  and 
thievish,  they  were  at 'last  compelled  to  enter 
into  certain  compacts  for  self-preservation — upon 
Sir  John  Falstaff's  ]irincipk'  that  "thieves  nuist 


be  true  to  each  other."  "The  Siou.K  nation,"  says 
Culbertson,  "has  no  general  council,  but  each 
tribe  and  band  determines  its  own  affairs.  These 
bands  have  some  ties  of  interest  analogous  to 
our  secret  societies.  The  "Crow-feather-in-cai)' 
l)and  are  pledged  to  ];)rotect  each  other's  wives 
and  to  refrain  from  violating  them.  If  the  wife 
of  one  of  their  number  is  stolen  from  another  of 
their  number,  she  is  returned,  the  band  either 
paving  the  thief  to  restore  the  stolen  property  or 
forcing  him  to  do  it.  The  'Strong-Heart'  band 
is  pledged  to  protect  each  other  in  their  horses.' 
And  so  on.  The  Dakotah  had  his  hours  of  recre- 
ation, as  well  as  his  battles  and  chase  and  religious 
dances.  His  favorite  pastime  was  a  game  of 
l)all  CDrrespduding  with  what  school-bovs  used  to 
call  "shinney."  lietting  ran  high,  luindreds  of 
dollars'  worth  of  property  was  often  lost  and  won 
on  a  single  game.  Guns,  horses,  blankets,  belts 
and  ornaments  used  to  change  hands  with  marvel- 
ous rapidity.  The  game  usually  broke  up,  as 
games  in  more  modern  times  occasionally  do,  in 
clamorous  disputes  and  altercations.  When,  after 
his  precarious  existence,  enlivened  bv  war  and 
chase  and  dance  and  ])lay,  the  Dakotah  died,  his 
nearest  friend  was  always  anxious  to  go  out  and 
kill  soniel)ody,  especially  an  enemy,  Neil  relates 
that  "a  father  lost  his  child  while  the  treaty  of 
1 85 1  was  pending  at  Alendota,  and  he  longed  to 
go  and  kill  an  Ojibway."  The  corpse  was  always 
wrapped  in  its  best  clothes,  and  some  one  ac- 
quainted with  the  deceased  would  harangue  the 
unseen  powers  as  well  as  the  friends  of  the  de- 
jiarted,  upon  his  virtues.  The  friends  woidd  sit 
with  Ijlack  ])igment,  the  sign  of  mourning,  on  their 
faces.  Loud  lamentations  rent  the  air,  and  the 
mourners  cut  their  thighs  and  legs  with  their 
finger-nails  or  pieces  of  stone.  "The  corpse  is 
not  buried,  but  i^lace<]  in  a  box  u])on  a  scaffold 
some  eight  or  ten  feet  fi-oni  the  ground.  Hung 
around  the  scaffold  are  such  things  as  would  please 
the  spirit,  if  it  were  still  in  the  flesh,  such  as  the 
scalp  of  an  enemy  or  jxits  of  food.  After  the 
corpse  has  been  exposed  for  some  months,  and 
the  bones  onI\-  remain,  they  are  buried  in  a  heap, 
and  ])rotecled  from  the  wolves  by  stakes." 

Such  were  the  tribes  who  dwilt  upon  the  soil 
of  .Miimesota  before  the  axe  of  the  white  man 
rang  Ihrough  its  forests  or  his  ])lough-sliare  had 
tm-ncd  the  soil  of  its  ]irairies.     So  lived  the  Da- 


I'KDCRIiSSlVE   MBN   nl'    M  INNIiSOTA. 


13 


ki.)tali,  and  so  lie  tlicd.  Sonic  nf  tlic  legends  of 
this  primitive  people  still  lingci'  in  unr  literatufc, 
and  naines  of  Dakotali  origin  arc  still  Ijorne  by 
our  towns  and  lakes  and  rivers.  These  are  pleas- 
ant memorials  of  a  time  that  is  gone  and  a  race 
that  is  almost  extinct.  I'ut,  tm  the  other  hand, 
as  we  shall  see  later,  the  savagery  of  the  1  )akf>tali 
has  written  the  record  of  his  conflict  with  civiliza- 
tion in  letters  of  Ijlood.  Among  the  historic 
places  of  our  state  are  battle-fields  where  the 
heroic  settler  bravely  met  the  insane  fury  (jf  the 
Dakotah's  merciless  attacks.  There  arc  men  ;ind 
women  living  to-day  who  remember  scenes  of 
massacre  in  which  tlieir  own  friends  and  relatives 
went  down  under  the  tomahawk  and  scaljiing- 
knife! 


II. 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCO\'ERY. 

We  have  already  described  how  the  white  men 
originally  heard  of  the  land  of  the  Dakotahs.  and 
how  they  first  made  their  way  to  its  borders.  Let 
us  now  return  and  follow  up  the  story  of  voyage 
and  discovers-.  Little  by  little  the  area  of  sav- 
agery is  to  be  opened  to  civilization.  In  this 
work  the  initiative  is  always  taken  by  traveler  and 
trader.  The  emissaries  of  commerce  prepare  the 
way  for  the  priest.  The  trading-])ost  is  the  center 
around  whicli,  later,  clmrchcs  and  schools  are 
built.  It  will  be  interesting  to  trace  the  processes 
by  which  section  after  section  of  what  is  now  the 
state  of  Minnesota  was  added  to  the  map  of  the 
world. 

In  May,  1671,  the  most  notalde  gathering  that, 
uji  to  that  time,  had  been  held  upon  this  con- 
tinent, assembled  at  .Sault  Ste.  Marie.  For  months 
before,  Nicholas  Perrot,  at  the  request  of  the 
Canadian  authorities,  had  lieen  visiting  the  vari- 
ous tribes  of  the  Northwest,  inviting  them  to  this 
council.  For  months  before,  DeLusson  had  been 
exploring  the  country  around  the  great  lakes 
to  find  out  its  resources — planting  the  cross  of  the 
church  and  the  arms  of  France  wherever  he  went. 
The  French  and  the  Indians  must  now  have  an 
understanding  in  regard  to  trade.  At  this  great 
conference  they  meet  to  form  a  compact.  There 
were  present,  on  this  occasion,  the  most  noted 
travelers  and  ecclesiastics  of  the  <lav.  De  Lusson, 
Perrot  and  Joliet  were  there;  and  there  also  were 


Fathers  Alloucz  and  Dablon.  Before  them  sat 
the  representatives  of  the  various  tribes.  They 
were  freshly  decorated  with  paint  and  feathers, 
and  wrapped  in  their  best  furs  of  beaver  and 
buffalo,  bather  Allouez,  the  first  priest  who  had 
seen  the  Dakotahs  face  to  face,  and  who  had 
founded  the  Ojibway  mission  at  La  Pointe, 
ii|H'iHcl  the  proceedings.  He  addressed  the  In- 
dians, telling  them  of  the  Great  King  beyond  the 
sea,  describing  the  monarch's  power  and  grand- 
eur. Two  holes  were  then  dug,  in  one  of  which 
was  ])Ianted  a  cedar  column,  in  the  other  a  cedar 
cross.  Then  the  Europeans  sang  one  of  the 
Latin  hymns  of  the  Church,  after  which,  to  col- 
unni  and  cross  were  fastened  metal  plates  en- 
graved with  the  arms  of  France.  De  Lusson 
then  addressed  the  Indians  in  French,  and  Perrot 
acted  as  interpreter.  The  Indians  listened  with 
approval,  a  treaty  of  mutual  good  will  and  assis- 
tance was  made,  certain  stipulations  were  agreed 
u])on  in  regard  to  trade;  and  the  ceremonies  were 
followed  by  a  grand  discharge  of  musketr}-.  The 
Te  Deuni  sung  by  the  whole  council  terminated 
the  proceedings.  Thus  was  the  region  arcjund 
the  great  lakes  formally  introduced  to  French 
dominion,  and  the  gates  of  exploration  and  traffic 
thrown  open. 

The  great  river  of  Minnesota  is  the  Mississippi ; 
and  it  was  but  natural  that  the  first  explorations 
should  be  made  along  this  highway  of  waters. 
Father  Allouez  first  heard  the  name  of  this  stream 
in  the  fall  of  1665,  while  visiting  the  Minnesota 
shores  of  Lake  .Superior.  He  wrote  it  as  he 
thought  the  Chippeways  pronounced  it,  "Messipi." 
Father  Marquette  ("whose  statue  lias  just  ijeen 
|)laced  in  the  capitol  at  Washington),  during  his 
missionary  tours  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lake 
Superior,  heard  so  much  of  this  great  river  of  the 
Sioux  country,  that  he  determined  to  go  in  search 
of  it.  He  and  his  companions  left  the  mission  at 
Green  P>ay  on  the  loth  of  July,  1673,  and  went 
up  the  Fox  river  in  birch-bark  canoes.  They 
made  a  portage  to  the  ^^'isconsin:  then  placed 
their  canoes  upon  its  waters  and  floated  down  to 
the  Mississippi,  a  seven  days'  journey.  Entering 
the  ^lississippi,  they  went  down  to  the  Illinois, 
and  returned  to  Green  Bay  by  way  of  the  Illinois 
and  Lake  ^Michigan,  arriving  at  the  place  whence 
they  started,  the  last  of  September — a  remarkable 
feat. 


14 


PROGRESSIVE   MEN   OF   MINNESOTA. 


This  voyage  of  Father  Marquette  was  deeply 
interesting  to  a  native  of  Rouen,  named  La  Saile, 
who  was  Hving  at  his  trading  post,  F'ort  Frontc- 
nac,  Canada,  on  the  site  of  tb.e  present  city  of 
Kingston.  La  Salle  believed  that  there  was  a 
short  route  to  China  and  Japan  from  the  iiead- 
waters  of  the  Mississippi.  He  sailed  to  France 
to  obtain  the  patronage  of  Louis  XI\'.,  and  in 
1678  received  permission  "to  make  discoveries 
in  the  western  part  of  New  France,  to  build  forts 
wherever  they  were  necessary,  and  to  enjoy  the 
exclusive  right  to  the  trade  in  buffalo  skins  which 
were  just  beginning  to  be  known  and  valued  in 
Europe."  One  of  the  first  things  La  Salle  did, 
after  his  return  from  France,  was  to  build  a  large 
vessel  for  navigating  the  lakes.  It  made  but 
one  voyage.  On  its  return  from  Green  Bay  to 
the  Niagara  river,  it  was  lost;  for  no  tidings  of  it 
were  ever  received.  After  sending  out  this  ship 
that  never  returned,  La  Salle  and  his  followers, 
among  whom  was  Father  Hennepin,  coasted  with 
their  four  birch-bark  canoes  along  the  eastern 
shore  of  ^^'isconsin,  and  at  last  descended  the 
Illinois  river  to  the  present  site  of  Peoria,  where 
they  built  a  fort.  They  also  constructed  here  a 
vessel  for  navigating  the  Mississippi.  In  this 
vessel  La  Salle  sent  Father  Hennepin  to  discover 
the  sources  of  the  wonderful  stream — confident 
that  when  he  had  found  these  sources,  he  would 
also  find  the  new  route  to  China  and  Japan. 

On  the  29th  of  February,  1680,  with  two  com- 
])anions,  Richard  du  Gay  and  Michael  Accault, 
Hennepin  embarked.  He  did  not  discover  the 
sources  of  the  great  river  or  the  new  loute  to  the 
Orient;  but  he  did  make  discoveries  that  have 
identified  his  name  forever  with  the  histoi"\'  of 
Minnesota.  It  is  not  easy  to  determine  the  order 
in  which  ilennepin  made  his  discoveries;  but  it 
is  proliable  that  the  first  of  these  was  Lake  Pepin. 
In  the  neighborhood  of  the  mouth  of  the  Wis- 
consin he  and  his  companions  were  captured  by 
a  i)arty  of  Indians.  With  them  he  passed  through 
the  Lac  des  Pluers,  which  was  shortly  afterwards 
called  Pepin.  He  thus  describes  his  experiences: 
"About  thirty  leagues  above  I'lack  river,  we  found 
the  Lake  of  Tears  which  ue  named  so,  because 
the  savages  who  took  us,  as  it  will  be  hereafter 
related,  consulted  in  this  place,  what  they  should 
do  with  their  prisoners,  and  those  who  were  for 
murdering  cried  all  night  upon  us.  to  oblige  by 


their  tears,  their  companions  to  consent  to  our 
death.  The  lake  is  formed  by  the  'Aleschasipi,' 
and  may  be  seven  leagues  long  and  five  broad." 
Some  miles  below  the  site  of  St.  Paul  the  Indians 
landed,  at  a  point  opposite  Reil  Rock,  and  thence 
journeyed  by  trail  to  Mille  Lacs.  Afterwards, 
with  a  hunting  party,  Hennepin  descended  the 
Rum  river,  and  camped  at  its  mouth.  Here  they 
nearly  perished  of  famine,  and  at  last,  yielding  to 
his  earnest  entreaties,  the  Indians  allowed  him 
to  go  free.  After  some  days'  traveling,  he  came 
to  a  cataract  which  he  says  "indeed  of  itself  is 
terrible  and  hath  something  very  astonishing." 
He  reported  this  cataract  to  be  sixty  feet  high. 
"Near  the  cataract,''  he  says,  "was  a  bearskin  upon 
a  pole,  a  sort  of  oblation  to  the  spirit  in  the 
waters."  After  carving  the  cross  and  the  arms  of 
France  upon  a  tree,  he  called  the  falls  by  the 
name  of  the  patron  saint  of  his  expedition.  Saint 
Anthony  of  Padua.  The  first  white  man  who 
looked  upon  the  mighty  torrent,  now  harnessed  to 
the  machinery  of  a  great  city,  was  Louis  Henne- 
pin.   This  was  in  the  month  of  July,  1680. 

To  this  same  time  belong  the  names  and  deeds 
of  several  other  discoverers.  Leaving  his  post  on 
Lake  Superior  in  the  month  of  June,  1680,  Du 
Luth  explored  the  country  to  the  Lake  of  the 
Issati,  JNIille  Lac,  which  he  afterwards  called  Lake 
Buade,  from  the  family  name  of  Frontenac,  gov- 
ernor of  Canada.  He  also  ascended  the  St.  Louis 
river,  then  called  the  "Bois  Brule,"  to  its  source, 
exploring  the  country  drained  by  its  waters.  His 
name  is  preserved  in  the  name  of  the  young  and 
vigorous  city  that  has  sprung  up  in  the  field  of 
his  activities.  He  was  the  first  to  plant  the  arms 
of  France  in  the  land  of  the  Dakotahs. 

In  the  spring  of  1683,  the  first  trading-]K)st  was 
established  in  Minnesota,  on  Lake  Peiiin,  by 
Nicholas  Pcrrot,  and  a  fort  was  liuilt  which  for  a 
long  time  bore  his  name.  A  few  \ears  later,  the 
Indians,  instigated  by  the  Tuiglish,  began  to  make 
trouble  for  the  French  farther  cast,  and  Perrot 
and  his  followers,  leaving  a  fi.'w  halfbrccds  io 
]irotect  their  goods  at  the  trading-post,  joined 
T)u  Luth  who  was  in  conunand  at  Green  Hay. 
l\elnrning  with  fort\-  men  to  Lake  Pe])in,  in  1688, 
the  next  year  he  formally  claimed  the  cmuitry  for 
France.  The  document  in  which  this  claim  is 
luade  is  called  the  Proces-A^erbal.  and  is  the  first 
official  docmnent  in   relation   (o  Minnesota:   for 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


15 


while  its  buundarics  were  not  yet  defined,  it  was 
pari  oi  ihc  immense  territory  ineluded  in  llie 
claim  of  Xicholas  i'errot.  \n  the  ijeginning-,  tins 
document  "recites  tlie  origin  and  history  ol  i'er- 
rot's  authority;  tiien  tells  how  he  and  his  com- 
panions entered  the  counlr)  ;  enunierales  the 
tribes  encountered  on  the  hanks  of  the  upper 
Mississippi  and  its  l)ranches,  the  Wisconsin,  St. 
Croix,  and  Minnesuta;  and  takes  possession  of 
the  whole  region  in  the  name  of  the  king." 

In  i6y5,  Le  Sueur  established  a  post  on  one 
of  the  islands  of  the  Mississippi,  imt  far  from  tlie 
present  town  of  Red  Wing.  He  also  ascended 
the  Alinnesota  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Man- 
kato,  or  Blue  Earth  river,  about  150  miles  above 
the  site  of  Fort  Snelling,  where  he  erected  an- 
other fort  and  estaljlished  a  trading-post.  Le 
Sueur  explored  the  entire  Blue  Earth  region. 
With  him  the  h'rench  discoveries  in  Minnesota 
appear  to  have  ceased.  Eor  half  a  century,  these 
enterprising  Frenchmen  had  been  penetrating 
into  the  country  along  the  great  water-courses, 
and  establishing  their  trading-posts  and  forts  at 
strategic  points.  And  yet  the  hold  uf  the  French 
upon  the  new  territory  was  slight.  D'lberville, 
in  a  memorial  addressed  to  the  government,  says: 
"The  Sioux  are  too  far  removed  for  trade  while  they 
remain  in  their  own  country,"  and  suggests  a  plan 
for  their  removal  to  the  ^Missouri.  He  also  men- 
tions the  tendenc}-  of  the  voyageurs  to  become 
roaming  hunters  and  the  interference  of  Canadian 
traders  with  those  of  Louisiana,  as  great  ditti- 
culties  in  the  way  of  securing  a  stable  system  of 
commerce  between  the  tribes  and  the  latter  col- 
ony. However  the  I'rench  government  heeded 
neither  the  atlvice  of  l)"Ibervillc  nor  the  schemes 
of  others;  but  discouraged  by  its  ill  success, 
abolished  the  system  of  licenses,  and  withdrew  its 
garrisons  from  all  the  points  west  of  Mack- 
inaw. This  condition  of  afifairs  existed  for  nearly 
twenty  years.  liut,  after  all,  this  great  territory 
was  not  to  be  relinquished  or  pernianeiUh-  neg- 
lected; for  events  were  shaping  themselves  which 
revived  the  waning  interest. 

The  eyes  of  the  English  were  upon  this  part  of 
the  continent  and  they  worked  through  the  In- 
dians to  accomplish  their  designs.  A  h'rench 
document  of  the  da\-  thus  refers  to  the  matter; 
"It  is  more  and  more  obvious  that  the  English 
are   endeavoring   to    interpolate    among   all    the 


Indian  nations,  and  to  attach  them  to  themselves. 
The)'  entertain  constantly  the  idea  of  becoming 
masters  of  Aorth  America,  pursuaded  that  the 
luiropean  nation  which  will  be  possessor  of  that 
section,  will,  in  course  of  time,  be  masters  of  all, 
because  it  is  there  alone  that  men  live  in  health 
and  have  strong,  robust  children."  "Thus  it 
came  to  pass,"  says  Kirk  in  his  history,  "that  the 
song  of  the  Canadian  lioatman  was  again  heard 
on  the  streams  and  lakes  of  .Minnesota,  and  the 
fathers  of  the  mission  once  more  performed  their 
sacred  ministrations  within  its  borders.  But 
l)riest  and  vo^ageur  were  not  left  to  battle  alone; 
for  the  I'"rench  authorities  instituted  means  for 
the  re-establishment  (jf  the  deserted  posts  and  the 
building  of  new  ones."  During  the  period  of 
struggle  which  followed,  other  parts  of  the  ter- 
ritory to  the  westward  were  opened,  and  more 
adequate  ideas  of  the  extent  and  resources  of  the 
country  obtained.  I'revious  to  the  breaking  out 
of  what  is  know  n  in  history  as  the  "h'rench  and  In- 
dian War,''  the  dominion  of  France  was  reasserted 
and  her  power  again  became  supreme.  And 
even  though  later,  in  1763,  the  country  was  ceded 
to  England  by  the  treaty  of  \ersailles,  the  French 
had  so  strong  a  hold  upon  the  Indians  that  the 
English  never  established  trading-posts  west  of 
Alackinaw. 

An  expedition  was  organized  under  English 
auspices  l)y  Jonathan  Carver,  a  native  of  Con- 
necticut, who  had  been  a  conunander  in  the  royal 
service  during  the  I'rench  and  Indian  wars.  Leav- 
ing IJoston  in  the  month  of  June,  1766,  he  arrived 
at  Mackinaw  in  the  month  of  August.  Carver 
simply  went  over  the  routes  that  others  had 
marked  out  and  visited  posts  and  villages  already 
in  existence.  He  added  nothing  to  the  area  of 
discovery;  but  he  observed  some  things  in  his 
travels  that  had  escaped  the  eyes  of  others,  and 
has  given  us  information  that  we  find  nowhere 
else.  He  w'as  the  first  one  who  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  civilized  world  to  the  existence  of 
earthworks  or  mounds  in  the  valley  of  the  Missis- 
si])pi.  He  discovered  the  cave  which  bears  his 
name,  some  miles  below  the  city  of  St.  Paul — 
a  cave  whose  sides  were  carved  with  Tntlian  hiero- 
gly])hics.  He  tells  us  that  the  little  island  now 
lielow  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  was  then  in  the 
middle  of  the  cataract.  He  describes  the  ])ictur- 
esque  beauty  of  the  country  around  the  falls;  he 


16 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


foresees  something  of  the  future  greatness  of  this 
region.  "The  future  population,"  he  declares, 
■■\viJi  be  able  to  carry  tlicir  produce  to  the  sea- 
ports with  great  facihty,  the  current  of  the  river 
from  its  source  to  its  entrance  into  the  Gulf  of 
Alexico,  being  extremely  favorable  for  doing  this 
in  small  craft.  This  might  also  in  time  be  facil- 
itated by  canals  or  shorter  cuts,  and  a  communica- 
tion opened  by  water  with  Xew  York  by  way  of 
the  lakes."  Carver  went  to  England  and  inter- 
ested a  member  of  parliament  by  the  name  of 
Whitworth,  in  his  projects,  and  would  have  re- 
turned to  renew  his  travels  had  not  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Revolutionary  War  prevented.  Xotli- 
ing  further  of  importance  was  accomplished  until 
after  that  portion  of  .Minnesota  lying  east  of  tlie 
^Mississippi  came  into  possession  of  the  Lnited 
States,  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  1783.  And  this 
event  opens  a  new  chapter  in  the  history  of  .Min- 
nesota and  of  the  Northwest  Territory. 


III. 


THE  TRANSITION  PERIOD. 

We  have  just  seen  that  by  the  treaty  of 
Paris,  that  portion  of  what  is  now  the  state  of 
Aiiiinesota,  which  lay  east  of  the  Mississippi,  was 
ceded  to  the  United  States.  The  French-Ameri- 
can territor}-,  assigned  to  Spain  in  1763,  was  re- 
turned to  Prance  in  1800,  and  by  the  French, 
almost  immediately  after,  ceded  to  the  United 
.States;  so  that  the  immense  domain  west  of  the 
.Mississippi,  including  the  other  part  of  our  pres- 
ent state,  also  came  into  the  hands  of  the  govern- 
ment.    But  as  yet  no  boundaries  are  defined. 

This  whole  region,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century,  was  just  emerging  from  savagery. 
The  Indians  still  remained  and  had  always  to  be 
reckoned  with.  The  I'Vench  were  still  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  sparse  p<i])ulati<ni.  Ilalf- 
breeds  abounded.  English  traders  were  in  pos- 
session of  the  posts.  I'or  some  years  after  the 
country  had  come  into  American  ownershij),  tlie 
English  kept  their  garrisons  in  the  forts  along  the 
iriMitier;  they  even  went  so  far  as  to  erect  new 
trading-posts  wiiich  floated  the  English  colors. 
'I'lie  traders  sought  to  iiold  the  Indians  loyal  to 
Jiritish  rule  and  to  embitter  them  against  the  new- 
regime. 


'ihe  authorities  at  Washington  found  it  neces- 
sary to  become  acquainted  witn  the  new  soil,  curu 
tne  insolence  ot  tlie  JJritisli  traders,  and  conciiiaie 
the  savage  tribes.  I  lie  hrst  mission  ot  tins  kind 
was  unaertaken  by  Eieutenant  Pike  in  1805. 
"With  Ills  small  command  ol  twenty  men,'  sa_)s 
General  Sibley,  "lie  penetrated  into  the  midst  ol 
tne  powerful  tribes  ol  the  Dakotah  and  Chippewa 
inuians,  arrested  tneir  hostile  movements  towards 
each  other,  negoiiated  a  treaty  ot  cession  witii  the 
former,  threatened  evil-disposed  tribes  and  In- 
dians with  punishment,  tore  down  the  British  flag 
wherever  displayed,  and  elicited  the  respect  and 
admiration  ot  savages  who  were  entirely  under 
British  influence,  and  wdio  had  but  a  faint  knowl- 
edge of  the  power  of  the  American  government. ' 
As  a  result  of  his  work,  our  government  acquired 
from  the  Uakotahs  the  first  tract  of  land  ceded 
b\-  any  Indian  tribe  within  the  limits  of  new  ter- 
ritory. Notwithstanding  all  that  had  been  ac- 
complished by  Lieutenant  Pike,  the  traders,  dur- 
ing the  war  of  1812,  enlisted  the  Indians  upon  the 
side  of  England.  They  assisted  in  the  attacks 
upon  Fort  Alackinaw  in  1812,  Fort  j\leigs  in 
1813,  and  Fort  Shelby  in  1814.  Only  two  chiefs 
of  the  Dakotahs  remained  loyal  to  the  Americans. 
The  results  of  the  war  were  disappointing  to  the 
Indians,  as  the  English  had  made  them  golden 
promises  they  were  unable  to  fulfill;  and  these 
wild  children  of  the  forest  learned  to  despise  the 
power  and  authority  of  the  United  States  no 
longer. 

The  expedition  of  JNIajor  Stephen  H.  Long  in 
1817  resulted  in  the  selection  of  the  present  site 
of  Fort  Snelling,  where  three  years  later  the 
corner-stone  of  that  military  structure  was  laid. 
The  post  was  at  first  called  Fort  St.  Anthony,  but 
through  the  influence  of  General  Winfield  Scott, 
who  was  there  on  a  visit  of  inspection  in  1824, 
the  name  was  changed  according  to  the  following 
recommendation:  "The  work  of  which  the 
War  Department  is  in  possession  of  the  j)lans, 
reflects  the  greatest  credit  on  Colonel  Snelling, 
his  officers  and  men.  The  defences,  and  for  (ho 
most  part  the  public  storehouses,  shops  and 
ipiarters,  being  constructed  of  stone,  the  whole  is 
likely  to  endure  .so  long  as  the  post  shall  remain 
a  frontier  one.  I  wish  to  suggest  to  the  general- 
iii-chief,  and  through  him  to  the  War  Dcjjart- 
iin-iit,   the   i)ropricty   of   calling   this   w«jrk    h'ort 


PROGRESSIVH  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


17 


SnclHiig,  as  a  jnsi  i  ninpliiiK'nt  to  llif  iiicrituriuus 
vvarricji"  tinder  wIkuii  il  has  ]>vvu  erected." 

While  the  ft^rl  was  l)uil(Hii,i;-,  the  Arts  of  lY-ace 
were  alstj  Iteing  cultivated.  The  seeds  of  a  future 
civilization  were  being  S(n\'n.  In  i(S2i,tlH-  .\orth- 
western  and  Jindsou  Hay  I'ur  ( 'oin[)aiiies^ 
hitherto  at  war — united,  and  the  C'ohunhia  h'ur 
Company,  with  head(|uarters  at  Lake  Traverse, 
was  fcjrnied.  The  llrst  mills  erected  on  .\liniu-- 
sota  soil  were  huilt  by  the  g(.)vernnient  at  the 
l-'alls  of  St.  Anthony,  in  1821  and  icSjj  to  manu- 
facture flour  and  hunljer  for  the  garrison  at  I'ort 
Snelling.  This  latter  year  also  witnessed  the  be- 
ginning of  steam  navigation  on  the  waters  of  the 
upper  Mississippi.  During  the  same  year,  the 
first  distinctively  scientific  expedition  entered 
Minnesota,  under  the  direction  of  Major  Long. 
Among  the  explorers  were  Samuel  Seymour,  art- 
ist; I'rofessor  \V.  H.  Keating,  of  Pennsylvania 
University,  mineralogist  and  geologist,  and 
Thomas  Say,  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy  of 
Sciences,  zoologist  and  anti((uarian.  It  is  said 
that,  "the  scientific  obser\'ations,  though  rapidly 
taken,  were  of  great  value.  The  geological  and 
geographical  descriptions  of  the  Minnesota  and 
Red  rivers  were  particularly  interesting;  and  to 
these  some  information  was  added  relative  to  the 
fauna  and  flora  of  those  valleys."  Still  later,  the 
labors  of  Nicollet,  in  these  directions,  were  im- 
portant. Progress  was  also  being  made  in  the 
management  of  the  Indians.  On  the  Kjth  of 
August,  1825,  the  Northwestern  tribes  met  at 
Prairie  du  Chien,  where  the  government  was 
represented  by  Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  and  Gov- 
ernor Clarke  of  Missouri.  The  Dakotahs  and 
(Jjibvvays  here  consented  to  have  definite  bounds 
placed  between  their  hunting-grounds,  to  prevent 
future  contention.  The  year  following,  Mr.  Cass 
attended  a  council  of  the  Ojibw^ays  at  Fond  du 
Lac.  On  the  5th  of  August  a  treaty  was  sealed 
in  which  "the  Ojibways  projnised  to  sever  all 
allegiance  to  Great  Britain,  and  acknowledge  at 
all  times  the  United  States'  supremacy." 

Still  further  progress  towards  the  coming  civil- 
ization must  now  be  noted.  The  year  1833  marks 
the  beginning  of  schools  and  mis.eions  among  the 
Protestants.  They  t)riginated  with  Rev.  W.  T. 
Boutwell,  among  the  Ojibways  at  Leech  Lake. 
In  1834,  S.  W.  Pond  and  his  brother  opened  a 
mission  for  the  Dakotahs  at  Lake  Calhoun.      In 


Jiuie,  1835,  a  Presb)terian  church  was  organized 
at  Port  Snelling.  [n  1836,  Dr.  Williamson,  Mr. 
iiiggins  and  .Miss  Poage,  located  at  Lac  qui 
Parle  and  (jrganized  a  cinncli.  In  1837,  they  were 
joined  b\'  Rev.  S.  R.  Riggs  and  wife.  These 
were  the  humlde  begiimings.  'J"he  toils  and  sacri- 
fices of  thesefirst  teachers  and  missionaries  laidthc 
found;itions  for  the  work  ui  others.  On  these 
foundations  si-hoojs  and  churches  have  multi- 
plied. 

'jhe  yvdr  1837,  eventful  in  the  history  of  mis- 
sions, is  also  eventful  in  commercial  histrjry. 
(Kitside  capital  began  to  llow  towards  the  North- 
west and  towards  this  [larticular  spot  of  the 
Northwest.  .\  council  of  the  ( Jjibways,  held  at 
Port  Snelling,  this  year,  ceded  to  the  United 
States  all  the  pine  lands  of  the  St.  Croix  and  its 
trilnitaries.  "Capitalists  innnediately  began  to 
improve  the  water  power  at  the  P'alls  of  St.  Croix 
and  this  was  the  beginning  of  the  now  extensive 
manufacturing  of  lumljer,  ,so  closely  related  to 
the  conmiercial  welfare  of  the  state.  'Die  Pal- 
myra, Captain  Holland  commander,  the  first 
steamer  to  navigate  the  St.  Croix,  brought  the 
machinery  for  the  projected  mills.  A  delegation 
of  the  Dakotahs  at  Washington  also  ceded  to  the 
government  all  their  .Minnesota  lanrls  east  of  the 
Mississippi." 

The  principal  event  in  the  closing  part  of  this 
period  was  the  founding  of  St.  Paul,  in  1840.  A 
chapel  of  that  name  was  first  erected,  and  a  small 
village  sprang  up  around  it.  Dr.  Williamson, 
writing  in  1843,  gives  a  description  of  the  settle- 
ment as  it  then  appeared:  "My  present  residence 
is  on  the  utmost  verge  of  civilization,  in  the  north- 
west part  of  the  United  States,  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  principal  village  of  white  men  in  the  terri- 
tory that  we  suppose  will  bear  the  name  of  Min- 
nesota. The  village  referred  to  has  grown  up 
within  a  few  years  in  a  romantic  situation,  on  a 
high  blufi'  of  the  Mississippi,  and  has  been  bap- 
tised by  the  Roman  Catholics  with  the  name  of 
St.  Paul.  They  have  erected  in  it  a  small  chapel, 
and  constitute  much  the  larger  portion  of  its  in- 
habitants. The  Dakotahs  call  it  Im-ni-jas-ka,  or 
'White  Rock,'  from  the  color  of  the  sandstone 
which  forms  the  bluff  on  which  the  village  stands. 
The  village  contains  five  stores,  as  they  call  them, 
at  all  of  which  intoxicating  drinks  form  a  part, 
and  I  suppose  the  principal  part,  of  what  they 


18 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


sell.  I  would  suppose  the  village  contains  a 
dozen  or  twenty  families  living  near  enough  to 
send  to  school." 

The  period  condensed  into  these  few  para- 
graphs, to  use  the  words  of  Mr.  Kirk,  "May  well 
be  called  the  period  of  transition  between  the 
times  of  the  voyageurs  and  the  settlements;  of 
romantic  adventure,  yielding  to  scientific  re- 
search; of  slowly  shifting  scenes  in  the  prologiie 
of  yet  another  great  drama  of  modern  American 
life,  for  which  the  forces  of  civilization  were  stead- 
ily arranging  themselves  while  the  outside  world 
began  to  look  with  eyes  of  eager  expectancy  for 
the  opening  of  the  first  act." 

IV. 
THE  TERRITORY. 

That  part  of  Minnesota  lying  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi came  successively  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  Louisiana  Province  in  1803,  Louisiana  territory 
in  1805,  Alissouri  territory  in  1812,  Alichigan  ter- 
ritory in  1834,  Wisconsin  territory  in  1836  and 
Iowa  territory  in  1838.  The  part  east  of  the 
Mississippi  secured,  as  already  mentioned,  by  the 
treaty  of  Paris,  belonged  to  the  Northwest  terri- 
tory in  1787,  Indiana  territory  in  1800,  Illinois  ter- 
ritory in  1809,  Michigan  territory  in  1834,  and 
Wisconsin  territory  in  1836. 

Territory  after  territory,  state  after  state,  was 
organized  out  of  this  innnense  domain.  I'inall}', 
in  1848,  Wisconsin,  with  boundaries  not  so  in- 
clusive as  those  of  Wisconsin  territory,  was  ad- 
mitted as  a  state.  The  act  was  jsassed  on  the  2ytli 
of  May.  The  following  July,  a  meeting  was  held 
at  St.  Paul  which  "proposed  the  calling  of  a  con- 
vention to  consider  the  steps  proper  to  be  taken 
by  those  citizens  of  the  old  Wisconsin  territory 
l)eyond  the  boundaries  of  the  new  state  of  Wis- 
consin." The  first  public  meeting  for  this  pur- 
pose was  held  August  5th,  at  Stillwater,  and 
Franklin  Steele  and  Ilenry  H.  Sibley  were  the 
only  ones  who  attended  from  the  west  side  of 
the  Mississippi.  At  tliis  time  a  call  was  issued 
for  a  general  convention  to  meet  at  the  same  place 
on  the  26th  of  the  same  month.  Si.xty-tvvo  dele- 
gates were  present  and  Ilenry  PI.  Sibley  was  aj)- 
jjointed  to  proceed  to  Washington  and  mge  tiic 
immediate  passage  of  a  bill  for  the  organization 
of  Minnesota  territory."     In  the  meantime,  Mr. 


Sibley  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, and  finally  succeeded  in  having  a  bill  passed 
for  the  organization  of  the  territory  of  Minnesota, 
with  the  present  boundaries,  and  St.  Paul  as  the 
capital.  L)n  Alarch  3,  the  bill  was  signed  by  the 
president.  j\lr.  Sibley  will  always  be  remembered 
for  this  service.  He  had  to  battle  hard  in  the 
House.  The  measure  was  opposed  on  various 
pretexts,  and  hampered  with  embarrassing 
amendments.  An  eff^ort  was  made  to  append  the 
Wilmot  Proviso.  "By  great  exertions  on  the  part 
of  myself  and  my  friends,"  says  Mr.  Sibley,  "the 
House  was  at  length  persuaded  to  recede  from 
its  amendment."  The  news  was  brought  to  St. 
Paul  by  the  first  packet-boat  of  the  season,  which 
ploughed  its  way  through  the  icy  river  in  early 
April.  There  was  great  rejoicing  in  the  new- 
capital.  A  few  days  later,  James  M.  Goodhue 
appeared  with  his  printing  press  and  established 
the  "Pioneer,"  the  first  newspaper  in  the  territory. 

Alexander  Ramsey,  of  Harrisbnrg,  Pa.,  was  ap- 
pointed governor  by  the  president.  He  arrived 
before  the  close  of  April,  and  June  i  issued  his 
first  proclamation,  declaring  the  new  government 
duly  organized  and  directing  all  citizens  to  hold 
themselves  obedient  to  its  laws.  Three  judicial 
districts  were  formed:  The  first  was  the  old 
county  of  St.  Croix ;  the  second,  the  northeast 
section,  or  La  Pointe  county,  north  of  the  Minne- 
sota and  the  right  line  drawn  westward  from  its 
headwaters  to  the  Alissouri;  the  third,  comprised 
the  remaining  region  to  the  south  and  westward  of 
tlie  former  stream.  Stillwater,  St.  Anthony  Falls, 
and  Mendota,  were  the  places  in  which  the  re- 
spective courts  were  held.  In  July,  the  governor 
proclaimed  the  division  of  the  territory  into  seven 
council  districts,  and  issued  an  order  for  the  first 
election  of  members  of  the  council,  representatives 
of  the  house,  and  a  delegate  to  congress.  The 
congressional  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of 
Henry  H.  Sibley.  At  this  time  the  population  of 
the  territory  was  only  4,680;  but  the  eyes  of  mul- 
titudes from  all  parts  of  the  country  were  begin- 
ning to  turn  towards  the  .Star  of  the  North. 

The  first  legislature  CDUvened  Se|)tember  3, 
1849.  The  sessions  were  held  in  the  Central 
House,  which  served  the  doubU'  pur;)<ise  of 
capitol  and  hotel.  "On  the  first  fioor  of  the  main 
Ijnildiiig,"  says  Neil,  "was  the  secretary's  otfice 
and   representative  chamber,  and   in   the  second 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


19 


sU)rv  was  tlic  lilirary  and  council  chanil)er.  As 
the  Hag  was  nui  up  llic  staff  in  front  of  the  house, 
a  nuinlicr  nf  tinliaiis  sat  on  a  nicky  lihiff  in  the 
vicinit)'  ami  jL;a/.cil  at  what  to  them  was  a  novel 
and  ])erhai)s  saddening-  scene."  The  new  terri- 
tory is  now  fully  orq'anized  .-nul  all  llic  machinery 
of  pjovcrment  is  in  motion. 

lender  the  administration  of  ( Invernor  Kamse\', 
immense  progress  was  made.  '1  he  lirst  legisla- 
ture created  the  followini;'  counties:  Itasca, 
Wabasha,  Dakotah,  Wahnatah,  Alankato,  Pem- 
bina, Washington,  Ramsey,  and  I'.entou.  F.efore 
the  close  of  1849,  the  citizens  of  St.  Paul  were 
considering  the  establishment  of  the  first  public 
school  in  the  territory.  Treaties  were  made  with 
the  Indians  in  1850  and  1851,  by  which  they 
relinquished  their  titles  to  large  areas  of  the  ter- 
ritory to  make  way  for  the  advancing  tide  of  im- 
migration. The  summer  of  1850  witnessed  the 
beginning  of  navigation  on  the  Minnesota  river. 
Meanwhile  the  capital  city  was  growing.  About 
this  time,  Fredericka  Bremer,  the  Swedish  novel- 
ist, wrote:  "The  town  is  one  of  the  youngest  of 
the  great  West,  scarcely  eighteen  months  old,  and 
yet  it  has,  in  a  short  time,  increased  to  a  popula- 
tion of  two  thousand  persons,  and  in  a  very  few 
years  it  will  certainly  be  possessed  of  twenty-two 
thousand.  As  yet,  however,  the  town  is  but  in 
its  infancy,  and  people  manage  with  such  dwell- 
ings as  they  can  get.  The  drawing-room  at  Gov- 
ernor Ramsey's  house  is  also  his  office,  and  In- 
dians and  work  people,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  are 
alike  admitted.  The  city  is  thronged  with  In- 
dians. The  men,  for  the  most  part,  go  about 
grandly  ornamented,  with  naked  hatchets,  the 
shafts  of  which  serve  them  as  pipes." 

The  second  legislature,  which  met  in  1851, 
made  .St.  Paul  the  permanent  capital,  located  the 
territorial  prison  at  Stillwater,  and  established  the 
University  of  Minnesota  at  St.  Anthony  Falls. 
The  third  legislature,  in  i85;2,  created  the  county 
of  Hennepin.  At  this  time  settlements  were 
made  at  Shakopee,Traverse  des  Sioux,  Kasota  and 
Mankato.in  the  IMinnesota  vallev:  and  the  largest 
one  of  all  was  made  in  the  vallev  of  the  Rolling- 
stone  at  Winona.  So  rapidly  was  the  new  terri- 
tory filling  with  settlers,  so  great  were  the  strides 
in  material  progress,  that  when  Governor  Ramsey 
in  1853  addressed  the  fourth  legislative  assembly, 
he  said:     "In  concludincf  mv  last  annual  message 


permit  me  to  observe  that  it  is  now  a  little  over 
three  years  and  six  months  since  it  was  my  hap- 
piness to  first  land  upon  the  soil  of  .Minnesota. 
-\'ot  far  from  where  we  now  are  a  dozen  frame 
houses  not  all  conipletc,  with  scjme  eight  or  ten 
log  buildings,  with  bark  roofs,  constituted  the 
capital  of  the  new  territory,  over  \vhose  destiny  I 
had  been  connnissioned  to  preside.  One  county, 
a  remnant  from  Wisconsin  territorial  organiza- 
tion, alone  afforded  the  ordinary  facilities  for  the 
execution  of  the  laws:  and  in  and  around  its  seat 
of  justice  resided  the  bulk  of  our  scattered  popu- 
lation. Within  this  single  countv  were  embraced 
all  the  lands  white  men  were  privileged  to  till, 
while  between  them  and  the  broad,  rich  hunting- 
grounds  of  untutored  savages  rolled  the  River  of 
Rivers.  *  *  *  Ti,e  few  bark-roofed  huts 
have  lieen  transformed  into  a  city  of  thousands. 
In  forty-one  months,  have  condensed  a  whole 
century  of  achievements,  calculated  by  the  old 
world's  calendar  of  progress — a  government  pro- 
claimed in  the  wilderness,  a  judiciary  organized, 
a  legislature  constituted,  a  comprehensive  code  of 
laws  digested  and  adopted,  our  population  quin- 
tupled, cities  and  towns  springing  up  on  every 
hand,  and  steam,  with  its  revolving  arms,  in  its 
season,  daily  fretting  the  bosom  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, in  bearing  fresh  crowds  of  men  and  mer- 
chandise within  our  borders.  Nor  is  that  least 
among  the  important  achievements  of  this  brief 
period,  which  has  enabled  us,  bv  extinguishing 
the  Indian  title  to  fortv  million  acres  of  land,  to 
overleap  the  Father  of  Waters,  and  plant  civiliza- 
tion on  his  western  shore." 

Franklin  Pierce  had  now  become  president  of 
the  I''nitcd  States,  and  following  strictly  the  prin- 
ciple that  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils,  he 
removed  Governor  Ramsev  and  appointed  as  his 
successor  Willis  A.  Gorman,  of  Indiana,  a  Ken- 
tnckian  bv  birth,  who  had  served  as  an  officer  in 
the  IVTexican  war.  This  vear  Henrv  M.  Rice  was 
elected  to  congfress  in  place  of  Henn'  H.  Sibley. 
The  fifth  legislature  met  in  t8;4,  and  Governor 
Gorman,  in  his  first  annual  messafrc.  urecd 
"speedv  legislation  in  behalf  of  education,  and  the 
construction  of  railroads  to  meet  the  constantly 
increasing  demands  for  transportation  towards 
the  eastern  seaboards."  The  question  of  railroad 
construction  soon  became  the  all-absorbinfr  topic 
of  the  hour.     The  bill,  incorporating  the  Minne- 


20 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


sota  &  Xorthwesteni  Railroad  Company,  was 
passed  during  the  last  moments  of  the  legislative 
session.  In  their  anxiety  to  foster  commercial 
interests,  the  legislature  had  promised  to  grant 
this  company  "all  lands  which  should  thereafter 
be  given  Alinnesota  by  the  national  government 
to  aid  in  constructing  railroads,  as  well  as  all 
those  lands  of  that  character  then  possessed  by 
the  territor\-."  This  action  of  the  legislature  was 
destined  to  prove  a  source  of  contention  for  many 
years.  In  this  same  year,  1854,  the  sur\'ey  of  the 
original  town  of  Minneapolis  was  made. 

In  1855  the  wire  suspension  bridge  across  the 
Mississippi,  between  St.  Anthony  and  Minne- 
apolis, was  completed — the  first  bridge  that  ever 
spanned  the  great  river.  The  29th  of  March, 
this  same  vear,  witnessed  the  formation  of  the 
republican  party.  The  year  1857  was  marked  by 
some  Indian  atrocities  in  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  terrtorv.  The  whole  section  was  in  terror. 
Soldiers  from  Fort  Ridgely  were  sent  to  the  scene 
of  slaughter.  They  found  and  buried  thirty  dead 
bodies,  but  the  nuirderers  were  never  captured. 
The  contempt  which  the  Indian  learned  for  the 
soldier  and  the  power  he  represented.  lia<l  its 
influence  later  in  the  terrible  uprising  of  1862. 

Through  all  these  years — years  of  creating 
C':)unties,  of  building  towns,  of  accjuiring  land 
for  agricultural  purposes,  of  founding  schools  and 
universities — the  territorv  is  steadil)'  moving  for- 
ward towards  the  state.  On  the  26th  of  February, 
1857,  the  I'nited  States  senate  passed  an  act  "en- 
abling the  people  of  Minnesota  to  form  a  state 
constitution  previous  to  its  admission  into  the 
L'nion.  l'>y  this  act  the  boundaries  of  the  state 
were  defined  as  at  ])resent,  and  it  was  granted 
lands  for  the  sujiport  of  schools  and  the  erection 
of  i)nblic  buildings."  By  another  act  of  the  same 
session  "alternate  sections  of  land  were  granted 
for  the  construction  (A  railroads  within  the  state." 
Governor  (iorman  immediatelv  called  aii  extra 
session  of  the  legislature;  but  before  it  convened. 
1 'resident  Buchanan  appointed  .Samuel  Mcdary 
to  take  his  ])lace  as  governur.  A  coustitntinnal 
convention  agreed  upon  a  constitution  for  the 
coming  state,  August  29;  and  October  13  it  was 
ratified  by  almost  unanimous  vote  of  the  citizens. 
On  the  7tli  of  April,  1858,  the  bill  for  the  admis- 
sion of  Minnesota  was  carried,  and  on  the  i  itli  of 


May  was  signed  by  the  president.  Thus  Minne- 
sota entered  the  great  sisterhood  of  states;  and  a 
new  star  was  placed  upon  the  national  banner. 

V. 

THE  STATE. 

Dark  and  troubled  was  the  time  when  Minne- 
sota entered  upon  her  career  as  a  state,  and  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  first  decade  of  state  history  was 
a  period  of  depression  and  discouragement.  The 
panic  of  1857  had  made  it  almost  impossible  for 
the  new  commonwealth  to  negotiate  loans  for 
the  development  of  its  resources.  Then,  there 
were  mistakes  in  legislation  thai  produced  evil 
consequences  in  after  years.  I<"or  example,  the 
first  legislature  (1858)  pledged  the  public  credit 
to  the  amount  of  five  million  dollars  "to  further 
subsidize  the  delinquent  railroad  companies." 
The  constitution  of  the  state  was  amended  so  as 
to  permit  this  to  be  done.  Governor  Sibley  re- 
fused to  issue  the  bonds,  but  was  compelled  to 
do  so  by  a  mandamus  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
More  than  two  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  bonds 
were  then  thrown  upon  the  luarket,  although  not  a 
rail  I  if  tliepn  ijected  road  hail  lieen  laid.  Then  came 
the  Civil  \\'ar  in  1861,  and  the  Sioux  outbreak 
in  1862.  Calamities  followed  thick  upon  the  heels 
I  if  bkmders,  and  it  was  nut  until  after  the  close 
of  the  war  that  the  state  began  her  real  career. 

We  must  not  conclude,  however,  that  there 
were  no  bright  spots  in  this  period  of  our  liis- 
torv.  This  first  state  legislature  passed  the  act 
creating  our  present  Normal  .Schools  at  \\'inona, 
Mankato  and  St.  Cloud.  In  lieu  of  better  trans- 
l>ortation  facilities,  an  overland  route  was  opened, 
June.  1859,  between  .St.  Paul  and  Pireckenridge, 
on  the  Red  River,  l-'roni  this  point  a  steamer 
carried  goods  to  the  Hudson  Hay  Comi)any's 
territory.  The  failure  of  the  railroad  companies  to 
keej)  their  pledges  could  not  whoUv  check  the 
spirit  of  enterprise.  I'ut  the  attention  paid  to 
educational  matters  is  one  of  the  most  significant 
things  of  this  earlv  day.  We  have  just  mentioned 
the  establishment  of  normal  schools.  In  the  fall 
of  1851),  .'\lcxandcr  Ramsey,  first  governor  of  the 
territory,  was  elected  second  governor  of  the 
state.  ( )ne  of  the  first  incidents  of  his  adiuinis- 
tration  was  the  repeal  of  the  old  act  estal)lishing 


rKU(;KESSIVli  MUN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


21 


a  territorial  university,  and  on  tiic  basis  of  a  new 
grant  from  congress,  the  founding  of  the  State 
University  of  to-day.  Acts  were  also  passed  regu- 
lating the  sale  of  the  public  school  lands,  of  which 
"there  were  two  sections  in  each  township  ex- 
clusively devoted  to  the  suppcjrt  of  the  lower  or 
common  schools,  besides  tiie  special  grants  made 
in  favor  of  the  higher  education."  The  founders 
of  Minnesota  realized  that  the  jjrosperity  and 
gl(ir\'  of  a  state  must  he  based  upim  ihi  eihuatiim 
of  its  children. 

During  Ciovernor  Ramsey's  first  term,  the  Civil 
War  began;  and  while  the  struggle  was  at  its 
height,  and  thousands  of  citizens  away  from 
their  homes  on  the  fields  of  battle,  the  Siou.x 
perjjetrated  their  bloody  massacres.  It  was  a 
black  and  stormy  time.  So  far  as  the  Civil  War 
is  concerned,  it  is  a  matter  of  record  of  which  we 
may  lie  justlv  proud,  that  Minnesota  led  the  van 
in  the  great  conflict  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Union.  Governor  Rainsey  was  in  Washington 
when  the  flag  that  waved  over  Sumter  was  fired 
upon.  Before  the  sun  went  down  on  that  fateful 
day,  he  had  off'ered — first  of  all  the  governors — 
the  aid  of  the  state  troops,  and  President  Lincoln 
had  accepted.  The  news  was  flashed  to  the  ca])i- 
tal  of  Minnesota;  the  lieutenant  governor  at  once 
issued  a  jiroclamation,  and  by  the  2ist  of  June 
the  First  Alinnesota  fullv  organized  and  equippeil, 
under  conmiand  of  Col.  W^  A.  Gorman,  started 
for  the  seat  of  war.  From  that  time  onward  to 
Lee's  surrender,  the  Minnesota  troops  were 
potent  factors  in  the  armies  of  the  North.  Twenty- 
five  thousand  and  fift)'-two,  all  told,  the  settlers  of 
Minnesota  numbered  who  enlisted  in  the  cause 
of  freedom  and  union.  Minnesota  regiments 
fought  in  every  great  battle  of  the  long  contest. 
The  First  Minnesota  won  its  initial  honors  in  the 
first  battle  of  Bull  Run;  then  down  to  the  second 
battle  of  Fredericksburg,  down  to  Gettysburg, 
down  to  Appomattox,  where  manv  of  its  original 
members  took  part  in  the  closing  fight,  all  along 
the  course  of  the  war  the  noted  regiment  made 
memorable  record.  The  Minnesota  sharpshooters 
were  at  Malvern  FTill,  .\ntietam  and  l*"redericks- 
burg.  The  Fourth  and  Fifth  regiments  won  hon- 
orable distinction  at  .Shiloh  and  Corinth.  The 
Fifth  was  at  the  siege  of  ^^icl<sburg.  The  Fifth. 
Seventh,  Ninth  and  Tenth  regiments,  under  Gen. 
A.  J.  Smith,  helped  to  defeat  Forest   at  Tulepo, 


Mississi])pi.  They  afterwards  fought  at  Talla- 
hatchie and  pursued  the  retreating  rebels  under 
Trice.  The  .Second  regnnent  helped  to  storm 
the  enemy's  works  on  the  sunnnit  of  Mission 
i-iidge,  and  was  with  the  first  battery  in  the 
.\tlanta  campaign.  Space  will  not  permit  us  to 
enter  more  fully  into  detail.  Among  the  first  on 
the  theater  of  war,  among  the  last  to  leave  the 
scene,  the  Irodps  of  .Minnesota  added  lustre  to 
the  name  of  the  state;  though  for  the  time  mater- 
ial interests  languished  and  industrial  progress 
was  check(.'(|.  When  llic  life  of  the  nation  was 
at  staki',  all  other  considerations  might  well  be 
subordinatcii. 

^^  bile  thousands  of  citizens  were  away  fight- 
ing for  the  union,  suddenly,  in  1862,  the  Sioux 
descended  upon  many  of  the  un])rotected  settle- 
ments and  ]ier])etrated  a  massacre  ap])alling  even 
for  savages.  .Many  reasons  have  been  assigned 
for  this  bloody  uprising,  and  there  were  doubt- 
less many  causes  at  work.  There  was  delay  in 
the  p.ayment  of  annuities;  many  of  the  Indians 
had  insufhcient  food  in  the  meantime;  there  were 
some  encroachments  of  settlers  upon  Indian  res- 
ervations; there  was  ill-feeling  lietween  the  un- 
converted Indians  and  those  under  missionary  in- 
fluence; liut  above  and  beyond  all,  perhaps,  was 
the  desire  to  regain  their  lost  territory  and  re- 
conquer the  land  from  the  whites.  This  desire 
was  fostered  by  the  predictions  of  their  medicine 
men  that  the  Sioux  would  defeat  the  Americans 
in  battle  and  again  occupy  the  country,  after 
clearing  it  of  the  whites.  Secret  leagues  had  been 
formed  among  the  warriors.  The  wished-for  end 
had  long  been  considered.  All  thmgs  seemed  to 
indicate  that  the  time  was  ripe.  Thousands  of 
young  and  able-bodied  men  were  away  helping  to 
crush  the  rebellion.  They  remembered,  too, 
these  Indians,  that  no  steps  had  l)een  taken  by 
the  government  to  punish  Ink-pa-du-tah  and  his 
band,  and  this  fact  was  interpreted  as  weakness. 
Thus  the  way  was  prepared,  and  conditions 
seemed  favorable.  The  first  blow  was  struck  at 
Acton,  in  Meeker  county,  where  five  persons  were 
remorselessly  slaughtered.  The  next  day  the  gen- 
eral work  of  murder,  under  Little  Crow-,  began,  at 
the  agencies  and  spread  through  the  surrounding 
country,  until  terror  reigned  supreme  through  the 
valley  of  the  Minnesota.  "The  unarmed  men  of 
the    settlements,"    says    Capt.    Charles    Br^^ant, 


22 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


"offered  no  defense  and  could  offer  none,  but  fled 
before  the  savage  liorde,  each  in  his  own  wav, 
to  such  place  as  the  dictates  of  self-preservation 
gave  the  slightest  hope  of  safety.    Some   sought 
the  protection  of    the    nearest    slough;     others 
crawled  into  the  tall  grass,  hiding  in  many    in- 
stances in  sight  of  the  lurking  foe.    Children  of 
tender  years,   hacked  and  Ijeaten   and   bleeding, 
fled  from  their  natural  protectors,  now  dead  or 
disabled,  and  by  the  aid  of  sonic  trail  of  l^lood, 
or  by  the  instincts  of  our  common  nature,  fled 
awav  from  fields  of  slaughter,  cautiously  crawling 
by  night  from  the  line  of  smoke  and  fire  in  the 
rear,  either  towards  Fort  Ridgely  or  some  town 
on  the  ^Minnesota  or  the  ^lississippi.  Over  the 
entire  border  of  the   state,  and   even  near     the 
jiopulous   towns   on   the   river,   an   eye   looking 
down  from  above  could  have  seen  a  human  ava- 
lanche of  thirty  thousand,  of  all  ages,  an<l  in  all 
possible  pliglit,  the  rear  ranks  maimed  and  bleed- 
ing and  faint  from  starvation  and  the  loss     of 
blood,  continually  falling  into  the  hands  of    in- 
human savages,  keen  and  fierce  on  the  trail  of 
the  white  man."    The  uprising  was  promptly  met 
by  the  governor,  who  at  once  sent  Gen.  Sibley 
to  the  scene  of  massacre.       After  a  successful 
campaign  the  decisive  battle  was  fought  at  Wood 
Lake,  not  far  from  the  upper  agency  at  the  ford 
of  the  Yellow  Medicine.     Within  a  month  from 
the  first  blow  struck  by  the  Sioux,  their    hopes 
vanished  in  smoke  from  the  white  man's  guns, 
their  white  captives  were  restored  to  friends  and 
three  hundred  of  their  guilty  tribesmen  had  been 
taken.    These  criminals  were  tried  by  a  military 
commis.sion  and  condemned  to  death,  but  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  commuted  the  sentences  of  all  but 
thirty-eight,  who  were  htmg  at  ATankato  on  the 
26th   of  December.     The  following  year  ri86.^) 
under  the  administration     of     Governor  H.  A. 
Swift,  Gen.  Sibley  drove  the    remaining    hostile 
Sioux  from  the  state  and  they  fled  beyond  the 
Missouri.     The  same  year  the  notorious     Little 
Crow,  who  had  ventured  back,  was  shot  l)v    a 
vnuner  settler  named  Chauncev  Lampson,  in  the 
r>ief  Woods,  six  miles  from  LTutchinson.     Thus 
ended  one  of  the  saddest  chapters  in  the  history 
of  the  young  commonwealth. 

The  year  1865  marks  the  close  of  the  war.  The 
surviving  troops  retm-n  to  take  up  again  the  avo- 
cations of  peace.    The  Indian  f|uestion  is  settled, 


and  immigration  turns  once  more    towartl    the 
North  Star  state.    A  new  era  begins  with  the  ad- 
ministration  of   Governor  W.   R.   Marshall,   ex- 
tended through  two  successive     terms.      Educa- 
tional and  charitable  institutions  are  founded.  The 
first  hospital  for  the  insane  is  located  at  St.  Peter. 
Buildings  for  the  school  for  deaf,  duml)  and  blind 
are  erected  at  Fariliault.   The  normal  institute  at 
Winona  is  finislied.  The  reform  school  is  founded. 
The  state  is  brought  into  line  with  the  results  of 
the  Civil  War,  by  striking  the     w'ord     "white" 
from  the  constitution.   It  is  an  epoch  of  railroad 
construction.     Grants  of  land  for  the     Southern 
Miimesota  and  the  Hastings  &  Dakota  are  made. 
The  Northern  Pacific  is  begun.   The  right  of  the 
state  to  500,000  acres  of  land  for  internal    im- 
provements is  established.     "I     am     profoundly 
grateful,"  says    Governor     Marshall,  in   his  last 
message,  "to  the  Providence  that  connected  me 
with  the  state  government  during  so  interesting 
and  prosperous  a  period."    Under  his  successor, 
Governor  Horace  Austin,  there  was  a  steady  and 
rapid  growth  of  the  commonwealth.     Inmiigra- 
tion  increased,  railroad  construction  was  pushed 
with  vigor,  and  real  estate  rose  rapidly  in  value. 
Several  important  amendments  to  the  constitu- 
tion signalize  Governor  Austin's  term  of  office. 
One  provided  for  increasing  the  public  debt  of 
the  state  to  maintain  more  effectively  our  chari- 
table institutions.    Another  prevented  any  city  or 
village  or  county  from  granting  a  bonus  of  more 
than  ten  per  cent  of  its  property  valuation  to  any 
railroad  asking  for  aid.    (This  was  subsequently 
made  five  per  cent.")     Still   another  amendment 
preserved  the  sale  of  internal  improvement  lands 
at  the  rate  obtained  for  school  lands,  and     pro- 
vided for  the  investment  of  funds  so  obtained  in 
TTnited  States  and  Minnesota  state  lionds.      The 
administration  of  Cushman  I\.  Davis  ("elected  in 
1873),  was  characterized  by  railroad  legislation. 
The  regulation  of  rates  and  the  relation  of  the 
railroad  to  the  public,  were  freelv  discussed.  Gov- 
ernor Davis  himself  says:     "The  most  important 
political  event  of  my  admim'stration  was  undoubt- 
edly the  culmination  of  the  controversy  which  had 
been  carried  on  for  some  years  between  the  rail- 
road companies  and  the  ))cople,  on  the  questi<in 
of  the  legislative  power  to  control  the  former  in 
the  performance  of  their  duties  towards  the  pub- 
lic, cspecialh'  in  regard  to  fixing  rates  for  trans- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


23 


purlaliuu."  The  rcsull  was  a  slatule  aulhorizing 
the  governur  to  appoint  a  comiiiission  of  three, 
"who  had  power  to  fix  the  rates  of  the  various 
companies  within  the  state."  During  Governor 
Davis'  term  of  office  the  state  was  divided  into 
judicial  districts  and  women  were  granli-d  ihl- 
right  of  suffrage  in  school  elections. 

In  1875,  Juhn  S.  i'illsbury  was  elected.  lie 
held  the  position  for  three  successive  terms,  hav- 
ing been  twice  re-elected.  During  his  administra- 
tion the  amendment  to  the  constitution  was  passed 
forbidding  the  use  of  school  funds  for  the  support 
of  sectarian  schools  (1877),  and  the  (juestion  of 
railroad  bonds  was  finally  and  honorably  settled 
(1882.)  Selah  Chamberlain,  in  behalf  of  himself 
and  a  majority  of  the  holders  of  railroad  bonds, 
otTered  to  make  a  settlement,  taking  new  bonds 
of  half  the  face  value  of  the  eld.  An  extra 
session  of  the  legislature  decided  lo  accept  Mr. 
Chamberlain's  oflfer.  Governor  i'illsbury  will 
always  be  remembered  with  gratitude  for  insisting 
upon  maintaining  the  credit  of  the  state,  against 
a  strong  and  persistent  sentiment  of  repudiation. 
His  own  words  deserve  to  be  recorded  here:  "In 
my  opinion,  no  public  calamity,  no  visitation  of 
grasshoppers,  no  wholesale  destruction  or  insidi- 
ous pestilence,  could  possibly  inflict  so  fatal  a 
blow  upon  our  state  as  the  deliberate  repudiation 
of  her  solemn  obligations.  *  *  *  With  the 
loss  of  public  honor,  little  could  remain  wortliy 
of  preservation."  Governor  I'illsbury  has  in  many 
ways  done  much  for  the  state  of  his  adoption; 
but  his  firm  and  noble  stand  for  the  public  credit 
of  itself  entitles  him  to  the  respect  of  coming  gen- 
erations. 

The  administration  of  Governor  Lucius  F. 
Hubbard  (elected  in  1881),  covers  two  terms,  dur- 
ing which  schools  of  every  grade  were  multi- 
plied and  public  charities  flourished,  while  the 
material  prosperity  of  the  state  continued  to  grow. 
To  use  his  own  words:  "In  population,  wealth 
and  the  development  of  all  the  industries  of  our 
people,  Minnesota  made  a  decided  advatice  dur- 
ing 1882  and  1883.  The  extension  of  our  railroad 
system,  particularly  the  completion  of  the  North- 
ern Pacific  Railroad,  gave  a  decided  impetus  to 
our  commercial  centers.  The  adoption  of  more 
diversified  methods  infused  new  life  into  our  agri- 
cultural interests,  and  with  large  accessions  to 
our  population,  and  active  capital,  all     industrial 


pursuits  felt  the  inspiration  of  a  healthy  and  sub- 
stantial progress." 

Andrew  K.  AIcGill  succeeded  Air.  Hubbard. 
In  1887  a  system  of  high  license  was  adopted  by 
the  state  for  those  places  that  do  not  prohibit 
liquor  selling  under  the  local  oi«ion  law,  fixing 
the  license  at  $1,000  for  cities  of  10,000  inhabi- 
tants and  over,  for  all  other  places  half  that  sum. 
Une-third  of  all  the  saloons  in  the  state  went  out 
of  business,  while  from  the  remainder  the  state 
received  50  per  cent  more  revenue  than  previously 
from  the  entire  number.  The  act  creating  the 
railroad  commission,  under  Governor  Davis,  w'as 
repealed  and  a  new  act  was  passed  which  em- 
bodied many  of  the  provisions  of  the  old  and 
added  new  features.  Among  these  were  provis- 
ions to  prevent  rebates  and  pooling,  recj^uiring 
charges  to  be  equal  and  reasonable,  to  prevent 
hindrances  to  through  transportation  and  undue 
discrimination  for  longer  or  shorter  hauls.  Other 
acts  were  passed  requiring  all  railroads,  not  sub- 
ject to  special  tax  laws,  to  pay  a  percentage  of  their 
gross  earnings  in  lieu  of  taxes;  forbidding  the 
sale  of  watered  stock,  and  making  companies 
liable  for  the  negligence  of  their  servants.  During 
this  year,  in  spite  of  this  stringent  legislation,  196 
miles  of  railroad  were  built  in  the  state.  In  1888 
a  fourth  normal  school  was  established  at  Moor- 
head,  and  the  buildings  of  the  Soldiers'  Home, 
provided  for  by  an  act  of  the  previous  year,  were 
completed  near  Minnehaha  Falls  on  a  site  pro- 
vided by  the  city  of  Minneapolis.  The  Farm 
and  Labor  party,  whose  influence  was  to  be  in- 
creasingly felt  in  politics,  was  organized  August 
28  of  this  year,  at  St.  Paul. 

The  next  governor  was  William  R.  Merriam, 
who  began  his  term  of  office  in  i88y.  At  the 
first  session  of  the  legislature  W.  D.  Washburn 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  senate  to  suc- 
ceed Dwight  M.  Sabin.  The  Australian  system 
of  voting  was  adopted  for  all  cities  of  10,000  in- 
habitants or  over.  The  Supreme  Court  pro- 
nounced the  legislation  of  the  preceding  admin- 
istration, regulating  railway  charges,  unconstitu- 
tional. "Railroads,"  said  the  Court,  "are  entitled 
to  a  judicial  determination  of  the  facts  whether 
the  rates  established  are  just  and  reasonable" — a 
right  denied  them  under  the  law.  At  the  close  of 
Governor  Merriam's  second  term  in  1892,  the 
finances  of  the  state  were  in  a  sound  and  pros- 


24 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


perous  condition.  Progress  was  everywhere  being 
made.  The  population  was  rapidly  increasing. 
Business  corporations  were  multiplying.  New 
territory  was  being  settled.  ^Manufactures  flour- 
ished.  Prosperity  reigned. 

The  administration  of  Knute  Nelson  began  in 
1893.  During  this  year  gold  was  discovered  in 
Alinnesota.  Special  Agent  Gray,  in  his  report, 
says:  "One  vein  with  evidence  of  gold,  which  is 
about  seven  feet  wide  and  extends  throughout  the 
length  of  the  island,  and  another  ten  feet  wide 
and  1,700  feet  long,  were  found.  The  section 
embraces  onl)  a  narrow  strip,  extending  along  the 
shore  of  Rainy  Lake  for  about  twenty-five  miles, 
and  not  more  than  three  or  four  miles  wide  at 
any  point,  including  a  large  number  of  islands." 
This  )  ear  is  also  made  memorable  by  the  opening 
of  the  transcontinental  line  of  the  Great  Northern 
in  June.  The  event  was  celebrated  with  great 
rejoicing  in  St.  Paul.  The  road  is  operated  in 
connection  with  a  fleet  of  Pacific  steamers.  The 
northern  part  of  Minnesota  was  tliis  year  visited 
l)y  forest  tires  that  rendered  2,000  peciple  home- 
less. An  International  Reciprocity  Convention 
was  held  in  St.  Paul  June  5.  l)etween  representa- 
tives of  the  United  .States  and  C-anada.  Resolu- 
tions were  passed  favoring  reciprocity  in  trade, 
improvement  of  the  great  lakes  to  tide-water,  so 
as  to  admit  the  passage  of  ocean  steamers  and 
open  competition  between  the  railroads  of  both 
countries.  This  year  Minnesota  was  represented 
at  the  World's  Fair  Exposition  in  Chicago.  "Be- 
sides its  own  building,  the  state  had  exhibits  in  all 
the  general  buildings.  The  forestry  and  mining 
displays  were  particularly  fine.  More  than  200 
awards  were  received  for  cereals,  with  only  a  lit- 
tle more  than  3(X)  samples  shown ;  40  for  mining 
exhibits,  66  for  flour.  ]'"ifty  premiums  were  re- 
ceived for  draught  horses,  48  for  cattle  and  21 
for  poultry."  During  the  legislative  session  of 
Mr.  Nelson's  first  term,  Cushman  K.  Davis  was 
elected  to  succeed  himself  in  the  United  States 
senate.  Bills  were  passed  appropriating  money 
for  a  new  capitol,  placing  the  State  University  on 
a  more  independent  footing  by  a  slight  increase 
in  taxation,  extending  the  benefit  of  state  inspec- 
tion of  grain  to  the  fanners  and  granting  them  the 
riglit  to  erect  elevators  on  railroad  right  of  way, 
providing  for  safeguards  to  all  dangerous  machin- 
ery, and  placing  all  manufacturing  and  other  es- 


tablishments employing  large  numbers  of  people 
under  the  inspection  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  In 
1894  forest  fires  again  ravaged  a  large  part  of  the 
state  centering  in  the  vicinity  of  Hinckley.  Over 
.]00  lives  were  lost,  many  persons  were  maimed, 
2,QOO  were  left  destitute  and  $1,000,000  of  prop- 
erty was  destroyed.  Prompt  action  was  taken  by 
a  relief  committee  appointed  by  the  governor  and 
$25,000  were  spent  in  providing  for  the  needy. 

Gov.  Nelson  was  re-elected  in  1S94,  but  the 
legislature  early  in  1895  niade  him  United  States 
senator,  and  lieutenant  governor,  David  M. 
Clough,  took  the  governor's  chair.  During  1895, 
$50,000  was  appropriated  to  execute  a  stringent 
measure  for  the  eradication  of  the  Russian  thistle, 
another  $50,000  to  continue  the  drainage  of  lands 
in  the  Red  River  \'alley.  Some  measures  looking 
to  road  improvements  also  became  laws.  The  un- 
sold lands  of  the  defunct  Hastings  &  Dakota 
Railroad  corporation  to  the  extent  of  55,000  acres, 
were  declared  forfeited.  A  bounty  of  i  cent  per 
liuund  was  offered  on  sugar  made  from  sorghum 
or  beet  roots.  Some  laws  of  iinportance  to  the 
cause  of  labor  were  passed.  Contract  labor  in 
prisons  was  done  away,  and  provision  made  that 
the  number  of  prisoners  engaged  in  any  pro- 
ductive occupation  shall  not  e.xceed  ten  per  cent 
of  the  free  labor  employed.  Children  under  four- 
teen are  not  to  be  employed  in  an_\-  factory,  work- 
shop or  mine;  nor  sliall  any  such  child  be  em- 
ployed outside  of  the  family  where  he  resides 
before  6  o'clock  in  the  morning  or  after  7  at 
night.  If  under  compulsory  school  age,  he  can 
not  be  employed  anywhere  tluring  school  hours. 

With  this  year  our  sketch  closes.  The  panic  of 
1893  *til'  continues,  and  business  is  prostrate.  But 
the  history  of  the  past  encourages  us  to  believe 
that  the  cloud  will  lift  and  prosperity  return.  The 
growth  of  the  state  has  been  marvelous.  Its  re- 
sources, as  we  shall  see,  are  almost  without  limit. 
Its  future  is  assured. 

VI. 
RESOURCES  OF  MINNESOTA. 

Let  us  now  turn  from  contemplating  the  his- 
tory of  the  past  to  examine  the  foundation  upon 
which  the  future  must  be  based.  What  are  our 
resources?    What  has  nature  done  for  us? 

First  of  all,  let  us  speak  of  the  .soil.  "Every 
factor  in  nature,"  says  Prof.  Snyder,  of  the  State 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


2t 


University,  "seems  to  have  been  at  work  in  luak- 
iiig  the  soils  of  Alinnesuta  rich  in  plant  food.  They 
are  mainly  drift  soils  derived  from  liie  very  best 
rock  materials,  pulverized  by  the  action  of  gla- 
ciers, and  enriched  for  centuries  by  the  natural 
workings  of  vegetable  and  animal  life.  A  great 
deal  could  be  said  about  the  fertility  of  Aiinne- 
sota  soil,  but  about  the  most  convincing  proof 
that  can  be  given  is  tlie  fact  that  the  soils  ex- 
hibited as  specimens  at  the  Col anibian  Mxposition 
received  the  award  from  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment for  soils  rich  in  plant  foods.  The  same 
authority  also  says:  "The  fertility  of  the  soil  of 
the  state  has  a  marked  effect  upon  the  quality 
of  the  products.  In  the  case  of  wheal,  the  average 
amount  of  gluten  in  the  wheat  raised  in  the 
United  States  is  ii.y  per  cent.  The  average 
amount  of  gluten  in  the  wheat  raised  in  Minne- 
sota is  13.75  P*^""  cent.  Other  crops  are  in  the 
same  proportion.  The  crops  raised  on  the  rich 
soil  of  Minnesota  have  a  greater  food  value  than 
crops  raised  on  the  poor,  worn  soils  of  older  coun- 
tries." It  goes  without  saying  that,  in  addition 
to  wheat,  all  the  other  cereals  produced  in  other 
lands  can  be  grown  in  JNIinnesota.  The  vege- 
tables of  other  climates  flourish  here.  The  fruits 
of  the  temperate  zones,  notwithstanding  our  se- 
vere winters,  find  here  a  congenial  home.  The 
strawberry  takes  front  rank  in  value  of  product; 
but  large  quantities  of  raspberries,  blackberries, 
currants  and  gooseberries  are  also  grown.  Min- 
nesota also  annually  produces  185,000  bushels  of 
apples,  the  number  of  trees  growing  at  the  pres- 
ent time  being  452,665.  In  1893,  there  were  gath- 
ered from  77,450  vines,  283,839  pounds  of  grapes. 
It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  vast  areas  of  our 
territory  are  not  yet  under  cultivation.  The  imm- 
ber  of  acres  that  had  been  touched  by  the  plow 
in  1894  was  only  7,000,000;  but  the  total  gov- 
ernment land  not  yet  occupied — to  say  nothing  of 
railroad  lands — is  10,000,000  acres,  greater  in  area 
than  all  the  ploughed  land  of  Ireland  and  Scotland, 
equal  to  nearly  one-half  the  cultivated  area  of 
New  England,  and  to  70  per  cent  of  the  total 
arable  land  of  Old  England.  Of  these  tracts 
about  one-half  are  surveyed  and  ready  for  the 
homesteader.  These  government  lands  lie,  for 
the  most  part,  in  the  northern  portion  of  central 
Minnesota.     From  its  remarkable  abundance  of 


lakes,  rivers  and  forests,  this  section  of  the  state 
is  called  the  Lake  Park  Region  of  the  .Mississippi 
\  alley.  When  the  railroad  lands,  in  ilil'ferent 
liicalilics,  are  taken  into  account,  the  total  acreage 
)el  awaiting  the  advent  of  the  farmer  is  raised 
to  20,000,000.  The  possibilities  that  lie  hidden 
in  this  innncnse  domain  may  be  conjectured 
from  the  size  and  variety  of  the  crops  raised  upon 
the  cultivated  fields. 

In  addition  to  agriculture  and  horticulture, 
stock-raising  and  wool-growing  occupy  much  of 
the  attention  of  the  farmers  of  Minnesota;  and 
a  competent  authority  says:  "There  is  room  for 
the  profitable  development  of  the  live  stock  in- 
dustry to  any  extent  that  may  be  desired."  The 
climate  is  favorable,  and  food  is  easily  and  cheaply 
produced.  "In  nearly  all  parts  of  Minnesota  and 
the  Northwest,  clover  in  one  or  the  other  of  its 
forms  may  be  successfully  grown.  Soiling  crops 
can  be  produced  in  great  perfection.  Corn  for 
feeding  cattle  can  be  grown  right  up  to  the  Cana- 
dian boundary  line.  Alillet  finds  a  favorite  home 
within  the  state,  and  the  same  is  true  of  flax. 
Mangels  may  be  raised  everywhere,  and  all  kinds 
of  cereals  for  stall  feeding  are  plentiful  and  cheap." 
As  to  sheep  raising,  "In  Minnesota  there  are  some 
160  varieties  of  native  grasses  and  plants,  a  large 
proportion  of  which  are  suitable  as  food  for  sheep. 
*  *  *  There  is  great  room  for  the  extension 
of  sheep  husbandry  in  the  state  of  Alinnesota." 
It  is  an  industry  which  brings  quick  returns. 
"The  first  season  after  the  investment,  there  is  a 
return  on  wool."  In  the  spring  of  1894,  1,347,052 
pounds  were  sheared. 

When  we  leave  the  sections  cultivated  or  capa- 
ble of  cultivation  and  enter  the  forests,  we  begin 
to  understand  what  is  back  of  the  lumber  in- 
dustry. Nearly  half  of  the  northwestern  portion 
of  the  state  is  or  has  been  more  or  less  covered 
with  pine  forests.  This  comprises  an  area  of 
21,000  square  miles.  "The  special  hardwoods  of 
Minnesota,"  says  J\Ir.  J.  O.  Barrett,  "known  as 
the  Big  Woods,  lie  south  and  west  of  the  conifer- 
ous district,  extending  within  50  or  60  miles  of 
the  international  boundary,  and  south  300  miles 
and  20  or  nuire  miles  wide.  This  hardwood  belt 
— largely  red  and  white  oak  and  hard  maple — is 
on  the  extreme  western  body  of  timber  of  any 
considerable  value  east  of  the  Rockv  Mountains." 


26 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


Ill  1894,  nearly  one  billion  feet  of  pine  timber 
were  cut,  and  about  one  hundred  million  feet  of 
hardwood. 

But  there  are  resources  within  the  soil  as  well 
as  on  top  of  it.  In  1894  Minnesota  rose  to  the 
position  of  second  state  in  the  Lake  Superior  re- 
gion and  even  in  the  United  States,  in  the  pro- 
duction of  iron  ore.  The  output  of  the  mines  in 
this  year  was  2,742,146  tons.  In  1896,  Minnesota 
rose  to  the  first  position  with  an  estimated  output 
of  4,000,000  tons.  Her  stone  quarries  are 
annually  producing  more  and  more  building 
materials.  \o  later  figures  are  at  hand  than 
those  of  the  census  of  1890;  but  these  show  that, 
while  in  1880  there  were  only  41  quarries  for  all 
kinds  of  stone,  whose  total  product  was  worth 
$255,818,  in  1889,  there  were  102  quarries  pro- 
ducing limestone,  granite  and  sandstone  valued 
at  $1,102,008.  There  is  also  wealth  in  the  clay 
of  certain  localities;  and  bricks,  sewer  pipe  and 
pottery  are  manufactured  in  large  quantities.  The 
stoneware  made  at  Red  Wing  alone  amounts  in 
capacity  to  7,000,000  gallons  annually. 

This  is  but  the  merest  suggestion  of  the  re- 
sources of  our  state.  Space  will  not  admit  of 
further  detail.    Only  the  principal  industries  have 


been  named.  There  are  others  that  can  not  even 
be  mentioned.  When  we  consider  how  brief  has 
been  the  career  of  the  state,  how  much  has  been 
accomplished  in  that  short  existence,  what  events 
have  been  crowded  into  it,  what  industries  have 
been  established,  what  territory  put  under  culti- 
vation, what  products  have  been  forced  from  the 
earth,  and  then  survey  the  land  yet  to  be  pos- 
sesssed,  we  can  only  wonder  what  the  future  may 
be,  what  further  strides  will  be  taken.  The  ma- 
terials for  greater  development  than  has  yet  been 
attained  are  abundant.  We  may  well  believe  that 
they  will  be  wisely  used.  We  have  never  yet  for- 
gotten the  importance  of  education  as  our  schools 
and  university  attest;  nor  of  religion,  as  our 
churches  witness.  And  so  long  as  the  scheming 
brain  and  the  skilled  hand  go  forward  side  by- 
side  with  culture  and  conscience,  their  achieve- 
ments can  not  be  too  numerous  or  great.  "As  to 
the  future  of  this  great  central  district  of  North 
America,"  says  Bancroft,  "no  one  who  has  not 
seen  it  can  form  an  adequate  conception,  while 
those  who  have  examined  and  studied  the  subject, 
only  become  sensible  how  much  farther  reason 
may  sometimes  go  than  imagination  can  venture 
to  follow." 


PKOGKBSSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


21 


ALEXANDER   RAMSEY. 

Alexander  Ramsey,  one  uf  the  must  distin- 
guislietl  eitizens  uf  Alinnesula,  was  Ixjrn  near 
iiarrisbury,  i'enn.-)  Ivania,  un  Sepleiiiljer  8, 
1815.  Ills  fatlier,  J'hunias  Ramsey,  was  01 
Scoteh  descent,  and  his  mother  was  ut  a  German 
I'amil}'  which  early  in  the  iMghteenth  cen- 
tury settled  in  l'enns)hania.  Irom  his  par- 
ents he  ,  inherited  a  strong  constitution  and 
a  taste  for  stud_\-,  which  was  developed 
during  his  boyhood  by  his  schoolmaster,  Isaac 
D.  Rupp,  who  afterwards  became  prouiinent  as 
a  historical  writer  in  Pennsylvania.  His  father 
dieil  when  he  was  about  ten  years  old,  and  Ered- 
erick  Kelker,  a  grand  uncle  gave  the  orphan  boy 
a  home.  I'or  a  time  he  was  employed  in  Air. 
Kelker's  store,  and  later  he  acted  as  clerk  in  the 
office  of  the  register  of  deeds.  \\  hile  engaged  in 
these  and  other  employments,  }oung  Ramses 
was  diligently  pursuing  his  studies,  and  when 
eighteen  years  f)ld  was  ])repared  to  enter  Lafay- 
ette College,  at  Easton,  Penns)lvania.  In  1837 
he  left  college  and  commenced  studying  law 
with  the  Hon.  Hamilton  Alricks,  of  Harrisburg, 
and  two  years  later,  when  he  was  twenty-four 
years  of  age,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  With- 
in a  short  time  he  had  established  himself  in 
practice  at  Harrisburg,  and  devoted  himself 
largely  to  the  settlement  and  administration  of 
estates.  He  became  quite  successful  and  secured 
a  large  clientage.  While  paying  strict  attention 
to  his  business,  he  also  found  time  to  engage  in 
the  active  political  campaign  of  1840,  and  in  the 
following  year  he  was  elected  chief  clerk  of  the 
Pennsylvania  House  of  Representatives.  Li 
1843  Mr.  Ramsey  was  nominated  and  elected  to 
congress  from  the  district  composed  of  Dauphin, 
Lebanon  and  Schuylkill  Counties.  In  congress 
Mr.  Ramsey  was  a  useful  rather  than  ornamental 
member,  making  no  attempt  at  oratorical  dis- 
play. He  exhibited  unusual  practical  ability, 
and  was  noted  for  attending  to  the  interests  of 
his  district.  In  the  following  year  he  was  again 
elected,  and  would  undoubtedly  have  received 
a  third  term  had  he  not  declined  a  renomination. 
On  retiring  from  his  congressional  duties  Mr. 
Ramsey  resumed  his  law  practice,  but  could  not 
entirelv  withdraw  from  politics,  for  in  the  fol- 
low in<:-  ^■ear  he  was  chosen  chairman  of  the  \\'hig 


state  committee,  during  the  important  cam- 
paign which  resulted  in  the  election  of  Taylor 
as  president.  This  campaign  also  afifected  Mr. 
Ramsey's  destinies  to  an  important  degree,  for, 
in  March,  1849,  shortly  after  I'resident  Taylor 
came  into  office,  he  appointed  Mr.  Ramsey  gov- 
ernor of  the  Minnes(jta  Territory,  then  recently 
estaljlished.  The  appointment  was  accepted,  and 
Mr.  Ramsey  at  once  came  to  St.  Paul,  arriving 
there  un  Ma)'  2"],  1849.  Eour  days  afterwards, 
the  other  territorial  officers  having  arrived,  he 
issued  a  proclamation,  declaring  the  territory 
organized.  During  that  summer  the  governor 
was  much  occupied  in  the  details  of  organiza- 
tion. The  territory  was  to  be  developed  into 
legislative  districts,  elections  were  to  be  ordered, 
county  officers  appointed,  the  executive  govern- 
ment put  in  order,  and  the  affairs  of  the  numer- 
ous tribes  of  Indians  supervised.  The  first  ter- 
ritorial legislature,  which  convened  in  the  fol- 
lowing September,  bestowed  on  one  of  the  first 
counties  created  the  name  of  their  new  governor. 
The  first  legislative  body  of  Minnesota  convened 
in  two  small  rooms  of  a  hotel  on  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi  in  St.  Paul.  The  governor  read 
his  first  message  to  the  joint  convention  of  the 
two  houses,  twenty-seven  members  in  all,  as.sem- 
bled  in  the  hotel  dining-room.    Among  the  first 


2S 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


acts  of  Governor  Ramsey  were  ettorts  iii  the 
direction  of  extinguishment  of  the  Indian  titles 
by  treaty,  and  the  negotiations  made  at  Alendota, 
and  at  iraverse  de  bioux  in  1851,  brought  some 
forty  mDlion  acres  of  what  is  now  tlie  most  valu- 
able portion  of  the  state  into  settlement.  Later 
in  the  same  year  Governor  Ramsey  visited  the 
Red  River  country,  and  at  Pembuia,  made  a 
treaty  with  the  Northern  Ghippewas  for  the  ces- 
sion of  tliirty  miles  on  each  side  of  the  Red  river. 
This  treaty  was  not  ratified  by  the  senate,  but 
some  years  later  Governor  Ramsey,  then  senator, 
made  another  treaty,  accomplislnng  the  same 
results,  and  thus  threw  the  great  Red  River  val- 
ley open  to  settlement.  In  1S53,  Governor  Ram- 
sey's term  of  office  ended.  He  gave  his  attention 
for  some  years  to  making  investments  and  con- 
ducting business  transactions,  especially  in  St. 
Paul.  He  was  elected  ma)  or  of  St.  Paul  in  1855, 
and  when  Alinnesota  was  admitted  to  the  Union, 
Governor  Ramsey  was  nominated  for  state  gov- 
ernor by  the  Republican  party,  but  was  not 
elected.  Two  years  later  he  was  again  nomin- 
ated and  received  a  handsome  majority.  He 
entered  his  office  on  January  2,  i860.  At  that 
time  the  state  was  in  debt  and  the  treasury  was 
empty,  taxes  were  difficult  to  collect,  and  there 
were  many  difficulties  connected  with  the  ad- 
ministration of  a  young  state  in  war  time,  but  the 
administration  was  successful.  At  the  time  of 
the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter,  Governor  Ramsey  was 
in  Washington  on  official  business.  Upon  see- 
ing the  necessity  for  troops  he  at  once  called 
upon  President  Lincoln  and  tendered  him  a 
regiment  of  one  thousand  men  from  Minnesota. 
This  was  the  first  offer  by  any  state  of  armed 
troops  to  the  government,  the  president  not  yet 
having  issued  his  proclamation  calling  for  troops. 
During  that  year  five  regiments  were  recruited 
and  equipped  and  sent  to  the  front  by  the  state  of 
Minnesota.  Governor  Ramsey  was  re-elected  in 
the  fall  of  1861,  and  his  second  term  was  more  im- 
portant and  more  trying  than  the  first.  There  were 
repeated  calls  for  troops  from  the  government, 
and  five  regiments  were  recruited  in  1862.  In 
the  midst  of  this  activity  occurred  the  Sioux 
massacre  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  state. 
With  the  rare  executive  ability  which  always 
characterized  Governor  Ramsey,  he  organized  a 
battalion  to  go  to  the  front  to  the  relief  of  the 


besieged  settlers.  The  campaign  was  short  and 
sharp,  and  the  Indians  were  soon  defeated  and 
dispersed,  never  again  to  menace  the  Alinnesota 
frontier.  In  January,  1863,  Governor  Ramsey 
was  elected  United  States  senator  from  Minne- 
sota, and  in  1869,  at  the  close  of  his  term,  he 
was  re-elected  for  six  years  more.  His  service 
in  the  senate  was  marked  by  the  introduction  of 
many  important  bills,  mcluding  measures  for  the 
improvement  of  the  Aiississippi  river,  aiding  of 
the  Xorthern  Pacific  railroad,  the  repeal  of  the 
franking  abuse,  and  various  measures  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Northwest.  Being  chairman  of  the 
senate  committee  on  postoffices  he  was  especially 
interested  in  postal  reforms.  In  both  houses  of 
congress  and  among  national  leaders.  Senator 
Ramsey  won  the  highest  regard  and  confidence 
of  the  best  men.  For  a  few  years  after  the  close 
of  his  congressional  term  he  enjoyed  a  period  of 
rest  from  official  life,  but  on  December  10,  1879, 
President  Hayes  tendered  him  the  portfolio  of 
secretary  of  war.  This  position  he  filled  with 
much  honor  during  the  remainder  of  Hayes' 
administration.  Under  "the  Edmunds  law,'" 
which  created  a  commission  of  five  to  control 
the  affairs  of  the  polygamists  in  Utah,  Senator 
Ramsey  was  appointed,  in  1882,  to  serve  on  this 
board,  and  was  elected  its  chairman.  He  filled 
this  position  for  four  years,  resigning  in  1886. 
It  was  his  last  public  service.  During  his  long 
and  active  life  as  a  public  man  in  Minnesota, 
Governor  Ramsey  has  been  active  in  many 
movements  for  the  benefit  of  his  city  and  state 
not  connected  with  official  affairs.  He  has  been, 
since  1849,  one  of  the  most  active  members  of 
the  Minnesota  Historical  Society.  He  is  presi- 
dent and  director  of  the  St.  Paul  public  library, 
and  a  leading  member  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Asso- 
ciation, and  an  honored  member  of  the  Minne- 
sota Commandery,  Loyal  Legion.  On  Septem- 
ber 10,  1845,  Governor  Ramsey  married  Miss 
Anna  Earl  Jcnks,  a  daughter  of  the  Hon. 
Michael  H.  Jenks,  a  judge  and  congressman  of 
Bucks  County,  Pennsylvajiia.  They  had  two 
sons,  both  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  and  one 
daughter,  now  Mrs.  Charles  E.  Furness.  Mrs. 
Ramsey,  who  was  for  forty  years  a  conspicuous 
figure  in  social  life,  both  in  St.  Paul  and  Wash- 
ington, died  on  November  29,  1884,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-eight  years. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


29 


AUSTIN  HILL  YOUNG. 

Austin  Hill  Young  served  on  the  judicial 
bench  of  Hennepin  County  for  more  than  eigh- 
teen years.  He  was  born  at  Fredonia,  Chau- 
tauqua County,  New  York,  December  8,  1830, 
the  son  of  Abijali  Young  and  Rachel  Hill 
('S'oung).  His  parents  were  natives  of  Vermont. 
His  father  was  a  cabinet  maker  by  occupation, 
a  man  in  moderate  financial  circumstances,  but 
a  great  reader  and  of  considerable  literary  attain- 
ments. His  wife  was  a  woman  of  strong  per- 
sonal character,  an  earnest  Christian,  who  im- 
pressed herself  deeply  upon  her  children.  Soon 
after  their  marriage  in  Rutland  County,  Vermont, 
they  removed  to  Fredonia,  New  York,  where 
they  resided  until  Abijah  Young's  death  in  1837. 
IMrs.  Young  believed  that  the  new  West  would 
afford  more  favorable  conditions  under  which  to 
rear  her  family  of  five  bovs,  and  removed  to 
Dupage  County,  Illinois.  Two  years  later  she 
was  married  again  and  removed  with  her  family 
to  Cook  County,  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
grew  up  on  an  Illinois  farm.  Austin  H.  attended 
the  common  schools  of  the  neighborhood  in  win- 
ter, working  on  the  farm  in  summer.  At  the 
age  of  seventeen  he  took  a  course  at  Waukegan 
Academy,  Waukegan,  Illinois,  then  one  of  the 
best  schools  of  its  kind  in  the  West.  This,  with 
the  experience  of  six  terms  of  school  teaching, 
comprised  his  early  educational  advantages.  In 
1853,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years,  he  began 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Ferry  &  Clark, 
of  Waukegan.  In  1854  he  removed  to  Prescott, 
Wisconsin,  and  for  a  time  was  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business.  He  was  also  elected  clerk  of 
the  circuit  court  and  held  that  office  for  several 
vears.  In  i860  he  began  the  practice  of  law, 
forming  a  partnership  v,-ith  M.  H.  Fitch.  Soon 
afterward  he  was  elected  district  attorney  for  his 
county,  which  office  he  held  till  the  fall  of  1863, 
when  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate.  In  1866 
Mr.  Young  removed  to  l\Tinncapolis  and  began 
the  practice  of  his  profession  here  in  partner- 
ship with  W.  D.  Webb.  In  the  spring  of  1870 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  Thomas  Lowry, 
which  continued  until  June  i,  1872.  when  he 
was  appointed  judge  of  the  court  of  common 
pleas.  This  court  had  recently  been  establish.ed 
by  the  legislature,  and  in  November  of  the  same 
year  Judge  Young  was  elected  for  a  term  of  five 


years.  In  1877  the  Legislature  united  the  dis- 
trict court  and  the  court  of  common  pleas  and 
Judge  Young  was  transferred  to  the  district 
bench  and  was  continued  in  that  ofhce  until  i8c)0, 
when  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  Minne- 
apolis, forming  a  partnership  with  Frank  M.  Nye. 
That  firm  has  since  been  dissolved,  and  Judge 
Young  is  now  in  partnership  with  Daniel  Fish. 
His  continuance  on  the  bench  for  eighteen  years 
is  in  itself  sufficient  evidence  of  his  ability,  in- 
tegrity and  fidelity  to  his  official  duties.  He  has 
long  occupied  a  pnmiincnt  and  influential  posi- 
tion in  Minneapolis,  where  he  is  esteemed  alike 
for  his  professional  attainments  and  his  high 
character.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but 
on  account  of  his  official  position  has  not  taken 
a  ven,'  active  part  in  party  affairs.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Plymouth  Congregational  Church  and 
one  of  the  officers  of  that  society.  Judge  Young 
was  married  in  1854  to  l\Tiss  ]\rartha  IMartin.  at 
Waukegan,  Illinois.  She  died  in  1868.  He  was 
married  again,  and  again  lost  his  wife  by  death. 
His  present  wife  was  IMiss  Leonora  ^Martin, 
daughter  of  Milton  Martin,  of  Williamstown, 
\^ermont,  to  whom  he  was  married  April  9,  1872. 
He  has  had  five  children,  offspring  of  his  first 
wife,  two  of  whom,  Edgar  A.,  and  Alice  M..  are 
still  living. 


30 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


A.  R.  :^rcGILL. 

Andrew  Ryan  McGill,  Governor  of  Minnesota 
during  the  years  of  1887-88,  is  of  Irish  descent. 
His  father,  Charles  Dillon  McGill,  was  tlie  young- 
est son  of  Patrick  McGill,  who  came  from 
County  Antrim,  Ireland,  about  1774.  He  served 
in  the  struggle  for  independence,  and  after  the 
war  was  over  settled  in  Northumberland  County, 
Pennsylvania.  With  his  wife  and  family  emi- 
grating in  1800  to  the  western  part  of  the  state, 
he  there  secured  several  hundred  acres  of  land 
in  what  was  subsequently  organized  as  Crawford 
County.  This  became  the  home  of  the  McGills. 
The  first  house  was  erected  on  the  sight  of  Saeger- 
town,  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born, 
Feb.  19,  1840.  Charles  Dillon  McGill  married 
Angelina  Martin,  of  Waterford,  Pennsylvania, 
daughter  of  Armand  Martin,  a  soldier  of  the  war 
of  1812  and  granddaughter  of  Charles  Martin, 
a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and  after  the 
war  an  officer  of  the  Second  United  States 
infantry,  Init  Andrew's  mother  died  when 
her  son  was  but  7  years  of  age,  not.  however,  until 
she  had  made  a  deep  impression  upon  his  young 
mind.  She  was  a  woman  of  strong  character 
and  high  Christian  living.  In  1840  Saegertown 
was  a  fiuaint,  retired  village  in  the  secluded  valley 
pf  the  Venango,  almost  a  stranger  to  the  bustle 


and  traffic  of  commerce.      Good  schools,  how- 
ever, had  been  established,  and  Andrew  iMcGill 
was  given  such  educational  advantages  as  was 
afiforded  bv  them.     He  also  attended  Saegertown 
.\cademy,    which    completed    the    schooling   re- 
ceived in  his  youthful  days.     In  1859  he  went  to 
Kentucky  where  he  secured  a  position  as  teacher, 
but  it  was  just  upon  the  outbreak  of  the  war, 
and  Kentucky  did  not  afTord  a  pleasant  place  of 
residence  for  a  man  of  Xorthern  sentiments.     In 
1861,   when   the  war  broke   out,   times   became 
more  turbulent,  and  the  successful  prolongation 
of  educational  work  was  out  of  the  question.    Mr. 
McGill   then   returned   North   and   on   June    10, 
1861,  arrived  in  Minnesota.      His  education  and 
experience    qualified    him    for    the    position    of 
teacher  and  he  was  made  principal  of  the  public 
schools  of  St.  Peter.      But  the  country  was  call- 
ing for  soldiers,  and  in  August,  1862,  he  enlisted 
in    Company    D,   Ninth    Minnesota   ^'olunteers, 
and  became  first  sergeant  in  his  company.      Be- 
fore going  South  his  regiment  was  sent  to  sup- 
press  the   Indian   outrages   of  that  year.      The 
following  year  he  was  discharged  on  account  of 
failing  health,  and  soon  after  was  elected  County 
Superintendent    of   public    schools    for    Nicollet 
County,  and  filled  the  position  two  terms.      In 
1865  and  1866  he  edited  the  St.  Peter  Trilnme, 
a  paper  which  he  continued  to  publish  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  afterward.     He  was  also  elected  clerk 
of  the  district  court  of  Nicollet  County  which 
position  he  held  for  four  years  devoting  much  of 
his  time  to  the  study  of  law  under  the  direction 
of  Hon.  Horace  Austin  by  w-hom  he  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  1868.     Two  years  later  Jvidge 
Austin  became  governor  of  this  state,  and   Mr. 
McGill  was  appoited  his  private  secretary.      In 
1873  he  was  chosen  for  the  office  of  Insurance 
Commissioner  for  the  state  and  discharged  the 
duties  of  the  office  for  thirteen  years  with  great 
efficiency,  his  reports  being  accepted  as  among 
the  most  valuable  issued   on   that   subject.      In 
1886  Mr.   McGill  was  nominated   for  the  office 
of  Governor  by  the  Republicans.     It  was  a  crit- 
ical time  for  his  party;  the  temperance  question 
cut  a  large  figure,  and  the  Republican  i)arty  had 
declared  in  favor  of  local  option  and  high  license. 
This   was   sufficient  to  array   all    Prohibitionists 
against  the  j)arty  and    enlist  all   friends   of  the 
saloon    solidly    against    the    Republican    ticket. 
Governor  McGill  was  a  young  man  of  unassail- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


31 


able  character  and  conducted  his  campaign  upon 
a  dignified  plan.  lie  had  for  an  opponent  Dr. 
A.  A.  Ames,  of  Minneapolis,  who  had  no  dififi- 
culty  in  securing  the  support  of  all  the  liquor 
interests.  However,  Mr.  McGill  was  elected,  and 
the  records  of  his  term  of  office  show  much 
accomplished.  Of  the  important  measures 
enacted  during  his  term  of  office  were  the  high 
license  law,  the  railroad  laws  relating  to  transpor- 
tation, storage,  wheat  grading  watering  of  rail- 
road stock,  etc.  The  temperance  legislation  was 
materially  strengthened.  Amendments  simplify- 
ing the  tax  laws,  regulating  the  control  of  the 
liquor  traffic,  abolishing  contracts  detrimental  to 
labor,  establishing  the  Soldiers'  Home  and  the 
bureau  of  labor  statistics  were  passed,  the  state 
reformatory  was  established  and  other  measures 
of  importance  were  undertaken  during  his  ad- 
ministration. On  his  retirement  from  office  at 
the  end  of  his  two  years'  term,  he  organized  the 
St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  Trust  Company  (now 
Northern  Trust  Company),  of  which  he  is  pres- 
ident. Mr.  McGill  is  a  resident  of  St. 
Anthony  Park,  a  suburb  of  St.  Paul,  where 
he  has  a  pleasant  home.  He  has  been  married 
twice.  His  first  wife  was  Eliza  E.  Bryant,  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  S.  Bryant,  a  lawyer  and  an  author 
of  some  prominence.  She  died  in  1877,  survived 
by  two  sons  and  one  daughter,  Charles  H,,  Robert 
C.  and  Lida  B.  In  1880  Governor  McGill  mar- 
ried Mary  E.  Wilson,  daughter  of  Dr.  J.  C.  Wil- 
son, of  Edinborough,  Pennsylvania,  Her  children 
are  two  sons,  Wilson  and  Thomas. 


THOMAS  DILLON  O'BRIEN. 

Thomas  Dillon  O'Brien  is  a  lawyer  in 
St.  Paul.  His  father,  Dillon  O'Brien,  was  an 
author  and  lecturer.  His  mother's  maiden  naiue 
was  Elizabeth  Kelly.  His  ancestors  on  both  his 
father's  and  mother's  side  were  Irish;  people  of 
education  and  good  standing.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born  at  La  Point,  Madeline  Island, 
Lake  Superior,  Wisconsin,  February  14,  1850.  In 
1863  he  with  his  parents  moved  to  St.  Anthony, 
Minnesota,  and  after  a  residence  there  of  two 
years  went  to  St.  Paul.  Thomas  attended  the  com- 
mon   schools,    but    was    also    assisted     in    his 


education  by  instruction  received  from  his  par- 
ents. In  April,  1877,  he  began  the  study  of  law  with 
Young  &  Newell,  at  St.  Paul.  After  three  years' 
application  to  his  studies  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  by  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  on  the  17th 
of  April,  1880.  Shortly  afterwards  he  became  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  O'Brien,  Eller  &  O'Brien, 
composed  of  John  D.  O'Brien,  Homer  C.  Eller 
and  T.  D.  O'Brien.  Subsequently  he  withdrew 
from  the  firm  and  formed  a  co-partnership  with 
his  brother,  C.  D.  O'Brien,  under  the  firm  name 
of  C.  D.  and  T.  D.  O'Brien.  Mr.  O'Brien  w^as  as- 
sistant city  attorney  of  St.  Paul  for  several  years, 
while  W.  P.  Murray  held  the  office  of  city  attor- 
,  ney.  He  was  elected  county  attorney  of  Ramsey 
County  in  1890,  and  served  from  January  i,  1891, 
to  January  i,  1893,  when  he  returned  to  his  pri- 
vate practice,  having  declined  a  re-election.  Mr. 
O'Brien  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  militia 
of  the  state,  and  was  for  two  years  captain  of  Bat- 
tery "A,"  of  the  Minnesota  National  Guard.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  an  active  partici- 
pant in  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of  his  party. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
Mr.  O'Brien  was  married  April  24,  1888.  at  Phil- 
adelphia, to  Miss  Mary  Cruice,  daughter  of  Dr. 
W.  R.  Cruice,  of  that  cit^^  They  have  four 
children,  Nellie,  Dillon,  Louise  and  William  R. 


32 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


LOREX    WARREN    COLLINS. 

Loren  Warren  Collins  is  associate  jus- 
tice of  the  supreme  court.  Mr.  Collins  is  of  New 
England  birth,  and  traces  his  ancestry  back  to 
the  early  settlers  of  that  section.  He  was  born 
August  7,  1838,  at  Lowell,  Mass.  He  attended  the 
common  schools  and  the  high  school,  but  never 
enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  college  education. 
This  did  not  prevent  him,  however,  from  becom- 
ing a  member  of  the  supreme  court  and  one  of 
the  leading  lawyers  of  this  state.  Judge  Collins' 
father  was,  for  many  years,  an  overseer  at  the  cot- 
ton factories  in  Lowell  and  Chicopee,  Mass.  The 
family  moved  from  Lowell  to  Chicopee  in  1840, 
when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  only  two 
years  old.  They  transferred  themselves  again 
from  Chicopee  to  Pahncr  in  1851.  In  1853  the 
family  came  to  Minnesota,  locating  on  Eden 
Prairie,  Hennepin  County,  and  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. Jvulgc  Collins  had  (|ualificd  himself  for  the 
work  of  a  teacher,  and  his  first  money  was  earned 
as  a  teacher  of  a  country  school  near  Cannon 
I'alls  in  the  winter  of  1859  and  t86o.  ITc  taught 
four  months  for  $60  and  board.  In  1859  Judge 
Collins  began  the  study  f)f  law  with  the  firm  of 
Smith,  .Smith  &  Crosby,  at  Hastings.  He  cidislcd 
in  1862  in  the  Seventh  Minnesota  infantry.  These 
were  troublous  times  on  the  borders,  and  in  1862 


and   1863  Mr.  Collins  served  in    the    campaign 
against  the  Sioux  Indians.    The  Indian  campaign 
being  concluded,  his  regiment  was   sent  South 
in  the  fall  of  1863,  Judge  Collins  going  with  it  and 
serving  with  it  to  the  end  of  the  war  in  the  Third 
Brigade,  First  Division,  Sixteenth  Army  Corps. 
He  was  mustered  out  as  first  lieutenant,  August 
12.  1865.   On  his  return  from  the  war  he  resumed 
the  practice  of  law  at  St.  Cloud  in  May,  1866.    In 
1868  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Charles  D. 
Kerr,  which  lasted  until   1872,  when  Col.   Kerr 
moved  to  St.  Paul.    In  1879  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  Theodore  Bruener,  which  was  dissolved 
in  1881.    Judge  Collins  has  always  taken  an  ac- 
tive interest  in  politics  and  has  held  a  number  of 
important  public  positions.    He  was  a  member  of 
the  legislature  in  1881  and  1883,  and  judge  of  the 
district  court  in  1883  to  1887,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed justice  of  the  supreme  court  by  the  gov- 
ernor to  succeed  Justice  Berry.    He  was  elected 
in    1888  and  has  been  on    the    supreme    bench 
ever      since.        While  serving    in     the     legisla- 
ture in  1881,  he  was  chairman     of    the     normal 
school  committee  and  a  member  of  the  judiciary 
committee.       In    1883   he  was   chairman  of  the 
finance  committee,  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
temperance  legislation  and  a  member  of  the  judi- 
ciary committee.    At  the  extra  session  of  1881  he 
was  one  of  the  board  of  managers  on  the  part  of 
the  house  in  the  impeachment  of  Judge  Cox.    He 
was  elected  county  attorney  of  Stearns  county 
for  several  years  prior  to  1 881,  and  held  the  office 
of  mayor  of  St.  Cloud  in  1876,  'jj,  '78  and  '80. 
When  elected  associate  justice  of  the    supreme 
court  in  1888,  he  ran  against  George  W.  Batch- 
elder,  a  Democrat,  and  his  majority  was  46,432, 
the  largest  received  up  to  that  time  by  any  can- 
didate on  the  state  ticket,  but  in  1894  he  increased 
it  to  49,684  over  John  W.  Willis,  who  was  nom- 
inated by  both  the  Populists  and  the  Democrats. 
This    is    the    greatest    majority    ever    received 
by    any    candidate    on    a    state    ticket.      Judge 
Collins    is    a    member    of    the    Masonic    order, 
of  the  G.  A.  R.,  and  the  Loyal  Legion.     lie  be- 
longs to  the  Unitarian  church,  and  was  married 
September  4,  1878,  to  Ella  M.  Stewart,  at  Berlin, 
Wisconsin.     His  wife  died  IMay  31  1894.    Judge 
Collins'  residence  is  at  St.  Cloud.    He  has  three 
children  living,  Stewart  Garfield,  Louis  Loren  and 
Loren  Fletcher. 


PKOGRKSSIVK  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


33 


CUSHMAN  KELLOGG  DAVIS. 

Cushiiian  Kellogg  Davis  is  the  senior 
senator  of  Minnesota  in  the  senate  of  the  United 
States.  He  is  a  descendant  of  Thomas  Cushnian 
and  his  wife,  Mary  Allerton.  She  was  the  last 
survivor  of  those  who  came  in  the  Mayflower. 
Thomas  was  the  son  of  Robert  Cnshman, 
the  I'nritan,  wlio  was  tlic  financial  agent 
who  lilted  out  the  .Mayflower  and  the 
Speedwell,  and  who  was  largely  instrumental  in 
procuring  the  Massachu.setts  grants  from  King 
James  L  His  fathei,  Horation  Nelson  Davis, 
and  his  mother,  aged  respectively  eighty-five  and 
eighty-two,  live  with  him  in  St.  Paul.  He, 
H.  N.  Davis,  served  for  nearly  four  years 
as  a  captain  in  the  ^Var  of  the  Rebellion. 
He  was  a  state  senator  from  Rock  County,  Wis- 
consin, for  several  years,  and  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  that  state,  having  removed  there  from 
New  York  in  1838.  His  wife,  Clarissa  Cushman 
(Davis)  was  a  direct  descendant  of  Robert  Cush- 
man. Senator  Davis  was  born  at  Henderson, 
New  York,  June  16,  1838.  He  first  went  to  school 
in  a  log  school  house  at  Waukesha,  Wisconsin,  to 
which  place  his  parents  removed  when  he  was 
a  child.  Subsequently  he  attended  Carroll  Col- 
lege, at  the  same  place,  completing  the  junior 
year,  after  which  he  entered  the  University  of 
Michigan,  where  he  graduated  in  1857,  in  the 
classical  course.  When  he  was  in  college  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Delta  Phi  fraternity.  In  1862 
Mr.  Davis  enlisted  in  the  army  and  was  made 
first  lieutenant  in  Company  B,  of  the  Twenty- 
eighth  Wisconsin  Infantry.  He  sensed  in  the 
Vicksburg  campaign,  and  in  that  in  which  Little 
Rock  was  taken.  \Vhile  his  military  career  was 
not  particularly  eventful  he  was  always  on  duty 
and  has  an  enviable  record  as  a  brave  soldier. 
In  1864,  after  having  served  nearly  three  years 
in  the  war  and  being  very  nuich  broken  in  health 
on  account  of  the  hardships  of  the  service,  he 
came  to  Minnesota  in  search  of  health  and  was 
successful.  He  settled  in  St.  Paul  and  began  the 
practice  of  law.  He  had  no  influential  friends 
to  advance  his  interests,  and  owes  his  success  to 
his  natural  abilities,  to  his  professional  equipment 
and  to  his  fidelity  to  his  clients.  He  obtained  his 
professional  start  in  this  state  in  defending,  in 
St.  Paul,  in  1866,  George  L.  Van  Solen,  on  the 


charge  of  murder.  This  was  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting cases  of  circumstantial  evidence  ever 
tried,  but  Mr.  Davis  was  skillful,  and  his  client 
was  acquitted.  In  1878  occurred  the  famous  im- 
peachment trial  of  Judge  Sherman  Page,  before 
the  senate  of  Minnesota.  Mr.  Davis  was  em- 
ployed to  defend  Judge  Page,  and  had  associated 
with  him  Hon.  John  A.  Lovely,  of  Albert  Lea, 
and  Hon.  J.  W.  Losey,  of  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin. 
Judge  Page  was  acquitted.  Senator  Davis  has 
been  actively  engaged  in  his  legal  practice  nearly 
all  the  time  since  his  residence  in  the  state,  ex- 
cept when  his  public  duties  required  his  atteii- 
tion,  and  has  been  engaged  on  one  side  or  the 
other  of  a  great  deal  of  the  most  important  liti- 
gation in  the  history  of  Minnesota.  But  in  all  his 
practice,  he  has  never  received  a  salary  from 
anv  corporation,  but  has  tried  cases  for  and 
against  corporations,  the  first  side  to  apply 
for  his  services  being  the  one  on  which 
he  appeared.  He  is  senior  member  of  the 
firm  of  Davis,  Kellogg  &  Severance.  Sen- 
ator Davis  has  always  been  a  Republican,  and  his 
first  political  preferment  was  as  a  member  of  the 
Minnesota  House  of  Representatives  in  1867.  In 
1868  he  was  appointed  L^nitcd  States  district  at- 
torney, and  held  that  ofifice  until  1873  when  he 
resigned  to  accept  the  nomination  for  governor. 


34 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


He  made  his  campaign  en  an  issue  which  he  was 
largely  instrumental  in  bringing  to  the  front  in 
this  state — the  right  of  the  state  to  regulate  rail- 
road rates  for  passengers  and  freight  by  legisla- 
tion. He  recommended  such  legislation  in  his  mes- 
sage to  the  legislature  and  a  statute  to  that  effect 
was  passed  during  his  term,  was  signed  by  him 
and  duly  enforced.  Senator  Davis  declined  a  re- 
nomination  for  governor  and  upon  the  expiration 
of  his  term  of  office  returned  to  the  practice  of 
his  profession.  He  took  an  active  part,  how- 
ever, in  every  political  campaign  until  1887,  when 
he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  .senate  by  the 
unanimous  vote  of  his  party.  He  was  re-elected 
in  1893,  ^"d  is  now  serving  his  second  term  in 
the  senate  of  the  United  States.  He  was  chair- 
man of  the  pension  committee  during  his  entire 
first  term  in  the  senate,  and  was  chiefly  instru- 
mental in  preparing  and  securing  the  passage  of 
the  present  pension  law,  which  is  so  just  to  the 
government  and  the  soldiers  as  to  have  practically 
terminated  the  agitation  for  pension  legislation. 
One  of  the  most  important  services  rendered  to 
his  constituents  by  Senator  Davis  was  his  cham- 
pionship of  the  improvement  of  the  "Soo"  canal. 
About  five  years  ago  tlie  necessity  of  larger 
locks  and  a  deeper  chaimel  there  became  impera- 
tive, owing  to  the  greatly  increased  traffic.  The 
usual  practice,  since  the  foundation  of  the  gov- 
ernment, of  paying  for  government  work,  has 
been  by  annual  appropriation,  each  year's  \vork 
being  covered  in  separate  and  generally  insuffi- 
cient appropriations,  causing  a  delay,  some  times 
of  a  year  and  sometimes  longer,  for  additional 
appropriations.  Senator  Davis  conceived  the 
idea  that  such  an  important  work  as  this  should 
be  done  by  contract,  made  in  advance  of  the 
appropriation,  the  contractor  relying  upon  the 
pledge  of  the  government  to  be  paid  as  the 
work  progressed.  His  idea  was  adopted;  tlie 
work  is  now  nearly  completed,  deepening  the 
channel  from  15  to  20  feet,  and  securing  this  re- 
sult in  a  reasonable  time.  It  is  unnecessary  lure 
to  enlarge  upon  the  importance  of  this  work  to 
the  commercial  and  agricultural  interests  of  the 
Northwest.  For  four  years  Mr.  Davis  has  been  on 
the  foreign  relations  committee,  and  last  year 
made  a  speech  criticising  the  policy  of  the  Cleve- 
land   administration    respecting    Hawaii,    which 


attracted  general  and  favorable  attention.  His 
speech  on  the  questions  at  issue  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  respecting  Vene- 
zuela, laid  down  the  lines  upon  which  the  recent 
treaty  between  Great  Britain  and  \'enezuela  was 
formed.  He  also  discussed  the  general  foreign 
policy  of  the  administration  in  the  North  Amer- 
ican Review  a  few  months  ago.  Some 
three  years  ago  he  advocated  in  the  Forum  the 
construction  of  locks  around  the  falls  of  Niagara 
and  the  opening  of  a  deep  waterway  from  the 
head  of  Lake  Superior  to  the  Atlantic.  He  has 
been  a  member,  and  is  now  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  territories  since  he  became  a  senator,  and 
took  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  admissionof  thetwo 
Dakotas.  He  is  a  member  of  the  senate  commit- 
tees on  judiciary,  census,  foreign  relations.  Pacific 
railroads,  territories  and  forest  reservations.  He 
is  recognized  as  one  of  the  ablest  men  of  that 
body,  and  no  public  utterance  in  the  halls  of 
congress  in  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  has 
attracted  more  attention  or  fired  the  public  heart 
with  a  feeling  of  loyalty  toward  institutions  more 
than  his  famous  reply  to  Senator  Peffer  in  de- 
fense of  the  president  in  the  exercise  of  his  power 
for  the  suppression  of  violence  and  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  dignity  and  honor  of  the  govern- 
ment at  the  time  of  the  Chicago  riots  in  1894. 
Senator  Davis  is  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic,  and,  while  not  a  member  of  any 
church,  his  affiliations  have  always  been  with  the 
Congregational  body.  He  was  married  in 
1880  to  Anna  Malcolm  Agnew,  of  St.  Paul. 


CHARLES    A.    SMLfH. 

Charles  A.  Smith  is  a  good  sample  of 
what  a  resolute,  industrious,  intelligent  boy, 
unaided  by  fortune  or  friends,  can  accomplish  in 
commercial  life  in  the  Northwest.  He  is  the  son 
of  a  soldier  in  the  regular  army  of  Sweden,  and 
was  born  December  nth,  1852,  in  the  County  of 
Ostergottland,  Sweden.  After  thirty-three  years 
service  in  the  army,  his  father,  in  the  spring  of 
1867,  left  .Sweden  with  Charles  and  an  elder  sister 
and  came  to  America,  arriving  in  Minneapolis 
on  the  28th  of  June.  Two  older  brothers  had 
already  preceded  them  and  were  located  here. 
Charles'  education  commenced  in  a  small  country 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


35 


school  in  Swctlcn,  where  more  importance  was 
attached  to  conimitting-  the  catechism  and  Biljle 
history  to  memory  than  to  writinjj  and  tlie 
knowledge  of  mathematics.  Mis  first  lessons  in 
English  were  taken  in  a  small  log  school  honse 
in  Wright  County.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  in 
this  city  from  the  old  country  aiTangements 
were  made  for  him  to  make  his  home  with  a 
fanner  living  in  IJU'  snuthiTn  part  of  what  is  now 
the  city  of  Minneapolis,  near  the  Milwaukee  rail- 
road shops.  He  was  to  work  for  his  board  ami 
clothing,  and  was  em|ilii\i'd  chiclly  in  tending 
cattle.  While  thus  employed  on  the  farm  he 
picked  a  large  quantity  of  hazelnuts.which  he  sold 
for  seven  dollars,  loaning  the  niiine\'  to  his  broth- 
er at  ten  per  cent.  This  was  the  first  money  he 
had  ever  earned.    He  had  made  good  use  of  his 


time  also  in   studv,  and 


th 


.f    1872   h 


entered  the  State  L'niversity  with  the  intention  of 
taking  the  regular  course.  He  a]Ji)lied  himself 
very  closelv  to  his  studies  and  his  health  soon 
failed,  so  that  lie  was  obliged  to  leave  school  at 
the  end  of  the  first  year.  In  1873  he  obtained 
employment  in  the  general  hardware  store  of 
J.  S.  Pillsbury  &  Co.,  of  this  city,  where  he  con- 
tinued for  five  years.  He,  then,  in  the  fall  of 
1878,  witli  the  assistance  of  ex-Gov.  Pillsbury, 
built  a  grain  elevator  at  Herman,  Minnesota,  and 
under  the  name  of  C.  A.  Smith  &  Co.  he 
continued  the  grain  and  lumber  business  there 
until  Tnlv,  I8'^4,  when  arrangements  were  made 
to  begin  the  manufacturing  and  wholesaling  of 
lumber  in  Minneapolis.  He  again  took  up  his 
residence  in  this  city,  and  the  partnership  with  ex- 
Gov.  Pillsbury  was  continued  until  181)3,  at  which 
time  the  C.  A.  Smith  Lumber  Comijany  was  in- 
corporated, of  which  Mr.  .Smith  is  the  president 
and  general  manager.  In  addition  to  the  saw 
mill  and  lumber  manufacturing  l)usiness  of  this 
city,  this  company  has  the  controlling  interest  in 
a  number  of  retail  lumber  yards  and  general 
stores  in  different  parts  of  the  state  and  in  North 
and  .South  Dakota.  ■Nfr.  Smith  says  the  secret 
of  his  success  has  been  his  adoption  of  Franklin's 
advice,  which  he  learned  with  his  first  English 
lessons,  viz.,  ''To  take  care  of  the  pennies,  and  the 
dollars  will  take  care  of  themselves."  He  has 
tried  to  follow  that  advice  ever  since  he  sold  his 


hazelnuts  in  the  fall  of  1867.  l'>ut  Mr.  Smith's 
activities  have  not  been  confined  to  the  firm,  of 
which  he  is  a  member.  He  was  one  of  the  incor- 
porators of  the  Swedish-American  National 
Bank,  the  Security  Savings  and  Loan  Associa- 
tion, and  other  enterprises  in  this  city  and  else- 
where. Like  most  Swedish  Americans,  Mr. 
.Smith  is  a  Keiniblican  in  politics,  and  devotes  as 
much  attention  to  it  as  his  business  will  ]:)ermit. 
He  has  never  held  any  office  or  asked  for  any,  but 
is  prominent  in  the  counsels  of  his  party,  having 
been  a  member  of  city,  county,  state  and  national 
conventions.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Englisii 
Lutheran  Salem  Congregation,  of  Minneapolis: 
one  of  its  organizers  and  one  of  its  trustees.  Ho 
is  also  a  member  of  the  board  of  flirectors  of  the 
English  Lutheran  seminary,  of  Chicago,  and  is 
treasurer  of  the  l^vangelical  Lutheran  Synod  of 
the  Northwest.  He  was  married  February  14th. 
1878,  to  I(>lianna  .\iidersnn,  a  daughter  of  Olaf 
.Vndersdii,  who.  after  serving  in  the  Swedish 
riksdag  for  a  number  of  years,  emigrated  with 
his  faniil\-  to  this  country  in  1857.  and  located  in 
Carver  county.  Mr.  .^mith  has  five  children,  two 
boys  and  three  girls.  Nanna  .\..  .\ddie  J.,  Myrtle 
E.,  \'ernon  A.  and  Cam  ill  W. 


36 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OP  MINNESOTA. 


NATHAN    CURTIS    KINGSLEY. 

Nathan  Curtis  Kingsley  is  a  resident  of 
Austin,  Minn.,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  His  father,  Alonzo  Kingsley,  is  a 
carpenter  by  trade,  who  enlisted  in  August,  1862, 
as  a  private  soldier  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  an<.l 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war  in  the  Fifteenth 
and  Tenth  Illinois  Cavalry.  Alonzo  Kingsley 
was  a  lineal  descendant  of  one  of  three  brothers 
who  emigrated  from  England  in  the  early  Colonial 
days  and  settled  in  \'ermont,  and  his  grand  father, 
Wareham  Kingsley,  w-as  a  private  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  War.  Alonzo  Kingslcy's  wife  was 
Marilla  Cecelia  Pierson,  a  direct  descendant  of 
Stephen  Pier.son,  who  emigrated  from  England  in 
1656  and  settled  at  New  Haven,  Conn.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  boni  at  Sharcjn,  Litchfield 
County,  Conn.,  September  10,  1850.  His  family 
removed  to  Illinois  not  long  afterward,  and  Na- 
than received  his  early  education  in  the  country 
district  schools.  His  first  money  was  earned  as 
a  farm  laborer  in  La  Salle  County,  111.  In  March, 
1869,  he  came  to  Minnesota  and  was  employed 
as  a  farm  laborer  near  Chatficld.  In  1870  he 
leanied  the  miller's  trade  and  worked  at  that 
business  in  Olmsted  County  until  1874,  when  he 
went  to   Rushford,  Minn.,  continuing  his  trade 


there  until  February,  1877.  While  working  as  a 
miller  he  began  the  study  of  law,  and  in  Novem- 
ber, 1876,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  though  he  did 
not  give  up  his  trade  until  some  time  afterward. 
In  February,  1877,  he  formed  a  partnership  for 
the  practice  of  law  with  C.  N.  Enos,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Enos  &  Kingsley,  and  opened  an 
office  at  Rushford,  where  he  remained  until  De- 
cember, 1878.  He  then  dissolved  the  partnership 
with  Mr.  Enos  and  removed  to  Chatfield,  where 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  R.  A.  Case.  He 
continued  the  practice  of  law  at  Chatfield  until 
April,  1887,  when  he  removed  to  Austin,  where 
he  now  resides.  While  a  resident  of  Fillmore 
County,  in  1880  he  was  elected  county  attorney, 
and  in  1882  was  re-elected.  Although  solicited 
to  accept  a  renomination  in  1884  he  declined  to 
be  a  candidate.  After  dissolving  partnership  with 
Mr.  Case  he  formed  a  partnership  with  R.  E. 
Shepherd,  which  association  still  continues.  From 
June,  1879,  until  his  removal  from  Chatfield,  he 
was  president  of  the  board  of  education  of  that 
town.  Mr.  Kingsley  has  been  identified  with  con- 
siderable ven,-  important  litigation  and  has  been 
instrumental  in  establishing  some  important  prin- 
ciples of  law.  Among  other  things  the  fact  that 
a  bank  certificate  of  deposit  in  the  ordinary  form 
is,  in  substance  and  legal  effect,  a  promissory 
note,  and  that  no  demand  is  necessary  in  order 
to  set  the  statute  of  limitations  running  against 
it  (Mitchell  vs.  Easton,  37  Minn.  335"):  also  that 
the  legislature  may  provide  for  constructive  serv- 
ice of  process  in  actions  to  dctcrniine  adverse 
claims  to  real  estate  where  personal  service  is 
impracticable,  and  may  clothe  the  district  court 
with  power  to  adjudicate  the  title  and  ownership 
of  real  property  upon  such  constructive  service 
(Shcpard  vs.  Ware,  46  Minn.,  174):  also  that 
Chapter  196,  of  the  Laws  of  1887,  relating  to  the 
sale  of  foreign-grown  nursery  stock  in  Minne- 
sota, is  in  violation  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  as  being  an  attempt  to  regulate 
commerce  among  the  states  and  depriving  citi- 
zens of  other  states  of  the  privileges  and  immuni- 
ties of  citizens  of  this  state.  Mr.  Kingsley  is  a 
Republican  in  politics,  and  has  taken  an  active 
part  in  public  affairs  for  the  last  fifteen  years.  For 
four  years  he  was  a  mcmbcr-at-large  of  the  State 
Republican  Central  Committee,  and  of  the  exec- 


rKOGKKSSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


37 


utive  committee  of  that  body.  He  has  been  a 
delegate  to  nearly  all  the  state  conventions  for 
the  last  ten  years,  and  to  nearly  all  other  con- 
ventions in  which  his  county  has  been  interested. 
He  has  been  a  h'ree  Mason  for  nearly  twenty- 
four  years,  and  is  a  nieniijcr  of  a  number  of 
lodges  of  that  order;  also  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W., 
the  K.  of  P.,  the  Elks  and  the  Masonic  Veterans' 
Association.  He  has  also  laid  important  offices 
in  the  order  of  Masonry,  and  in  1886  was  Grand 
High  Priest  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Minnesota. 
He  is  at  present  General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Cap- 
tain of  the  G.  G.  R.  A.  C  of  the  United  .States. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church.  Mr.  Kingsley  was  married  January  14, 
1873,  to  Miss  Clara  .Smith,  a  native  of  New  \'ork. 
They  have  one  child,  Cora  Marilla. 


GEORGE  BECKER  EDGERTON. 

George  Becker  Edgerton  is  the  assistant 
attorney  general  of  Minnesota,  and  resides 
in  St.  Paul.  His .  father,  A.  J.  Edgerton,  was 
the  United  States  district  judge  of  the  district  of 
South  Dakota.  Judge  Edgerton  was  appointed 
chief  justice  of  the  Territory  of  Dakota  by  Presi- 
dent Arthur,  in  1881,  at  which  time  he  was  a 
resident  of  Dodge  County,  JMinnesota,  having 
lived  there  since  1855.  When  Hon.  William 
Windom  left  the  senate  to  take  a  position  in  the 
cabinet  of  President  Garfield,  Governor  Pillsbury 
appointed  Judge  Edgerton  to  fill  Mr.  Windom's 
unexpired  term.  Judge  Edgerton's  wife  was 
Sarah  C.  Curtis.  Three  of  his  ancestors  served  in 
the  Revolutionary  War,  two  as  privates  by  the 
name  of  Palmer,  and  one  by  the  name  of  White, 
who  held  the  rank  of  captain,  and  was  taken  pris- 
oner and  conveyed  to  Canada.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born  at  Mantorville,  Dodge 
County,  Minnesota,  June  11,  1857.  He  attended 
private  and  public  schools  in  his  native  town, 
and  attended  Lawrence  University,  Appleton, 
Wisconsin,  from  1872  till  1875.  I"  the  fall  of 
1877  he  entered  his  father's  law  office  and  studied 
with  him  two  years.  He  then  attended  lectures 
in  1879  and  1880  at  the  Columbia  Law  School, 
of  New  York  City.  In  June  of  1880  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  the  Fifth  judicial  district  of 
Minnesota,  and  formed  a  partnership  with  his 
father.  In  1884  he  was  elected  county  attorney 
of  Dodge  County,  serving  one  term.     He  con- 


tinued the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Dodge 
County  until  April  i,  1890,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed assistant  United  States  district  attorney 
and  removed  to  St.  I'aul.  In  January,  1893,  he 
resigned  that  position  to  accept  the  office  of  as- 
sistant attorney  general,  tendered  him  by  Hon. 
H.  W.  Childs,  which  office  he  still  holds.  In 
these  several  public  positions  JNlr.  Edgerton  has 
been  engaged  in  a  number  of  very  important 
cases.  His  private  practice  has  also  been  pros- 
perous and  successful.  He  is  at  present  a  mem- 
ber of  the  law  firm  of  Edgerton  &  Wickwire,  of 
St.  Paul.  Mr.  Edgerton  has  always  been  a  Re- 
publican, and  has  taken  an  active  part  in  different 
campaigns.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republican 
national  convention  ni  1888  from  the  First  Con- 
gressional district  of  diis  state,  and  in  that  cam- 
paign took  an  active  part  on  the  stump.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Church  Club,  of  the  Diocese  of 
Minnesota,  an  Episcopal  organization;  also  a 
member  of  the  Connnercial  Club,  of  St.  Paul,  and 
the  Masonic  Order.  He  was  married  July  ii, 
1883,  to  Josie  A.  Godwin  of  Appleton,  Wiscon- 
sin. They  have  had  five  children,  ^largaret  God- 
win, Lillian  Clark,  Katharine  Godwin,  Josephine 
Godwin  and  George  Godwin,  all  of  whom  are 
living,  except  Katharine.  Mr.  Edgerton  as  a 
boy  learned  the  value  of  self-reliance,  and  has  to 
a  great  degree  been  the  architect  of  his  own 
fortunes. 


38 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


LOREX  FLETCHER. 

Loren  Fletcher  is  the  representative  of 
the  Fifth  district  of  Minnesota  in  the  congress  of 
the  United  States,  and  is  now  serving  his  second 
term  in  that  body.  He  is  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  MinneapoHs,  his  identification  with  the  city 
dating  back  to  1856,  when  as  a  young  man  of 
twenty-three  he  brought  his  newly  wedded  wife 
to  the  rural  village  of  St.  Anthony  and  made  his 
home  there.  His  father,  Capt.  Levi  Fletcher,  was 
a  prosperous  farmer  in  the  town  of  Mount  Ver- 
non, Kennebec  County,  i\laine,  where  he  lived  in 
a  state  of  comparative  prosperity,  giving  his  four 
sons  and  two  daughters  the  best  educational  ad- 
vantages which  the  neighborhood  afforded.  Loren 
was  the  fourth  son,  and  was  born  April  10,  1833. 
The  usual  attendance  at  the  village  school  was 
supplemented  by  two  years  at  Kent's  Hill  Semi- 
nary. At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  had  determined 
to  learn  a  mechanical  trade,  but  a  short  experience 
as  a  stone  cutter  satisfied  him  that  a  mercantile 
life  was  more  to  his  taste.  So  he  went  to  Bangor, 
where  he  obtained  a  situation  as  a  clerk  in  a  shoe 
store,  and  where  he  remained  for  three  years. 
Although  earning  but  small  wage.s,  he  had  already 
acquired  habits  of  thrift  and  economy,  and  with 
his  savings  he  sought  new  fields  of  activity  in 
the  West.  After  a  few  months  spent  at  Dubuque, 
where  the  prospects  did  not  appear  inviting,  he 


joined  the  tide  of  inmiigration  to  Minnesota,  and 
arrived  at  St.  Anthony  in  the  summer  of  1856. 
He  found  temporary  employment  as  a  clerk  in  a 
store,  and  the  loUowing  year  entered  the  services 
of  Dorilius  Morrison,  who  was  then  carrying  on 
an  extensive  lumber  business.  Loren  s  occupa- 
tion was  sometimes  in  cliarge  of  lumber  yards  at 
Hastings  and  St.  I'eter;  at  other  times  in  the 
woods  supervising  the  winter's  cut  of  logs,  and 
tlien  on  the  drive,  and  again  in  the  mills  at  the 
falls.  He  was  thus  occupied  for  about  three 
years.  In  i860  he  purchased  an  interest  in  the 
dry  goods  store  of  E.  L.  Allen.  The  following 
year  he  associated  with  himself  in  the  mercantile 
business,  Charles  M.  Loring,  and  the}-  established 
a  general  store  on  the  present  site  of  the  old  city 
hall.  They  dealt  chiefly  in  lumbermen's  sup- 
plies. This  business  was  carried  on  for  more 
tlian  fifteen  years  at  the  same  stand.  It  extended 
liowever,  to  other  lines  of  activity  and  investment, 
uicluding  dealings  in  pine  lands,  in  lumbering,  in 
farm  lands,  iii  contracts,  in  Indian  supplies,  in 
town  and  city  lots  and  finally  in  milling.  In  this 
latter  particular  his  firm  has  been  prominent  for 
man\-  years.  At  first  they  were  interested  with 
the  late  W.  F'.  Cahill;  afterwards  they  were  the 
proprietors  of  the  Galaxy  mill  and  the  iMinne- 
tonka  mills.  Their  business  was  prosperous  and 
both  members  of  the  firm  became  wealthy.  It 
is  a  noteworthy  tribute  to  the  sterling  qualities 
of  Air.  Fletcher  and  Mr.  Loring  that  this  partner- 
ship has  continued  for  thirty-five  years  without  a 
break  and  with  the  completest  cordiality  between 
them.  But  Mr.  Fletcher  has  not  devoted  all  his 
energies  to  the  massing  of  a  fortune  or  the  service 
of  his  own  interests.  For  ten  years  he  was  a 
member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  state  legislature, 
having  been  elected  as  a  Republican  from  Min- 
neapolis, and  during  three  successive  sessions  was 
chosen  speaker  of  the  house;  the  last  time  by  the 
unanimous  vote  of  the  house,  receiving  every 
vote  of  all  parties,  an  instance  of  political 
favor  rare  in  the  history  of  any  state.  His 
services  as  a  member  of  the  legislature  were 
marked  by  distinguished  ability  and  substantial 
benefits  to  his  con.stituency,  a  fact  to  which  his 
long  service  in  that  capacity  bears  the  best  testi- 
mony. After  a  number  of  years  of  retirement 
from  [Hiblic  service  he  entertained  the  laudable 
ambition  to  represent  his  city  in  the  national  con- 
gress,   and    when    Minneapolis    and    Hennei)in 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


39 


County  were  first  constituted  a  district  by  them- 
selves he  was  noniinatetl  Ijy  tlie  RepubHcans  and 
elected  in  i8y2.  lie  was  re-elected  in  1894  by 
a  largely  increased  majority,  and  has  acquired  a 
position  among  his  congressional  colleagues 
which  enables  him  to  be  of  peculiar  service  to 
his  constituents.  j\lr.  Fletcher  is  not  an  orator 
and  maizes  no  pretentions  to  display  on  the  floor 
of  the  housf,  but  his  long  experience  in  legisla- 
tive service,  his  thorough  knowledge  of  affairs, 
his  cai)acity  for  making  friends  among  his  col- 
leagues, and  his  adroit  management  of  the  in- 
terests of  his  district  make  him  a  must  valuable 
member.  The  year  before  coming  West,  Mr. 
Fletcher  married  Amerette  J.  Thomas,  daughter 
of  Capt.  John  Thomas,  (jf  Bar  Flarbor.  Mrs. 
Fletcher  was  a  most  estimai)Ic  lady,  and  the  gentle- 
ness and  kindliness  of  her  character  endeared  her 
to  a  large  circle  of  friends.  The  loss  of  their 
only  child  in  early  girlhood  and  the  death  of 
Mrs.  Fletcher,  in  1892,  were  afflictions  which  have 
borne  heavily  upon  a  strong  and  courageous 
spirit. 


GEORGE  HENRY  PARTRIDGE. 

George  Henry  Partridge,  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Wyman,  Partridge  &  Co.,  whole- 
sale dry  goods  merchants  of  Minneapolis,  is  a 
splendid  example  of  the  wide-awake,  progressive, 
enterprising  and  yet  shrewd  and  judicious  busi- 
ness man.  He  is  the  son  of  George  H.  Part- 
ridge and  Mary  E.  Francis  (Partridge),  and  was 
bom  at  Medford,  Steele  (bounty,  Minnesota, 
August  21,  1856.  His  father  was  a  farmer  who 
responded  to  the  call  of  his  country  when  it  was 
menaced  by  war  and  died  in  the  service.  Mr. 
Partridge's  parents  moved  from  Wisconsin  in  the 
early  days  to  Minnesota,  and  his  education 
was  commenced  in  the  public  schools  of  Steele 
County.  Subsequently  he  graduated  at  the  State 
Normal  School  at  Winona,  and  finally  entered 
the  State  University  of  Minnesota  and  graduated 
with  the  class  of  1879.  During  his  school  years 
he  was  dependent  very  largely  upon  his  own 
resources,  and  displayed  in  that  time  the  pluck 
and  perseverance  which  have  contributed  in  so 
large  a  degree  to  his  remarkable  business  suc- 
cess. Upon  the  conclusion  of  his  university 
course  he  obtained  employment  with  the  firm 
of    Wyman    &   Mullen,    wholesale    dry    goods 


merchants  in  .Minneapolis,  and  was  given  charge 
of  the  department  of  credits.  He  developed  ex- 
traordinary business  capacity  and  made  himself 
invaluable  to  this  firm.  His  ability  and  industry 
were  recognized  in  1890,  when  Mr.  Mullen  re- 
tired on  account  of  ill  health  and  Mr.  Partridge, 
who  had  then  been  nearly  ten  years  in  the  employ 
of  the  firm,  came  in  as  a  partner,  the  style  of  the 
firm  being  Wyman,  Partridge  &  Co.,  and  com- 
posed of  O.  C.  Wyman,  George  H.  Partridge 
and  Samuel  D.  Coykendall.  This  is  the  largest 
wholesale  dry  goods  house  in  the  Northwest,  and 
its  business  has  grown  within  a  decade  from 
half  a  million  a  year  to  probably  ten  times  that 
amount.  Mr.  Partridge  is  a  democrat  and  takes 
an  active  interest  in  local  and  national  politics. 
He  is  relied  upon  by  his  party  for  important 
service  on  committees  and  in  campaign  work, 
and  never  shirks  his  duty  as  a  citizen  in  that 
respect.  Mr.  Partridge  was  married  January  24, 
1882,  to  Adelaide  Wyman,  daughter  of  O.  C. 
Wyman,  and  has  three  children,  Helen,  Marion 
and  Charlotte.  He  is  constantly  strengthening 
his  position  in  business  circles  in  the  Northwest, 
and  not  only  has  already  achieved  a  brilliant 
commercial  career,  but  has  a  prospect  of  still 
greater  success  in  the  future.  This  he  has  ac- 
complished by  his  ability  and  fidelity  in  a  respon- 
sible business  position  and  unaided  by  the  in- 
fluence of  friends  or  the  possession  of  wealth  with 
which  to  pave  the  way. 


40 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ROBERT  GRENAP  EVANS. 

Robert  Grenap  Evans  is  a  lawyer  and 
leading  member  of  the  ^Minneapolis  bar.  His 
ancestry  is  Welsh  and  English,  bnt  both  his 
parents  were  born  in  this  couutr}-,  in  Kentucky. 
His  father,  Joseph  S.  Evans,  in  the  early  '50's, 
while  yet  a  young  man,  went  from  Kentucky  to 
Indiana,  and  located  at  Troy.  He  was  first  em- 
ployed on  a  farm,  but  afterwards  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business,  having  removed  to  Rockport, 
Indiana,  in  1856.  He  continued  in  the  mercantile 
business  until  1874,  except  for  a  few  years,  when 
he  was  engaged  in  farming.  IMore  recently  he  has 
been  in  the  insurance  business  at  Rockport.  At 
Troy  he  married  Mary  C.  Cotton,  a  daughter  of  a 
physician  practicing  his  profession  in  Indiana,  and 
a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  which 
revised  the  constitution  of  that  state  in  1852. 
Robert  Grenap  was  born  while  his  parents  re- 
sided at  Troy,  March  18,  1854.  He  attended  the 
village  schools  of  Rockport  until  his  eighteenth 
year,  when  he  entered  the  sophomore  class  of  the 
state  university  at  Bloomington,  and  completed 
the  junior  year  in  that  institution.  His  inclina- 
tions were  toward  the  law  as  a  profession,  and 
in  187s  he  entered  the  law  ofifiice  of  Charles  L. 
Wedding,  of  Rockport,  and  began  his  legal  edu- 
cation, at  the  same  time  practicing  before  the  jus- 


tice courts  of  Spencer  County.   In  1876  he  was 

admitted  to  the  bar.  He  left  Rockport  soon  after 
and  settled  in  \  incennes,  where  he  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  Judge  F.  W.  Viehe,  which  con- 
tinued until  April,  1884,  when  ]\lr.  Evans  came 
to  Minneapolis.  In  July  of  that  year  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  Judge  Daniel  Eisli,  which  con- 
iinued  until  November,  1887,  when  it  was  dis- 
solved on  account  of  the  retirement  of  Judge  Fish 
from  general  practice  to  become  the  attorney  of 
the  Minnesota  Title  Insurance  Company.  j\lr. 
Evans  then  formed  his  present  business  connec- 
tion with  Messrs.  A.  M.  Keith,  Charles  T. 
Thompson  and  Edwin  K.  Fairchild,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Keith,  Evans,  Thomp- 
son &  Fairchild.  This  firm  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  strongest  in  the  state,  and 
enjoys  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice  of 
a  general  business  character  and  largely  an  office 
practice.  Air.  Evans  was  also  the  local  attorney 
for  the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  &  Omaha  road  from 
the  time  he  came  to  Minneapolis  in  1884  until 
January  i,  1895.  He  is  a  Republican  and  has 
always  taken  an  active  interest  in  politics,  both 
in  Indiana  and  in  Miiuiesota.  He  has  never  sought 
an  office  and  has  never  held  one,  but  has  done  a 
great  deal  of  valuable  and  effective  work  for  his 
party.  He  served  on  the  state  central  committee 
in  Indiana  for  two  years  including  the  campaign  of 
1S80,  but  dechned  reappointment  at  the  end  of 
the  second  year.  He  was  in  Minnesota  when  the 
vigorous  campaign  of  1884  opened,  and,  although 
a  new  arrival,  he  threw  himself  into  the  work  of 
the  campaign  with  the  same  enthusiasm  and  de- 
votion to  the  cause  which  he  has  always  mani- 
fested. He  niade  a  number  of  speeches  in  that 
campaign  and  has  stumped  the  state  at  every  gen- 
eral election  since.  Mr.  Evans  is  a  man  of  rare 
geniality,  courteous  in  his  treatment  of  every  one, 
generous  and  sincere,  and  he  is  the  trusted  frieml 
of  probably  more  public  men  than  any  other  man 
of  the  state.  These  qualities  of  good  fellowship, 
kindliness  and  square  dealing  in  politics,  are  re- 
sponsible for  the  friendly  familiarity  which  has 
caused  him  to  be  known  everywhere  as  "Jjob" 
Evans.  Never  asking  for  political  preferment  for 
himself,  he  is  always  ready  to  sacrifice  his  time 
and  private  interests  to  the  good  of  his  party  aiul 
the  advantage  of  his  political  friends.  He  had 
been    in    the  state  scarcely  two  years  before  he 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN   OF   MINNESOTA. 


41 


was  selected  as  a  nieniber  of  tlic  Republican  state 
central  committee,  assisting  in  the  conduct  of  the 
McGill  campaign  in  1886.  In  December,  1887, 
Senator  Uavis  resigned  from  the  National  Re- 
publican committee  and  Mr.  Evans  was  selected 
to  fill  the  vacancy.  He  was  elected  for  the  period 
of  four  years  again  in  1888,  and  re-elected  in 
1892.  He  has  always  been  an  active  member  of 
the  Union  League,  and  was  president  of  that 
organization  in  1885  and  1886.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Commercial  Club  and  the  Minneapolis 
Club,  and  an  attendant  of  the  jMethodist  Church. 
He  was  married  in  1877  to  Mary  Graham,  at 
Evansville,  Indiana,  and  has  three  children  living, 
Margaret,  Stanley  and  Graham.  His  home  is  in 
the  suburb  of  Kenwood. 


JOHN"  ALBERT  SCHLENER. 

John  Albert  Schlener  is  a  merchant  engaged 
in  the  stationery  trade  in  Minneapolis.  He 
was  born  in  Philadelphia,  February  24,  1856, 
but  his  parents  removed  the  following  year  to 
St.  Anthony,  Minnesota.  His  father,  John  A. 
Schlener,  and  his  mother,  liertha  Sproesser 
(Schlener),  were  of  German  descent,  industrious 
and  frugal  people,  who  taught  their  son  the  habits 
of  economy,  industry  and  thrift.  The  father 
opened  a  bakery  in  St.  Anthony,  which  he  con- 
ducted until  his  death  in  1872.  The  son  was 
sent  to  a  private  school  and  afterwards  to  the 
public  schools  in  St.  Anthony,  and  also  attended 
a  commercial  school,  where  he  received  a  business 
training.  He  was  only  twelve  years  old,  however, 
when  he  left  school  to  engage  m  such  enterprises 
as  were  open  to  boys  of  his  age.  He  was  em- 
ployed for  a  time  in  the  toll  house  of  the  sus- 
pension bridge,  and  assisted  the  toll  gatherer 
in  the  care  of  the  bridge  and  in  the  keeping  of 
the  accounts.  This  position  brought  him  a  wide 
acquaintance,  and  was  of  no  small  value  on  that 
account.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  young  Schlener 
was  employed  as  a  clerk  in  the  book  and  sta- 
tionery store  of  Wistar,  Wales  &  Co.  The  firm 
changed  several  times,  Mr.  Wales  having  difter- 
ent  partners,  but  Mr.  Schlener  continued  in  con- 
nection with  the  firm,  and  on  the  organization 
of  the  firm  of  Bean,  Wales  &  Co.,  he  was  given 
a  third  interest  in  the  business.  Mr.  Wales  sub- 
sequently retired,  but  Mr.  Schlener  continued  in 


the  business  with  Kirkbride  and  Whitall  until 
1884.  He  then  opened  a  store  on  his  own  ac- 
count, and  is  carrying  on  the  business  very  suc- 
cessfully. He  has  proven  himself  to  be  pos- 
sessed of  superior  business  qualifications,  and  is 
looked  upon  as  one  of  the  successful  merchants 
of  the  city.  He  is  also  public-spirited,  and  has 
taken  an  acti\-e  interest  in  various  efTorts  to  pro- 
mote the  general  good  of  the  community,  serv- 
ing as  director  of  the  Business  Union  and 
as  a  member  of  other  commercial  bodies.  He 
early  became  a  Mason,  and  his  sterling  qualities 
and  deep  interest  in  the  work  of  that  organiza- 
tion have  led  him  through  the  various  degrees 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest.  He  is  frequently 
honored  with  the  office  of  delegate  to  Masonic 
conventions,  and  with  positions  of  trust  in  differ- 
ent aid  and  insurance  associations  connected  with 
the  order.  In  politics  ]\Ir.  Schlener  is  a  Repub- 
lican, and  takes  an  active  part  in  the  management 
of  his  party  affairs  locally,  and  in  1896  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  school  board.  His 
parents  were  Lutherans  and  he  was  baptized  in 
the  Lutheran  Church,  but  his  personal  prefer- 
ence has  been  the  Congregational  society,  and 
he  is  an  attendant  at  Plymouth  Church.  He  has 
a  pleasant  home  on  Nicollet  Island,  where  he 
resides  with  his  mother  and  his  wife,  formerly 
Miss  Grace  Holbrook.  of  Lockport.  to  whom  he 
was  married  in  March,  1892. 


42 


PROGRESSIVE   MEX  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WILLIAM  PFAENDER. 

The  name  given  above  is  that  of  one  of  the 
founders  of  New  Llm.  W'ilham  Pfaender  is  a 
native  of  the  city  of  Heilbronn,  in  Germany, 
where  he  was  born  July  6,  1826.  His  father  was 
Jacob  Pfaender,  a  cooper  by  trade.  He  served  in 
the  Light  Artillen,-  from  1806  to  1812,  during  the 
Napoleonic  wars.  William's  mother's  maiden 
name  was  Johanna  Kuentzel.  The  ancestry  of 
both  parents  was  German,  and  the  antecedents 
were  plain  people  of  moderate  circumstances. 
\Villiam  attended  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  town,  but  the  limited  resources  of  his 
I)arents  did  not  permit  of  his  attending  any  higher 
schools  or  colleges.  He  arrived  in  New  York 
in  the  spring  of  1848,  proceeding  from  that  city 
to  Cincinnati,  where  in  1855  he  became  interested 
in  the  colonization  .society  and  came  to  Minne- 
sota in  the  spring  of  1856  as  one  of  the  commit- 
tee selected  to  choose  a  site  for  the  headtjuarters 
of  the  German  Land  Association,  which  consisted 
mostly  of  members  of  the  North  .\nierican  Tur- 
ncrbund.  In  September,  1856,  New  I  Im  was 
settled  and  Mr.  Pfaender  was  made  the  manager 
of  the  German  Land  Association,  and  afterwards 
president  of  the  same  for  several  years.  But,  not 
to  anticipate  too  rapidly:  After  leaving  school  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  years.  William  was  appren- 
ticed in  a  mercantile  house,  where  he  spent  four 


years  and  served  as  a  salaried  clerk  in  the  city  of 
Ulm.  He  left  for  America  in  the  spring  of  1848 
on  account  of  political  trouble,  having  been  sus- 
pected of  revolutionary  connections.  He  had 
earned  a  moderate  salary,  but  being  conscripted 
into  military  service  he  sacrificed  nearly  all  of 
his  savings  to  get  release.  Ready  to  do  almost  any- 
thing he  secured  employment  in  the  factory  of 
the  Urban  Safe  Company  at  Cincinnati,  at  the  rate 
of  $2  a  week  and  board.  Afterwards  he  served  as 
hotel  waiter,  and  in  1849  was  employed  as  a 
bookkeeper  in  the  printing  establishment  of  the 
German  Republican,  a  daily  and  weekly  Whig 
paper,  \\here  he  remained,  with  few  interruptions, 
until  he  removed  to  Minnesota.  At  New  Ulm  he 
conducted  the  affairs  of  the  German  Land  Asso- 
ciation, and,  taking  charge  of  the  postoffice, 
served  as  postmaster  and  as  register  of  deeds  un- 
til he  enlisted  in  September,  1861.  Mr.  Pfaender 
served  in  the  L^nion  army  for  four  years.  He 
enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  First  ^Minnesota  Bat- 
tery, was  elected  first  lieutenant  at  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  same,  and  during  the  battle  of  Shiloh, 
April  6  and  7,  1862,  assumed  command  of  the 
battery  shortly  after  the  commencement  of  the 
action,  the  captain  having  been  seriously 
wounded.  Mr.  Pfaender  remained  in  command 
during  the  siege  and  subsequent  occupancy  of 
Corinth,  Mississippi,  until  August  26,  1862,  when, 
on  receiving  the  news  of  the  destruction  of  New 
Ulm  by  the  Sioux  Indians,  he  was  given  an  order 
by  General  Grant  to  proceed  to  St.  Paul  on  the 
recruiting  service.  He  was,  however,  immediately 
put  on  the  detached  service  at  St.  Peter  and  Fort 
Ridgely,  and  at  the  latter  post  acted  as  quarter- 
master and  commissary  until  the  First  Regiment 
Minnesota  Mounted  Rangers  was  organized.  JMr. 
Pfaender  was  commissioned  as  lieutenant  colonel 
of  the  regiment,  and  during  the  summer  of  1863 
remained  in  CDUimand  of  the  cavalry  serving  on 
the  frontier.  At  the  expiration  of  the  term  of 
service  of  the  regiment  he  went  into  the  Second 
Regiment  .Minnesota  Cavalry,  with  the  same  rank, 
assuming  connuand  of  the  second  sub  district  of 
Minnesota,  occupying  all  the  frontier  posts  from 
Alexandria  to  the  Iowa  state  line,  with  headquar- 
ters at  Fort  Ridgely,  and  was  nuistcrcd  out  with 
the  regiment  on  December  7,  1865.  After  rc- 
tm-ning  from  service  in  the  army  Mr.  Pfaender 
went  back  to  his  farm.  Tn  1870  he  established  a 
lumber  yard  at  New  Ulm,  ami  in  company  with 


PROGRESSIVE  MIvN  OE   MINNICSOTA. 


43 


Other  parties  built  a  plaiuuy  mill  and  sash  factor}'. 
From  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  state 
Mr.  I'faender  had  become  interested  in  politics. 
His  affiliations  were  with  the  Republican  party, 
and  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  of  1859  and 
i8to;  was  then  made  register  of  deeds  of  Hrown 
county;  was  one  of  the  first  four  presidential 
electors  of  Minnesota,  in  i860,  casting  the  vote  of 
the  state  for  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  1870,  1871 
and  1872  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  state  sen- 
ate, and  in  1875  was  elected  state  treasurer,  occu- 
pying that  position  two  terms.  On  his  election 
as  state  treasurer  Mr.  Pfacnder  sold  out  liis  inter- 
est in  the  lumber  business  and  removed  with  his 
family  to  St.  Paul.  He  returned  to  New  Ulm  in 
1880  and  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance 
business,  in  which  he  is  still  engaged,  and  at  the 
same  time  running  his  farm.  He  has  always 
taken  an  active  interest  in  the  organization  of 
societies  for  physical  and  mental  development, 
forming  the  North  American  Turnerbund,  of 
which  he  is  president  for  the  district  of  Minne- 
sota. He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  trade  and 
the  commercial  union  of  New  Ulm.  He  was 
twice  mayor  of  the  city  and  served  several  times 
as  member  of  the  city  council.  Mr.  Pfaender  was 
married  at  Cincinnati,  December  7,  1851,  to 
Catherine  Pfau.  They  have  had  fifteen  children, 
of  whom  ten  are  living,  viz:  William  Pfaender, 
Jr.,  who  is  engaged  in  business  with  his  father; 
Kate  (Mrs.  Albrecht,  Wabasha  street  St.  Paul); 
Louise  Stamm,  wife  of  Dr.  G.  Stamm;  Josephine 
Pfaender,  Frederick  Pfaender,  register  of  deeds 
in  Brown  county;  Amelia,  wife  of  Dr.  Fritsche; 
Emma,  wife  of  Charles  Hauser,  of  the  Hauser 
Malting  Company,  St.  Paul;  Minnie  Pfaender, 
Herman  Pfaender,  manager  of  his  father's  farm, 
and  Albert  Pfaender,  a  student  at  the  state  uni- 
versity. 


EDWIN    J.    JONES. 

Among  the  substantial  business  men  of  [Morris 
is  Edwin  J.  Jones,  dealer  in  lumber,  hardware, 
paints  and  other  building  materials.  Mr.  Jones 
was  born  August  22,  1858,  at  Beaver  Dam,  Wis- 
consin, the  son  of  Evan  J.  and  Julia  Ackerman 
Jones.  His  father  was  engaged  in  the  lumberbusi- 
ness,  and  Edwin  was  afforded  such  educational 
advantages  as  were  provided    bv    the    conunon 


schools.  After  being  employed  In  his  father  for 
a  time  as  a  bookkeeper  in  his  wholesale  lumber 
business  in  Winneconne,  Wisconsin,  Edwin  came 
to  Minnesota  and  located  at  Morris,  in  August, 
1878,  where  he  took  charge  of  a  lumber  yard 
w'hich  his  father  had  established  there.  In  1884 
he  bought  out  the  business,  and  in  1895  added  a 
complete  hardware  stock,  which  he  handles  in 
connection  with  his  lumber  trade.  Mr.  Jones  has 
always  been  a  Republican,  and  was  elected  by  the 
Republicans  state  senator  for  the  Forty-ninth 
Legislative  District  in  1894.  He  has  also  been 
drafted  into  the  public  service  by  his  fellow  towns- 
men, having  served  as  village  recorder  in  1881 
and  1882,  and  having  been  elected  member  of  the 
city  council  in  1883.  In  1884  he  was  president 
of  the  village.  Mr.  Jones'  election  to  the  legisla- 
ture w-as  a  triumph.  He  received  700  majority 
over  the  fusion  candidate,  carrying  every  precinct 
in  his  own  county.  Mr.  Jones  is  a  Mason  and 
belongs  to  the  Blue  Lodge,  Chapter,  Com- 
mander}', ]\Iinneapolis  Consistory  No.  2,  and 
Zurah  Temple,  of  Alinneapolis.  He  has  also  held 
several  important  offices  in  these  bodies.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the 
A.  O.  U.  W.  He  is  an  attendant  of  the  Congre- 
gational church,  although  not  a  member.  May 
29th,  1883.  he  was  married  to  Nellie  A.  Butter- 
field,  of  Waupun.  Wisconsin.  They  have  one  son, 
ten  years  old.  Henr}-  Butterfield  Jones. 


44 


PROGRESSIVE  MEX  OF   MINNESOTA. 


JAMES     THOMAS     WYAIAN. 

James  Thomas  Wyman  may  be  describetl 
as  one  of  the  makers  of  Minneapohs.  No 
one  is  more  active  in  every  good  work  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  interests  of  this  city  than  he. 
Like  many  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Minneapohs, 
Mr.  Wyman  is  a  native  of  Maine.  He  was  bom 
at  Millbridge,  (October  isth,  1849,  the  son  of 
John  Wyman,  a  dealer  in  Iniilding  materials  and 
a  merchant  who.  though  not  accomited  wealthy, 
was  in  comfortable  financial  circnmstances.  Mr. 
Wyman  is  of  old  Puritan  stock,  his  ancestry  hav- 
ing come  from  England  about  1640,  and  settled  in 
Wobum,  Massachusetts.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  town,  but  enjoyed  no  further 
educational  advantages  until  he  came  to  Minne- 
sota in  1868  when  he  located  at  Northfield  and  at- 
tended Carleton  College  for  one  year.  In  1869 
he  went  into  business  in  that  town  witli  his 
brother,  operating  a  .sash,  door  and  blind  factory 
and  saw  mill.  This  establishment  was  burned 
March  12th,  1871,  without  insurance.  Mr.  Wy- 
man had  already  established  such  a  reputation 
for  integrity  and  straight-forward  business  meth- 
ods that  he  was  able  to  borrow  money  to  pay  off 
his  debts.  He  then  came  to  ^ilinneapolis  and  was 
made  superintendent  of  a  sash,  door  and  blind 
factory,  operated  liy  Jothan  Ti.  Smith  and  L.  I). 
Parker,  wlicrc  he  demonstrated  the  possession  of 
such  business  capacity  that  in  1874  he  became  a 


partner,  under  the  firm  name  of  Smith,  Parker 
&  Co.  This  same  business  is  now  conducted 
under  the  firm  name  of  Smith  &  Wyman,  the 
partners  being  H.  Alden  Smith  and  Jaines  T. 
Wyman.  From  this  it  appears  that  ]\lr.  Wyman 
has  been  a  manufacturer  in  ^Minneapolis 
for  upwards  of  twenty-five  years,  and  a 
very  extensive  employer  of  labor,  having 
on  his  pay  rolls  at  different  times  from 
two  hundred  to  two  htindred  and  fifty  men,  and 
during  all  that  time  the  most  cordial  and  friendly 
relations  have  been  maintained  between  employes 
and  employer.  Mr.  Wyman  helped  to  organize 
the  Metropolitan  Bank  in  1889,  and  has  been  the 
president  of  that  instittttion  since  1890.  He  was 
president  of  the  Board  of  Trade  in  1888  and  1889 
and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Btisiness 
Union  in  1889  and  a  member  of  its  board  of  di- 
rectors. He  is  president  of  the  Clearing  House 
Association  of  the  associated  banks  of  Minneapo- 
lis, and  ail  active  promoter  of  ever}'  enterprise  for 
the  benefit  of  the  city.  Politically  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican, and  was  honored  by  his  party  with  election 
to  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature  in  1893,  and 
to  the  senate  in  1895,  '^  both  of  which  bodies 
lie  has  been  recognized  as  a  leader.  He  was  the 
author  of  the  Minnesota  factory  inspection  act, 
of  the  university  tax  act,  of  the  new  Minnesota 
banking  law,  and  many  other  important  meas- 
ures. He  is  a  member  of  the  Minneapolis  Club, 
of  the  Conuiiercial  Club,  and  also  vice-president 
of  the  Associated  Charities,  to  which  splendid  or- 
ganization he  has  given  the  benefit  of  his  business 
experience  and  wise  counsel.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Hennepin  Avenue  AT.  E.  church,  which 
counts  him  one  of  its  most  active  and  faithful 
supporters,  and  he  serves  the  church  as  one  of  its 
trustees.  He  is  also  a  trustee  of  Hamline  Uni- 
versity, the  leading  Methodist  educational  insti- 
tution in  the  Northwest.  Mr.  Wyman,  in  spite  of 
all  his  numerous  interests  and  activities,  is  a  man 
wlio  is  well  known  in  Minneapolis  societs',  always 
in  demand  and  acc(ntnted  one  of  the  most  pleas- 
ing after  dinner  speakers  of  the  state.  He  is  now 
in  his  prime  and  enjoys  the  esteem  and  confi- 
dence of  his  t'ellow  citizens  in  a  remarkable  de- 
gree, lie  was  married  .'>cptem1)cr  3d,  1873,  to 
Rosa  Lamberson,  daughter  of  a  Methodist  Epis- 
co])al  clergyman  at  Northfield.  They  have  seven 
cliildren,  Roy  L,,  (!uy  A.,  Grace  Alice,  James  C.y 
.Maucl  fv,  Earle  F.,  and  Ruth. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  EUSTIS. 

William  llcnry  Euslis  furnishes  in  his  own 
career  a  good  illustration  of  tiic  possibilities 
before  a  capable,  energetic  and  self-reliant  young 
man  in  America.  He  is  the  son  of  a  mechanic, 
reared  in  the  humble  home  of  a  mechanic  and 
destined  by  his  [Jarents  for  a  mechanic's  life.  Un- 
fortunately, and  yet,  perhaps,  fortunately,  a  severe 
afflietiini,  the  result  of  an  accident,  changed  his 
purpose  in  life  from  that  of  a  mechanic,  and 
openeil  the  door  to  a  wider  field  for  the  develop- 
ment of  his  talents  and  the  employment  of  his 
faculties.  Mr.  Eustis  was  born  at  the  little  village 
of  Uxbow,  New  York,  July  17,  1845.  i^'*  father, 
Tobias  Eustis,  was  a  native  of  Cornwall,  England, 
and  emigrated  to  America  while  a  young  man 
and  learned  and  followed  the  trade  of  a  wheel- 
wright. His  ancestors  were  miners  in  Cornwall. 
His  mother,  Mary  Marwick,  was  also  of  Englisli 
descent.  William  Henry  was  the  second  of  afamily 
of  eleven  children,  and  at  an  early  age  contributed 
to  the  family's  support  by  such  employment  as 
he  could  pick  up  in  the  neighborhood,  the  chief 
of  which  was  grinding  bark  in  the  village  tan- 
nery. He  was  fifteen  at  the  time  of  the  accident 
above  referred  to.  His  recovery  was  due  largely 
to  the  strong  constitution,  resolute  will  and  the 
study  which  he  gave  to  his  own  case  and  the  care 
he  exercised  in  applying  the  treatment.  He 
eventually  became  able  to  teach  district  school  in 
the  winter  months  and  finally  entered  the  semi- 
nary at  Gouverneur,  St.  Lawrence  County.  The 
most  his  parents  hoped  at  this  time  was  that  he 
might  be  able  to  follow  some  lighter  occupation, 
as,  for  instance,  shoe  making  or  harness  making. 
But  he  had  applied  himself  to  learn  bookkeeping 
and  telegraphy,  and  by  the  aid  of  these  prepared 
himself  for  a  more  complete  literary  education. 
By  teaching  bookkeeping  and  telegraphy  and 
soliciting  life  insurance  he  earned  enough  to  pay 
his  way  through  the  seminary  and  through  his 
preparation  for  college.  In  1871  he  entered  the 
sophomore  class  of  Wesleyan  L^niversity,  of  Mid- 
dletown,  Connecticut,  and  while  absenting  him- 
self during  the  winter  in  order  to  teach  school 
kept  up  with  his  class  and  completed  his  course  in 
1873.  He  then  went  to  New  York  and  took  the 
law  course  at  Columbia  Law  School,  where  he 
graduated  in  1874,  having  accomplished  two 
vears'  work  in  one.     He  was  now  ready  for  the 


J^ 


practice  of  his  ijrufession,  but  he  was  a  thousand 
dollars  in  debt.  ( )n  account  of  this  debt  he  pro- 
cured a  position  as  teacher,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  year  paid  the  obligation  and  had  money 
enough  to  buy  a  railroad  ticket  to  Saratoga 
Springs,  a  new  suit  of  clothes  and  a  surplus  of 
$15  with  which  to  connnence  the  work  of  his 
life.  At  Saratoga  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 
John  R.  Putnam,  who  offered  him  a  partnership, 
which  he  accepted,  and  Mr.  Eustis  remained  there 
in  partnership  with  ^fr.  Putnam  for  six  years, 
sharing  a  large  and  lucrative  business.  In  the 
spring  of  1881  Mr.  Eustis  sailed  for  Europe  to 
be  gone  two  years.  He  had  taken  an  active  part 
in  the  convention  of  1882  and  stumped  the  state 
of  New  York  for  Garfield.  When  the  news  of 
Garfield's  assassination  was  received  by  him  he 
was  so  impressed  by  its  significance  that  he  felt 
obliged  to  return  home,  and  did  so.  Mr.  Eustis 
had  made  up  his  mind  that  the  best  field  for 
success  in  life  was  to  be  found  in  the  West,  and 
he  set  out  on  a  prospecting  tour,  including  Kan- 
sas City,  St.  Louis,  Dubuque  and  other  ambitious 
Western  places,  ultimately  reaching  Minneapolis, 
which  pleased  him  most,  and  here  he  settled  on 
the  twenty-third  of  October,  1881.  He  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law  w  ithout  a  partner.  He 
had  brought  with  him  a  small  sum,  the  savings  of 
his  earlier  years,  and  by  the  judicious  use  of  it 


46 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


has  acquired  considerable  property.  He  built  the 
brick  block  on  Sixth  Street  and  Hennepin,  the 
Corn  Exchange  and  the  Flour  Exchange,  be- 
sides other  less  important  structures.  He  has 
alwavs  been  identified  with  enterprises  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  city,  and  is  largely  interested  in 
various  industrial  undertakings.  He  is  one  of 
the  original  incorporators  of  the  Minneapolis, 
Sault  Ste.  :\Iarie  &  Atlantic  Railway,  and  one  of 
Its  board  of  directors.  He  was  a  director  and 
member  of  the  building  committee  of  the  Masonic 
Temple.  He  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the 
North  American  Telcgrapli  Company,  a  director 
and  its  secretary,  a  line  established  to  furnish 
people  of  the  Northwest  with  competition  in 
telegraphic  service.  He  has  been  actively  identi- 
fied with  everything  which  is  calculated  to  ad- 
vance the  interests  of  the  city.  In  1892  Miv 
Eustis  was  elected  mayor  of  Minneapolis  by  the 
Republicans,  and  his  administration  is  frequcnth^ 
referred  to  as  the  most  notable  in  the  histor_\- 
of  the  city.  He  made  a  very  careful  study  of  the 
saloon  question  and  the  laws  relating  to  the  liquor 
traffic  at  the  beginning  of  his  term  of  ofifice  and 
sought  to  enforce  them  in  such  a  way  as  to 
secure  the  best  results.  His  theory  of  adminis- 
tration did  not  call  for  the  strictest  enforcement 
of  the  law  in  accordance  with  the  letter,  but  for 
such  enforcement  as,  while  granting  more  license 
to  the  saloon  than  the  law  specified,  sought  to 
enlist  the  saloonkeepers  in  a  general  effort  for 
the  suppression  of  crime  and  the  diminution  of 
drunkenness.  The  statistics  of  the  police  depart- 
ment and  the  workhouse  for  the  two  years  of 
his  administration  show  that  his  theory  was  well 
founded.  Drunkenness  diminished,  commit- 
ments to  the  workhouse  were  cut  down,  the  sale 
of  liquor  to  minors  was  noticeably  reduced  and 
the  evils  resulting  from  the  liquor  traffic  gen- 
erally minimized.  Mr.  Eustis  grew  up  under 
Methodist  influences,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  church.  He  was  never  married,  but 
occupies  comfortable  bachelor  quarters  in  his 
Sixth  Street  building  and  boards  at  the  West 
Hotel.  ?Ie  is  the  possessor  of  a  fine  library,  and 
derives  much  pleasure  and  enjoyment  among  his 
books.  Mr.  Eustis  is  an  orator  of  grace  and 
power,  and  has  rendered  invaluable  services  to 
his  party  in  campaign  work.  He  was  a  delegate 
to  the  Rcpul)lican  National  Convention  in  1802, 


and  voted  for  Blaine.  His  gift  as  a  public 
speaker  makes  him  in  great  demand  on  public 
occasions,  and  he  has  probably  but  one  equal  and 
no  superior  in  the  state  as  a  graceful  after  dinner 
speaker.  He  is  a  man  of  genial  manners  and 
agreeable  personality,  and  a  welcome  guest  on 
every  public  occasion. 


CHARLES  MORGRIDGE  LORING. 

Charles  Alorgridge  Loring  is  known  as  the 
father  of  the  park  system  of  Alinneapolis,  and 
while  he  has  always  been  prominently  identified 
with  nearly  every  important  movement  for  the 
benefit  of  the  city,  he  will  be  held  in  especial 
esteem  by  the  citizens  of  jNIinneapolis  for  the 
invaluable  service  which  he  has  rendered  in  plan- 
ning and  securing  for  the  city  its  admirable  park 
system.  Mr.  Loring  is  a  native  of  New^  England, 
where  the  family  name  is  v.-ell  known.  The  first 
of  the  family  was  Thomas  Loring,  an  early  set- 
tler from  England.  The  grandfather  of  C.  M. 
Loring  was  a  successfid  and  honored  teacher  in 
Portland,  IMaine,  where  he  was  known  as  "IMaster 
Loring."  His  son,  Captain  Horace  Loring,  was 
a  shipmaster,  voyaging  to  the  West  Indies.  He 
married  Sarah  Wiley,  wdiose  mother,  ^largaret 
Smith  Wiley,  was  a  niece  of  "Parson  Smith,"  a 
noted  clergyman  of  Portland,  Maine.  She  was 
of  Scotch  descent.  Charles  M.  Loring,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  and  a  son  of  Horace  Loring 
and  Sarah  Wiley  (Loring),  w^as  born  at  Port- 
land Maine,  November  13,  1833.  His  father  took 
him  while  yet  a  lad  on  his  voyages  and  destined 
him  to  bt  a  navigator.  He  became  a  mate  on 
his  father's  ship  and  spent  some  time  in  Cuba, 
but  the  life  of  a  shipmaster  was  not  to  his  taste, 
and  he,  to  the  great  disappointment  of  his  friends, 
relinquished  that  which  was  the  height  of  every 
Maine  bov's  ambition,  a  chance  to  become  a  sea 
captain,  and  started  for  the  West  in  1856.  He 
located  first  at  Chicago  and  engaged  in  whole- 
sale business  with  B.  P.  Hutchinson,  the  well- 
known  grain  speculator.  Ill  health  at  that  time 
brought  '\]\-.  Loring  to  Minneapolis,  when 
through  the  aid  of  his  friend,  Lorcn  I'letcher, 
he  obtained  employment  with  Dorilus  Morrison 
as  the  manager  of  his  supply  store  in  connection 
with  his  lumber  business.  This  was  in  i860.  The 
following   year  he   joined   Mr.    Fletcher   in    the 


I'UOCRRSSIVE  MEN'  OF  MINNESOTA. 


4-7 


general  im-rcliaiidisc  husiiR'ss  in  AliniK-apolis,  un- 
der tlic  lirni  name  of  I ,.  l-lctclicr  &  Co.,  which  firm 
is  still  in  existence,  and  the  oldest  in  Minneap- 
olis. Fletcher  &  C"o.  were  ver\-  successful  in 
their  business,  and  the  firm  became  one  of  the 
strongest  in  the  city.  In  1868,  together  with  W. 
F.  Cahill,  ihey  purchased  the  Holly  Mill  ami 
operated  it  until  1872,  when  they  sold  it  'and 
bought  the  Galaxy  mill,  which  they  successfully 
operated  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1873  they  also 
became  the  principal  owners  of  the  Minnetonka 
mill,  located  near  Lake  Minnetonka.  Since  1880 
Mr.  l.oring  has  not  given  active  attention  to 
his  interests  in  the  milling  business,  but  has  de- 
pended in  that  respect  chiefly  upon  his  son.  He 
has,  however,  been  active  in  other  lines  of  busi- 
ness, and  has  become  a  large  owner  of  real  estate 
and  other  property  which  required  his  attention. 
Mr.  Loring  is  a  man  of  refined  tastes,  and  a 
great  lover  of  nature,  and  is  devoted  to  horti- 
culture in  its  most  artistic  aspect,  and  when  the 
first  board  of  park  conmiissioners  was  selected 
his  name  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  list, 
although  he  was  absent  at  the  time  in  Europe. 
This  board  was  organized  in  1883,  and  for  the 
next  seven  years  Mr.  Loring  gave  largely  of  his 
time  and  ability  to  the  acquirement  and  develop- 
ment of  the  system  of  parks  and  boulevards  for 
which  the  city  of  Minneapolis  is  justly  famous. 
In  recognition  of  his  great  services  in  this  re~ 
gard,  the  name  of  Central  Park  was  changed  and 
that  beautiful  pleasure  ground  of  the  people  will 
always  be  known  as  Loring  Park.  When  the 
state  decided  to  establish  a  state  park  at  ilinne- 
haha  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners. 
This  property  has  since  become  a  part  of  the 
park  system  of  Minneapolis,  and  the  acquirement 
of  that  tract  around  the  romantic  and  historic 
waterfall  was  due  to  Mr.  Loring.  Notwithstand- 
ing his  impaired  health  in  later  years,  Mr.  Loring 
has  been  actively  interested  in  various  business 
enterprises.  He  was  one  of  the  projectors  of 
the  North  American  Telegraph  Company,  ami 
has  been  its  president  since  its  organization  in 
1885.  In  1886  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
Minneapolis  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  held 
that  office  until  1890,  when  he  declined  a  re- 
election. Upon  the  organization  of  the  North- 
western Consolidated  Milling  Companv,  includ- 
ing the  Calaxy  mill  of  which  he  was  part  owner, 
he  wa';  made  a  director  of  the  companv.  and  still 


retains  that  position.  He  has  also  been 
identified  with  various  financial  institutions  of 
the  city.  Notwithstanding  the  activity  of  his 
business  life,  Mr.  Loring  has  found  time  to 
gratify  his  refined  tastes,  and  is  a  gentleman 
of  culture  and  attainments.  Never  of  very 
rugged  physique,  he  has  of  late  years  found  it 
desirable,  owing  to  the  severity  of  the  Minnesota 
climate,  to  spend  his  winters  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
where  he  has  acquired,  at  Riverside,  California, 
a  fruit  ranch.  He  has  also  spent  considerable 
time  in  travel  abroad  as  well  as  in  this  country, 
and  has  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  thus 
afforded  to  gratify  his  tastes  for  art  and  learning. 
He  is  a  man  of  most  kindly  manners  and  is  held 
in  liighest  esteem  by  his  fellow  citizens.  He  is 
a  Republican  in  politics,  and  in  religion  liberal, 
yet  sincere.  He  cast  his  first  vote  for  |ohn  C. 
Fremont.  He  recalls  with  pleasurable  recollec- 
tion the  fact  that  the  first  money  he  ever  earned 
was  by  selling  the  New  Year's  address  of  a  news- 
paper carrier,  from  which  his  receipts  were  $7.32. 
Mr.  Loring  was  married  in  1855  to  Emily  S. 
Crosman,  of  Portland,  Maine,  who  died  March 
13, 1894.  Their  children  were  Eva  Maria,  deceased, 
and  Albert  C,  who  is  the  secretary  and  treasurer 
of  the  Consolidated  Milling  Company.  Mr.  Lor- 
ing was  married  again,  November  28,  1895,  to 
Miss  Florence  Barton,  daughter  of  A.  B.  Barton, 
of  !\rinneapolis. 


48 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


MARTIN  B.  IvUON. 

Martin  B.  Koon  is  a  lawyer  practicing  his 
profession  in  r^linneapolis.  His  ancestry  on  liis 
father's  side  is  Scotcli,  and  on  his  mother's  side 
Connecticut  Yankee.  His  father,  Alanson  Koon, 
was  a  farmer  in  moderate  circumstances,  in 
Schuyler  County,  New  York,  a  man  of  sterling 
Christian  character.  His  mother's  maiden  name 
was  Marilla  Wells,  and  Mr.  Koon  is  wont  to 
speak  of  her  in  terms  of  deep  affection  and  the 
most  profound  reverence  for  her  memory.  She 
was  a  woman  of  strong  character,  and  deeply  im- 
pressed herself  upon  her  children.  The  most 
valuable  legacy  which  his  parents  bequeathed  to 
him  was  habits  of  industry,  indomitable  perse- 
verance, never  failing  energy  and  a  mind  naturally 
active  and  studious.  Martin  B.  was  born  Janu- 
ary 22,  1841,  at  Altay,  Schuyler  County,  New- 
York.  While  he  was  yet  a  lad  his  father  removed 
with  his  family  to  Hillsdale  County,  Michigan, 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  grew  up  on  a 
farm.  He  recalls  that  the  first  money  he  ever 
earned  was  for  riding  a  horse  for  a  neighbor 
while  plowing  corn.  Mr.  Koon  attended  the  win- 
ter schools,  as  most  farmer  boys  did  in  those 
days,  and  worked  on  the  farm  in  the  smnmcr. 
He  prosecuted  his  studies,  however,  with  such 
diligence  that,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  was 


prepared  to  enter  Hillsdale  College.  During  his 
college  course  he  supplemented  his  limited  re- 
sources by  teaching  school  several  terms, 
but  kept  up  his  studies  and  completed  his 
course  in  1863.  He  had,  however,  labored 
so  hard  as  a  student  as  to  seriously  im- 
pair his  health,  and  in  1864  a  change 
i)f  climate  became  necessary,  and  he  made  a  trip 
to  California  by  way  of  the  Isthmus.  The 
change  was  beneficial,  and  after  remaining  two 
years  in  California,  engaged  in  teaching,  he  re- 
turned to  Michigan  to  take  up  the  study  of  law 
in  the  office  of  his  brother,  E.  L.  Koon.  In  1867 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Hillsdale,  Jilichi- 
gan,  and  soon  afterward  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  his  brother,  which  association  continued 
until  1878.  While  he  did  not  go  actively  into 
politics,  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  prosecut- 
ing attorney  in  Hillsdale  County  in  1870  to  1874. 
In  1873  he  spent  four  months  in  travel  in  Europe. 
He  had  become  persuaded,  however,  that  Hills- 
dale did  not  offer  a  sufficient  field  for  the  exer- 
cise of  his  talent,  and  in  1878  he  removed  to 
Minneapolis,  where  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  E.  A.  Merrill,  to  which  firm  A.  M.  Keith 
was  afterward  admitted.  This  firm  enjoj'ed  an 
extensive  and  profitable  business  until  the  fall  of 
1881,  when,  owing  largely  to  overwork,  Mr.  Koon 
fell  a  victim  to  typhoid  fever,  and  on  his  partial 
recovery  he  went  to  California  in  search  of 
health.  In  1883,  after  his  return.  Judge  J.  M. 
Shaw  resigned  from  the  district  bench,  and  Gov. 
Hubbard  appointed  ]\Ir.  Koon  to  fill  the  vacancy. 
This  was  entirely  without  Mr.  Koon's  solicitation 
and  wholly  unexpected.  He  accepted  the  office 
with  much  reluctance,  doubting  his  cjualifications 
for  the  position.  He  filled  it  with  such  eminent 
satisfaction,  however,  that  in  the  following  fall 
he  was  vmanimously  elected  to  the  same  office 
for  the  term  of  seven  years.  But  he  did  not  find 
the  duties  of  the  office  congenial  to  him,  and  May 
I,  1886,  he  resigned.  His  resignation  was  re- 
ceived with  general  and  profound  regret.  His  ad- 
ministration of  the  office  had  been  marked  by 
singular  abilit}-,  and  his  retirement  from  the 
bench  was  regarded  as  a  misfortune  by  the  whole 
comnnmity.  During  his  occupancy  of  that  posi- 
tion he  tried  a  number  of  important  cases,  among 
them  the  Washburn  will  case,  the  St.  Anthony 
water  power  case,  the  King-Remington  case,  the 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


49 


Canticny  imirdcr  case,  and  others  scarcely  less 
important.  This  work  involved  an  enormous 
amount  of  study  and  research,  which  he  most 
conscientiously  performed.  On  his  retirement 
from  the  bench  he  resumed  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  and  is  now  the  senior  member  of  the 
firm  of  Koon,  Whelan  &  liennett.  The  practice 
of  the  firm  is  mainly  in  the  line  of  corporation 
law.  They  are  attorneys  for  the  Minneapolis 
Street  Railway  Company,  the  "Soo"  Railway 
Company,  the  Pillsbur}- -Washburn  Company,  the 
G.  W.  Van  Dusen  Company,  the  Washburn- 
Crosby  Company,  the  Northwestern  National 
Bank,  Gillette-Herzog  Company,  the  Millers'  and 
Manufacturers'  Insurance  Company,  the  London 
Guarantee  and  Accident  Company,  and  others. 
Judge  Koon  is  a  member  of  the  Minneapolis 
Club,  the  Commercial  Club,  the  Chanil)er  of 
Commerce  and  a  trustee  of  the  Church  of  the 
Redeemer.  He  was  married  November,  1873,  to 
Josephine  \'andermark  and  has  two  daughters, 
Catherine  Estelle  and  M.  Louise. 


FREEMAN  P.  LANE. 

Freeman  P.  Lane  is  a  lawyer  of  IMinneap- 
olis,  the  son  of  poor  but  eminently  respectable 
people  of  that  city,  who  were  able  to  give  him 
only  those  educational  advantages  afforded  by 
the  common  schools  of  the  city.  His  father, 
Charles  W.  Lane,  is  a  mechanic,  his  trade  being 
that  of  carriage  maker  and  blacksmith.  His 
mother  and  father  are  both  living  in  this  city. 
They  are  of  Scotch  and  Irish  descent,  honest 
people  who  have  lived  quiet  and  uneventful  but 
useful  lives.  Beyond  this  brief  statement  ]\Ir. 
Lane  claims  to  know  little  about  his  ancestors, 
although,  as  he  uniquely  puts  it,  he  has  been  a 
candidate  for  office.  Freeman  P.  Lane  was  born 
in  Eastport,  Maine,  April  20,  1853.  He  came 
with  his  parents  to  ^Minneapolis  in  1861.  From 
1862  to  1865  he  was  the  official  bill  poster  of 
the  town,  and  served  his  apprenticeship  in  busi- 
ness as  a  bootblack  and  newsboy,  where  he 
learned  self-reliance  and  was  trained  in  the 
severe  school  in  which  lads  in  his  circumstances 
often  acquire  those  qualifications  which  make  for 
success  in  after  life.  During  the  summers  of 
1868  to  1 87 1,  inclusive,  he  was  employed  in 
building  telegraph  lines  through  Minnesota,  Iowa 
and  Dakota  Territorv.     His  ambition,  however. 


was  for  professional  life,  and  he  began  the  study 
of  law  with  Albee  Smith  in  the  old  Academy  of 
Music  building,  in  1872,  and  tried  his  first  case 
before  J.  L.  Himes,  a  justice  of  the  peace.  He 
attended  the  Albany  Law  School,  at  Albany, 
New  York,  in  1873  and  1874,  and  was  admitted 
to  jiractice  in  Albany  in  May  of  the  latter  year. 
He  returned  to  Minneapolis  and  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  with  George  W.  Hael,  the 
style  of  the  firm  being  Lane  &  Hael.  Subse- 
quently James  H.  Giddings  became  Mr.  Lane's 
partner.  He  remained  in  partnership  with 
Mr.  Giddings  for  nine  and  a  half  years.  He  then 
formed  a  partnership  with  Fred  B.  Dodge,  the 
style  of  the  firm  being  Lane  &  Dodge.  This 
partnership  lasted  for  five  years,  after  which  the 
firm  became  Lane  &  Johnson,  the  new  partner 
being  Benjamin  F.  Johnson,  with  whom  Mr. 
Lane  was  associated  for  two  years.  Since  the 
dissolution  of  that  firm  ^Ir.  Lane  has  been  asso- 
ciated in  business  with  Frank  P.  Nantz,  under 
the  name  of  Lane  &  Nantz.  He  has  always  taken 
an  active  interest  in  local  and  state  politics,  and 
was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature 
in  1888  as  a  Republican.  Mr.  Lane  was  married 
at  Minneapolis,  July  6,  1875,  to  Mollie  Lauder- 
dale, daughter  of  William  H.  Lauderdale.  They 
have  four  children,  Bessie,  wife  of  Thomas  F. 
Maguire,  Ina,  wife  of  John  E.  Christian,  Mabel 
and  Stuart. 


50 


I'ROGRESSIVE  MEN   OF   MINNESOTA. 


TAMS  BIX  BY. 

Tains  Bixby  is  an  excellent  example  of  a 
self-made  man,  and  an  instance  where  the  making 
reflects  credit  upon  the  maker.  Mr.  Bi.xby  is  a 
resident  of  Red  Wing.  He  was  born  December 
2,  1856,  at  Staunton,  \'irginia,  and  is  a  sun  of 
Bradford  \V.  and  Susan  Jane  Bixby.  His  parents 
were  poor  and  Tarns  conmienced  a  career,  which 
has  proved  to  be  a  very  successful  one,  unaided 
by  personal  fortune  or  by  influential  friends.  It 
was  in  the  fall  of  1837  that  his  parents  came  to 
Minnesota  and  settled  at  Red  Wing.  As  soon  as 
he  was  old  enough  he  was  sent  to  the  parisli 
school  there,  and  continued  his  attendance  until 
he  was  thirteen  years  of  age.  Beyond  that  his 
educational  advantages  have  been  such  as  an  act- 
ive mind  can  derive  from  the  educational  facilities 
which  it  creates  for  itself,  through  reading,  experi- 
ence and  observation.  Possessed  of  a  remarkable 
degree  of  energy  and  entcqirise,  he  was  not  slow- 
to  employ  his  l)usiness  talents  in  whatever  lionor- 
able  enterprise  promised  i)n>lita1>lr  returns.  The 
result  has  been  that  he  has  liecn  engaged  in  the 
business  oi  news  agent,  hotel  keeper,  baker, 
broker,  and  is  now  editor  and  i)nl)lisher  of  one  of 
the  most  flourishing  dailies  of  .Minnesota,  the 
Red  W^ing  Republican.  His  editorial  duties, 
however,  arc  rmly  incidental  to  his  more  impor- 
tant duties  as  private  secretary  of  Gov.  Clough. 


By  dint  of  perseverance,  superior  business  ability 
and  energy  he  has  become  connected  with  a  num- 
ber of  important  concerns  in  this  and  adjoining 
states.  Among  other  things  his  present  business 
connections  have  brought  him  the  position  of 
president  of  the  Red  Wing  Printing  Company, 
president  of  the  Pierre,  South  Dakota,  W^atcr, 
Light  and  Power  Company,  and  vice-president  of 
the  West  Duluth  Light  and  Water  Company. 
Mr.  Bixby  has  a  genius  for  politics,  and  has  had, 
of  late  years,  superior  opportunities  for  the  devel- 
opment of  his  ability  in  that  field.  He  began  his 
career  in  politics  as  chairman  of  the  Republican 
county  committee  of  Goodhue  County.  His  ex- 
cellent work  in  that  capacity  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  Republicans  in  other  parts  of  the  state  to 
him,  and  when  the  Republican  League  of  Alinne- 
sota  was  organized  he  was  made  secretary  of  that 
organization.  .Subsequently  he  filled  the  position 
of  secretary  of  the  Republican  State  Central  Com- 
mittee, from  which  responsible  position  he  was 
promoted  to  that  of  chairman.  In  that  capacity  he 
has  conducted  several  important  campaigns  with 
signal  success,  and  established  for  himself  the  rep- 
utation of  being  one  of  the  most  skillful  and  adroit 
politicians  in  the  state.  At  the  same  time  he  has 
added  to  his  list  of  acquaintances  many  warm 
friends,  who  have  come  to  appreciate  his  ability 
and  devotion  to  the  public  interest.  In  the  way 
of  political  office  the  only  positions  'Sir.  Bixby 
has  ever  held  are  those  of  secretary  of  the  rail- 
road and  warehouse  commission  in  the  earlv  days 
of  that  body,  and  later  the  office  of  private  secre- 
tary to  Gov.  Merriam  during  the  two  terms  in 
which  he  occupied  the  otTice  of  chief  executive; 
also  to  Gov.  Nelson,  Gov.  Merriam's  successor, 
and  at  this  writing  he  occupies  the  same  relation 
to  Gov.  Clough,  who  succeeded  Gov.  Nelson. 
Mr.  liixby  has  sustained  his  confidential  and  im- 
portant relation  to  the  chief  executive  of  the  state 
for  a  period  of  eight  years,  and  has  made  himself 
invaluable  to  the  occupant  of  that  office.  He  pos- 
sesses rare  qualities  of  sociability  and  geniality, 
and  attaches  men  to  himself  in  warm  friendship. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Connucrcial  Club  at  Red 
Wing,  the  Connnercial  Club  of  St.  Paul;  is  a  Ma- 
son and  Knight  Templar,  and  is  also  a  member  of 
the  T.  O.  ( ).  V.  I  Ic  was  married  April  27th,  1886, 
to  Clara  Mues,  and  has  three  sons,  Edson  K., 
born  AprU  oth.  18R7:  Joel  IT.,  born  November 
3ot!i,  18XS,  anil  Tams,  ]v..  born  Sriilcnilier  i_'th, 
i8<n. 


rROGKESSlVK  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


SI 


ji  >ii.\  \\i';siJ':v  A.\i)ki-:ws. 

J  dim  Wesley  Andrews  is  a  ])liysician,  jjrac- 
ticing  liis  profession  at  Mankatu.  Ills  father, 
John  R.  Andrews,  was  a  Methodist  minister,  and 
one  of  the  pioneer  messenji^ers  of  the  gospel  in 
Southwestern  Minnesota.  John  R.  Andrews  and 
his  wife,  l^elilah  Armstrong  (Andrews),  came  to 
Minnesota  from  Illinois,  in  the  autmnn  of  1856, 
and  located  hrst  near  .'^t.  Peter,  hut  the  (ollowing 
spring  Mr.  Andrews  pre-empted  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  what  is  known  as  the  Big  Woods. 
The  business  depression  of  1857  came  on  and  for 
the  next  two  years  the  Andrews  family,  in  com- 
mon with  their  neighbors,  endured  great  priva- 
tions. I'lour  was  $9  a  barrel,  and  had  it  not  been 
for  the  high  ]jrice  of  gingseng  and  the  abundance 
of  that  root  in  their  region,  many  would  have 
sufifered  for  food.  The  Andrews  family  is  of 
English  descent,  the  father  of  John  R.  being  an 
English  sea  captain.  The  subject  of  this  sl<ctcii 
was  born  at  Russcllville,  Lawrence  County,  Illin- 
ois, April  6,  1849.  The  country  district  schools 
of  that  time  were  poorly  equipped,  and  the  educa- 
tional advantages  he  enjoyed  were  of  a  very  in- 
sufficient and  limited  character.  After  comi)let- 
itig  the  course  afforded  by  the  public  schools,  he 
entered  the  State  Normal  Schodl  at  Mankato, 
but  at  the  end  of  his  course  and  before  gradua- 
tion he  was  taken  sick  with  typhoid  fever  and  was 
not  able  to  return.  He  became  a  teacher  in  the 
high  school  at  St.  Peter,  where  he  was  engaged 
for  three  years,  when  he  took  up  the  study  of 
medicine  and  prosecuted  it  as  diligently  as  his 
means  would  permit.  He  attended  the  medical 
department  of  Michigan  University,  and  later 
Rush  Medical  College,  where  he  graduated  in 
Februar}-,  1877.  After  practicing  in  Minnesota 
for  about  two  years  he  went  to  New  York  and 
entered  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  C(_)llege, 
where  he  took  the  regular  course  in  medicine  and 
surgery  and  the  allied  branches  of  study,  and 
was  graduated  in  March,  1880.  He  again  re- 
turned to  the  practice  of  his  profession,  which 
he  continued  until  the  summer  of  1886,  when  he 
went  to  Europe  for  a  year  of  study  in  P.erlin  and 
Menna.  Upon  his  return  to  Mankato  he  re- 
sumed his  professional  work,  and  has  contiiuied 
it  up  to  the  present  time,  with  intervals  of  six 
weeks  or  two  months  spent  every  two  or  three 


years  in  study  and  observation  in  some  of  the 
larger  cities  for  the  purpose  of  familiarizing  him- 
self with  any  new  discoveries  or  methods  which 
may  have  been  adopted  in  his  profession.  Dr. 
Andrews  is  a  member  of  the  Minnesota  Medical 
Society,  of  the  Alinnesota  Valley  Medical  Society, 
and  of  other  medical  organizations.  He  has  taken 
very  little  interest  in  politics,  although  he  was 
nominated  for  mayi;r  of  Mankato  in  1893  and 
came  within  seven  votes  of  being  elected.  In  the 
spring  of  1895  '^^  ^^'^s  induced  to  take  a  seat  in 
the  council  as  a  representative  of  the  Fourth 
ward  of  that  city,  and  now  occu]:)ies  that  posi- 
tion. He  has  always  been  a  Republican  and 
identified  with  that  party,  lie  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity  and  was  for  two  yiars  senior 
warden  and  then  for  four  con.secutive  years  mas- 
ter of  the  Blue  Lodge,  Mankato  No.  12.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Mankato  Board  of  Trade,  of  the 
Commercial  Club,  of  the  Humane  Society  and  of 
the  Social  Science  Club  of  Mankato.  He  was 
reared  in  the  Methodist  church  and  became  a 
member  of  that  society  when  about  twenty  years 
of  age.  He  was  married  April  4,  1877.  to  Miss 
Jennie  French,  formerly  of  W'ellsville  Xew  York, 
but  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  residing  in  Mar- 
.shall,  Minnesota.  They  have  one  child.  Roy  X. 
.Andrews. 


52 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN   OF   MINNESOTA. 


IRWIX  SHEPARD. 

Irwin  Shepard  is  president  of  the  State 
Norma!  School  at  Winona.  Prof.  Shepard  is  a 
native  of  New  York,  having  been  born  in  the 
town  of  Skaneateles,  Onondaga  County.  July  5, 
1843.  His  father,  Luman  Shepard,  was  a  farmer 
in  New  York  and  later  in  Michigan.  He  was 
prominent  in  agricultural  societies,  and  made  a 
scientific  study  of  his  business.  He  was  for  one 
session  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives in  the  Michigan  legislature.  Irwin  She[5- 
ard's  mother  was  Betsy  I.  Pangburn  (Shepard.) 
His  descent  on  his  father's  side  is  EnglisJi,  the 
family  having  come  from  England  in  1640.  His 
mother's  ancestors  came  from  Holland  in  1700. 
He  attended  the  rural  schools  in  .\'ew  York  until 
thirteen  years  of  age,  when  his  parents  removed 
to  Chelsea,  \\'ashtena\v  County,  Michigan.  He 
there  attended  the  village  school  until  1851;,  when 
he  entered  the  State  Normal  School  at  Yjjsilanti. 
In  1862  a  company  of  soldiers  for  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion  was  formed  in  that  school  and  Mr. 
Shepard  enlisted.  He  served  through  the  war 
and  was  nnistercd  out  in  1865.  I'pon  his  return 
from  the  war  he  entered  ( )livet  College,  in  Mich- 
igan, and  graduated  in  1871,  receiving  the  degree 
of  A.  P..  In  1874  he  received  tlie  degree  of  A.  M. 
from  tlie  same  institution,  and  in  i8v-2  the  degree 
of  Ph.  I).     After  his  graduation  in   1871  he  was 


appointed  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  at 
Charles  City,  Iowa  and  served  until  1875.  In 
the  latter  year  he  came  to  Minnesota  having  se- 
cured the  position  of  principal  of  the  high  school 
of  Winona.  Three  years  later  he  was  made  city 
superintendent  of  schools  and  in  1879  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  presidency  of  the  State  Normal 
School  at  \Vinona,  a  position  which  he  now  holds. 
;\Ir.  Shepard  has  been  a  member  of  the  National 
Educational  Association  since  1883  and  was 
president  of  the  normal  department  of  that  as- 
sociation in  1889.  He  has  been  elected  vice 
president  and  state  director  several  times  and 
in  1892  was  electetl  general  secretary  of  the  asso- 
ciation, and  holds  that  of^ce  at  the  present  time. 
Mr.  .Shepard  has  a  very  honorable  war  record. 
He  enlisted  with  his  fellow  students  at  Ypsilanti 
in  August,  1862.  They  were  mustered  in  as 
Com])any  "E''  of  the  .Seventeenth  Regiment 
Michigan  Infantry  A^olunteers,  a  regiment  which 
for  gallantry  in  their  first  battle  on  South  Moun- 
tain,was  called  the  "Stonewall  Regiment"  of  Mich- 
igan. He  served  first  as  a  private,  then  corporal, 
a  member  of  the  color  guard,  sergeant  and  or- 
derly sergeant  until  1865,  when  he  was  discharged 
on  account  of  wounds  received  at  the  Battle  of 
the  A\'ilderness,  on  May  6,  1864.  His  promotion 
from  the  color  guard  to  the  rank  of  sergeant  was 
made  for  nieritorius  service  in  leading  one 
division  a  special  detail  through  the  enemy's 
lines  in  front  of  Fort  Sanders,  at  Knox- 
ville,  Tennessee,  on  the  night  of  November 
2^,  1863,  and  burning  the  house  and  barns  of 
Judge  Reese,  from  which  sliaq)-shooters  were 
annoying  the  gunners  of  Fort  Sanders.  He  was 
engaged  in  the  following  battles:  South  ^loun- 
tain,  Antietam,  Brandy  Station,  Fredericks- 
burg, Virginia ;  Green  River,  Kentucky;  Vicks- 
burg  and  Jackson,  Mississippi;  Blue  Springs, 
Loudan,  Campbell's  i^tation,  Siege  of  Knox- 
ville.  Strawberry  Plains  and  Blain's  Cross 
Roads,  Tennessee,  and  the  Wilderness.  While  Mr. 
Shepard  wa-;  in  the  hospital  at  Detroit  under 
treatment  for  wounds  received  in  the  service,  he 
served  as  clerk  to  the  Assistant  Adjutant  General 
of  the  Department  of  Michigan,  later  as  chief 
clerk  of  the  same  department,  and,  subsequently, 
was  appointed  as  mustering  out  ofificer  at  Jack- 
son, Michigan.  He  is  a  member  of  the  John  P)all 
Post  No.  45,  G.  A.  R.,  Department  of  ^Minnesota, 
and  has  served  as  aide  on  the  staiT  of  the  depart- 


rKocKKssivE  mi;n  or  Minnesota. 


53 


nicnt  cuiimiandcr  and  (j1  the  Xatimial  cuni- 
mander-in-clii(jf.  Mr.  Shepard  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Congregational  Church  since  1859,  and 
for  sixteen  years,  prior  to  January  i,  i8()2,  was 
superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  school  of  tlie  I'irst 
Congregational  Church  at  Winona,  .Minnesota. 
He  was  married  in  .Vngust,  187 1,  to  .Miss  .Mar_\- 
J  J.  h.lmer,  a  graduate  of  Olivet  College,  and  a 
daughter  of  Rev.  Mirani  J-Ilnier,  pastor  of  the 
Congregational  Chuch  of  that  place.  They  have 
two  sons,  Irwin  Mlmer,  aged  seventeen  years,  and 
Ernest  Kdward,  aged  thirteen  years. 


Joll.X  'I  AYL(  )R  l-R.Vri':R. 

In  one  connuunity  at  least  in  this  state  can  it 
be  said  that  the  faithful  performance  of  pulilic 
duty  is  appreciated  and  rewarded.  John  Taylor 
Frater,  of  Brainerd,  is  serving  his  fourth  term 
as  county  treasurer  of  Crow  Wing  County.  Mr. 
Frater  is  of  Scotch  descent  on  both  sides  of  the 
family  line.  His  grandfather,  George  l-rater,  was 
born  in  Ro.'<burghshire  Scotland,  and  came 
to  America  in  1818,  locating  in  Wood 
County,  \'irginia.  Subsecjuently  he  removed 
to  Harrison  County,  Ohio.  His  business 
was  that  of  farming  and  stock  raising.  He 
was  an  ardent  anti-slavery  advocate,  and  ac- 
tive in  what  was  known  as  the  underground  rail- 
road service.  Xo  fugitive  slave  ever  applied  at 
his  "station"  without  receiving  shelter  and  assist- 
ance to  the  next  place  of  safety.  John  Taylor, 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  on  the 
other  side  of  the  family  line,  was  also  a  native  of 
Roxburghshire,  Scotland,  and  came  to  America  in 
1819,  settling  in  Livingston  County,  X^ew  York, 
but  subsequently  removed  to  Wood  County,  Vir- 
ginia. Mr.  Frater  holds  the  good  name  of  his 
ancestors  in  high  respect,  and  takes  just  priile  in 
their  sturdy  character  and  homely  virtues.  John 
Taylor  Frater  was  born  April  19,  1S48,  on  a 
farm  near  L^niontown,  Belmont  County,  Ohio. 
His  early  educational  advantages  were  very  mea- 
gre, consisting  of  a  country  school,  and  much 
of  the  time  only  three  months  in  the  year.  The 
year  1869  he  spent  in  the  preparatory  course  in 
the  Ohio  Central  College  at  Iberia,  Ohio,  but  left 
there  just  when  he  got  fairly  started  because  of 
lack  of  means.  Subsequently  he  took  a  course 
in  bookkeeping  in  Duffs  Conunercial  College 
at  Pittsburgh.  He  first  taught  school  in  the 
winter  of  1870  and  1871.  by  which  he  earned  the 
first  money  he  ever  possessed  as  a  result  of  his 


own  efforts,  and  h\  this  means  accumulated  about 
$400,  which  he  sjjent  on  his  education.  In  1875 
he  went  into  a  grocery  business  in  Iberia,  and 
continued  it  with  moderate  success  for  about  five 
years.  In  1881  Mr.  I'"rater  came  to  Minnesota, 
arriving  in  December,  and  locating  at  Brainerd, 
where  he  has  been  a  resident  since  that  time.  He 
came  West  believing  that  there  was  better  oppor- 
tunity for  young  men  here  than  in  his  native 
state.  His  first  business  connections  were  with 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  as  clerk 
forthechief  road  master,  and  he  was  employed  by 
the  company  until  X'ovember  i,  1883,  at  which 
time  the  force  of  employes  was  greatly  reduced. 
He  then  secured  a  situation  as  a  bookkeeper  and 
held  it  for  five  years,  until  June  i,  1889,  when 
he  was  elected  to  the  ofifice  of  county  treasurer, 
which  position  he  has  held  continuously,  having 
been  elected  four  times,  the  last  three  elections 
without  opposition.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
Air.  Frater  is  a  Reiniblican,  and  is  an  active 
W'Orker  for  his  party's  success.  He  has  been  hon- 
ored by  his  fellow  Republicans  with  numerous 
elections  to  important  local  and  state  conventions. 
Mr.  Frater  is  president  of  the  Republican  League 
Club,  has  recently  been  elected  chairman  of  the 
Republican  county  committee,  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity  and  the  Knights  of 
Pythias.  He  is  not  a  member,  but  is  an  attendant 
and  supporter  of  the  Congregational  church.  Mr. 
Frater  was  married  October  14.  1874,  to  Miss 
Julia  ."X.  \'.  ^^vers,  of  Iberia.  Clhio 


54 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HALVOR  STEENERSON. 

The  people  of  Theleniarken,  Norway,  are 
mountaineers,  and  are  noted  for  their  great  stat- 
ure and  physical  strength.  Halvor  Steenerson, 
of  Crookston,  Minnesota,  is  a  descendant  of  tliat 
sturdy  people.  His  father,  Steener  Knudson,  was 
a  schoolmaster  in  Hvidseid,  Thelemarken,  who 
afterwards  became  a  farmer.  He  bought  the 
estate  in  Silgjord  commonly  called  "Aleaas,"  and 
was  usually  known  among  his  countrymen  as 
Steener  Meaas.  He  came  to  the  United  States 
with  his  family  in  185 1  and  settled  in  Dane 
County,  Wisconsin.  Two  years  later  he  moved 
to  Houston  County,  Minnesota,  and  was  one  of 
the  earliest  pioneers  in  that  section.  When  the 
war  broke  out  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Elev- 
enth Minnesota  infantry,  and  offered  his  services 
to  his  adopted  country.  In  1875  he  removed  to 
Polk  County,  where  he  died  in  1881.  He  was 
active  in  public  affairs  and  held  many  positions 
of  trust.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Luth- 
eran Church,  and  hel])ed  to  organize  the  firs! 
congregations  in  Houston  and  Fillmore  coun- 
ties. His  wife's  maiden  name  was  liergith 
Roholt,  a  daughter  of  Leif  Roholt,  in  Hvidseid, 
Thelemarken,  Xorway.  Roholt  is  a  large  estate 
and  has  been  held  in  the  same  family  for  gen- 
erations.   The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  on 


a  farm  in  the  town  of  Pleasant  Springs,  Dane 
County,  W  isconsin,  June  30,  1852.  He  attended 
the  country  schools  of  Sheldon,  Houston  County, 
after  the  family  came  to  this  state,  and  the  high 
school  at  Rushford.  While  teaching  school, 
which  profession  he  followed  for  the  most  part 
in  1871,  '"2,  'jT,  and  '74,  he  began  the  study  of 
law.  After  he  quit  teaching  he  entered  a  law 
office  in  Austin,  Minnesota,  and  read  law  there 
for  two  years.  He  then  went  to  the  Union  Col- 
lege of  Law  at  Chicago  and  took  the  course 
there  until  June,  1878,  when  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  the  supreme  court  of  Illinois.  He 
returned  to  Austin  late  in  September,  1878,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  I^Iinnesota,  and  opened  a 
law  office  on  his  own  account  in  October,  1878, 
at  Lanesboro.  He  practiced  successfully  there 
until  1880,  at  whicli  time  he  moved  to  Crook- 
ston, Minnesota,  his  parents  and  five  of  his 
brothers  having  settled  there  several  years  be- 
fore. Mr.  Steenerson  speedily  built  up  a  lucra- 
tive practice  and  was  elected  county  attorney, 
which  office  he  filled  for  two  years.  He  was 
elected  to  the  state  senate  and  served  in  the 
sessions  of  1883  and  1885.  j\lr.  Steenerson's 
position  in  the  state,  especially  among  his  own 
countrymen,  has  become  an  influential  one.  He 
has  been  very  successful  as  a  lawyer.  Perhaps 
the  most  important  litigation  which  Mr.  Steener- 
son has  conducted  was  the  application  made  be- 
fore the  raihoad  and  warehouse  commission,  in 
behalf  of  his  brother  Elias,  for  a  reduction  in 
grain  rates  from  the  Red  River  A'alley  to  IVIin- 
neapolis  and  other  markets.  The  application  was 
granted  by  the  railroad  commissioners,  but  was 
appealed  to  the  supreme  court  by  the  railroad 
company  and  is  still  unsettled.  It  is  a  case  of 
great  importance  to  the  farmers  and  business 
men  of  the  Red  River  Valley,  and  the  effort  to 
secure  a  reduction  in  rates  attracted  wide  atten- 
tion. The  case  involves  the  question  of  the 
power  of  the  state  through  a  commission  to 
regulate  and  fix  charges  for  railroad  transporta- 
tion. Mr.  Steenerson  is  a  Republican,  but  be- 
sides the  offices  already  indicated,  has  never 
held  any  political  ])osition  except  tliat  of  delegate 
to  state  and  national  conventions.  He  sat  in 
the  Republican  national  conventions  of  1884  and 
1888.  He  was  one  of  the  framcrs  and  active 
promoters  of  the  railroad  legislation  <>f  the  state 


PROGRHS.SIVH  MEN   OF   MI.NNlvSO  lA, 


at  tlio  session  (if  1SX5,  and  aiiU-i|  in  (li'aflint;  the 
law  wliicli  created  tlie  railroad  and  warehouse 
coniniission  and  which  has  formed  tiie  basis  of 
all  Icgislaticin  of  that  kind  since.  Mr.  Steenerson 
is  a  member  of  the  Xorwe,i;ian  Lutheran  S\ni)d 
cliurch,  and  was  married  in  iHyH  to  Miss  Mary 
Christt)fferson.  They  ha\e  two  children  living, 
Clara  X.  and    l'>enjaniin   G. 


LOUIS  A.  EVANS. 

Louis  A.  Evans,  of  St.  Cloud,  is  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  born  at  Philadelphia, 
November  22,  1822,  a  sun  of  Levi  Evans  and 
Elizabeth  Wills  (Evans).  He  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Philadeli)hia,  but  was  not  favored 
with  the  advantages  of  a  college  education.  While 
jet  a  young  man  he  left  his  native  state  and  went 
South,  where  he  resided  until  the  fall  of  1856, 
when  he  was  attracted  by  the  alhnenients  of 
frontier  life.  In  the  fall  of  that  \ear  he  began 
the  long  and  tedious  journey  with  ox  teams  which 
ended  at  what  is  now  St.  Cloud,  I)t-ct-niber  15, 
the  same  year.  Here  Mr.  Evans  has  re- 
sided ever  since.  He  has  been  repeatedly  elected 
to  offices  of  various  degrees  of  ini])ortance  and 
responsibility,  administrative,  legislative  and 
judicial,  and  it  is  conceded  that  he  has  filled 
them  all  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  public.  When  the  city  of  St.  Cloud 
was  incorporated  in  1862  he  was  chosen  as  its 
first  mayor,  since  which  time  he  has  held  the 
saiue  office  four  times,  wdiich  of  itself  is  an  indi- 
cation of  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by 
his  fellow  citizens.  After  coming  to  Mimiesota, 
Mr.  Evans  pursued  the  study  of  law  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  October,  1866.  In  i860 
and  1861  he  served  as  the  representative  of  his 
district  in  the  house  of  representatives,  and  in 
."867  was  promoted  to  the  u])pcr  house  in  the 
state  legislature.  In  1862  Mr.  Evans  was  elected 
citv  justice,  which  office  he  subsequently  resigned 
to  accept  that  of  judge  of  ])robate.  After  the 
expiration  of  his  term  as  probate  judge  he  was 
again  elected  city  justice,  only  again  to  resign 
to  accept  the  office  of  judge  of  probate,  to  which 
he  had  been  elected  and  which  he  held  without 
a  break  for  nearly  twent\-  years,  as  he  did  that 
of  city  justice  nearly  as  long  after  being  re- 
elected to  that  office.  In  politics  Judge  Evans 
is   an    old-line   Democrat,   and    has   alwavs   been 


regarded  as  one  of  the  reliable  adherents  of  that 
political  faith,  e\en  when  iiis  party  w'as  so  de- 
cidedly in  the  minority  in  this  state  that  it  cut 
but  little  figure  in  ])ublic  affairs.  As  a  leader 
among  men,  howe\-er,  he  was  often  honored  by 
Minnesota  Democrats  with  the  position  of  dele- 
gate to  party  conventions,  and  represented  the 
state  in  the  national  convention  at  Cincinnati  in 
1880,  which  nominated  General  Hancock  for 
president.  During  all  this  period  of  his  public 
life  in  St.  Cloud,  the  duties  of  which  have  de- 
manded most  of  his  attention,  he  has  conducted 
privately  the  business  of  real  estate  and  insur- 
ance, in  which  lines  of  activity  he  exercised  the 
same  energy  and  displayed  the  same  qualities  of 
uprightness  and  reliability  which  characterized 
his  public  acts.  He  has  for  many  years  been 
one  of  the  directors  of  the  I-"irst  Xational  Bank, 
and  has  been  identified  in  many  ways  with  enter- 
prises for  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of  St. 
Cloud.  In  early  manhood  he  became  a  member 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Eellows.  and 
helped  to  organize  the  first  lodge  of  that  order  in 
St.  Cloud.  Although  now  in  his  seventy-fourth 
year,  Judge  Evans  is  an  active  and  vigorous  man, 
in  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  his  faculties,  and 
actively  engaged  in  the  conduct  of  his  profes- 
sional and  business  interests.  He  was  married 
in  June,  1871,  to  Elizabeth  \\'.  Libby.  They  have 
no  children. 


56 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES  ALFRED  PILLSBURY. 

Charles  Alfred  Pillsbury  is  a  name  more 
widely  known  than  that  of  any  man  in  Min- 
nesota. He  was  for  a  long  time  the  head 
of  the  famous  milling  firm  of  Charles  A.  Pills- 
bury  &  Company,  and  is  now  manager  of  the 
Pillsburj-Washburn  syndicate,  the  largest  flour 
milling  organization  in  the  world.  Mr.  Pillsbury 
is  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  having  been  born 
at  Warner,  ;\Ierrimac  County,  October  3,  1842, 
the  son  of  George  A.  Pillsbury,  a  merchant  of 
that  place,  now  a  resident  of  Minneapolis,  ex- 
mayor  of  the  city,  a  member  of  the  milling  firm 
of  C.  A.  Pillsbury  &  Co.,  and  identified  with 
many  of  the  important  enterprises  of  this  city. 
Charles  A.  Pillsbury  graduated  from  Dartmouth 
College  at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  His  collegiate 
course  was  interrupted  somewhat  by  teaching 
school  as  a  means  of  partial  self-support  while 
in  college.  Soon  after  the  completion  of  his  col- 
lege course  he  went  to  Montreal,  where  for  six 
years  he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  as  a  clerk.  In  1869  he 
came  to  Minneapolis,  where  he  bought  an  inter- 
est in  a  small  flouring  mill  at  the  Falls.  There 
were  then  four  or  five  mills  lucatcd  thirc,  of  the 
old-fashioned  pattern,  using  liuhr  stones  for 
grinding  grain.     .Mr.  l^illsl)ury's  business  haV>its 


led  him  to  a  thorough  investigation  of  the 
methods  of  the  business  in  which  he  is  engaged 
and  he  applied  himself  industriously  to  master- 
ing the  details  of  flour  milling.  This  was  about 
the  time  of  the  invention  of  the  middlings  puri- 
fier, a  Minneapolis  device  which  greatly  im- 
proved the  quality  of  the  flour  and  increased  the 
profits  of  the  milling  business.  Mr.  Pillsbury 
was  among  the  first  to  adopt  the  new  invention 
and  reaped  a  rich  harvest  on  account  of  the 
reputation  which  his  celebrated  "Pillsbury's 
Best"  attained  before  the  new  device  came  into 
general  use.  Simultaneously  with  the  invention 
of  the  middlings  purifier  came  the  introduction 
of  the  roller  mill,  which  took  the  place  of  the 
buhr  stone  and  substituted  steel  rollers.  The 
^Minneapolis  mills  enjoyed  a  practical  monopoly 
of  this  new  process  for  a  number  of  years  and 
profited  by  it.  These  improvements  enabled  the 
millers  to  manufacture  from  spring  wheat  the 
finest  quality  of  flour  and  stimulated  the  wheat 
growing  industry  of  the  Northwest.  Li  1872  'Sir. 
Pillsbury  associated  with  him  his  father,  George 
A.  Pillsbury,  his  uncle,  John  S.  Pillsbury  having 
been  with  him  since  the  beginning,  and  enlarged 
the  scope  of  his  operations.  At  a  later  period 
his  brother,  the  late  F.  C.  Pillsbury,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  firm  which  continued  as  Charles  A. 
Pillsbury  &  Co.,  until  the  acquisition  of  the  mill- 
ing property  of  this  firm  and  that  belonging  to 
W.  D.  Washburn  by  an  English  syndicate,  under 
the  name  of  the  Pillsbury-Washburn  syndicate. 
.\lr.  Pillsbury's  phenomenal  success  in  the  man- 
agement of  this  business  led  to  his  engagement 
as  manager  for  the  syndicate,  in  which  he  also  re- 
tained a  large  interest.  Lender  the  ownership  of 
the  firm  of  C.  A.  Pillsbury  &  Co.,  the  original 
mill  had  been  added  to  by  ])urchase  and  lease 
until  it  included  the  great  mill  called  "Pillsbury 
A,"  with  a  capacity  of  over  9,000  barrels  a  day, 
and  other  mills  making  up  a  total  capacity  of 
about  15,000  barrels.  The  consolidated  property 
has  a  capacity  now  of  over  20,000  barrels  a  day. 
The  milling  industry  at  the  Falls  has  taken  up 
all  the  water  power  available  under  present  con- 
ditions, and  last  year  the  English  syndicate  un- 
dertook, upon  Mr.  Pillsbury's  recommendation, 
the  construction  of  another  dam  below  the  Falls 
which  will  adil  m.cxx)  lior.se  power  to  the  capac- 
itv   .nlroadv  pn  ividcd.     .'\n   important   fcattu-e   of 


PROGRESSIVE  MEM  OF  MINNESOTA. 


57 


the  adininistraliun  of  this  iniiuciisc  business  has 
been  the  introduction  of  the  profit  sharing  plan 
by  Mr.  Pillsbury,  under  which  as  high  as  $25,000 
have  been  chvided  among  the  employes  in  one 
year.  Mr.  Pillsbury  is  identified  with  numerous 
other  important  enterprises  and  is  prominent  in 
benevolent  and  philanthropic  undertakings,  his 
large  resources  and  liberal  hand  contributing  to 
the  support  of  many  charitable  institutions,  both 
public  and  private.  While  Mr.  Pillsbury  is 
a  prominent  Republican  ami  has  never  sought 
])olitical  honors  he  lias  not  shirked  his 
political  duties,  and  for  ten  years  he  served 
his  city  as  state  senator.  During  most  of  that 
time  he  occupied  the  position  of  chairman  of 
finance  committee  and  had  charge  of  the  bill 
which  his  inicle,  then  governor,  had  recom- 
mended for  the  adjustment  of  state  bonds.  Mr. 
Pillsbury  is  a  man  of  robust  health  and  buoyant 
spirits,  popular  with  all  classes,  readily  accessible 
at  all  times,  alive  to  the  interests  of  his  city,  and 
devotes  a  great  deal  of  time  for  so  busy  a  man 
to  the  promotion  of  its  best  interests,  politically, 
economically  and  educationally.  He  is  an  at- 
tendant of  Plymouth  Congregational  Church, 
was  for  a  long  time  trustee  of  that  society  and 
is  a  liberal  supporter  of  its  work.  He  w-as  mar- 
ried September  12,  1866,  to  Mary  A.  Stinson,  of 
Gofifston,  New  Hampshire,  a  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain Charles  Stinson.    Thcv  have  two  sons. 


ALF  E.  BOYESEN. 

Alf  E.  Boyesen,  a  lawyer  of  St.  Paul,  was 
born  in  Christiania,  Norway,  April  21,  1857.  His 
fatlier,  Capt.  S.  F.  Boyesen,  of  Christiana,  was 
an  officer  in  the  Norwegian  regular  army.  Capt. 
Boyesen's  father  was  a  landed  proprietor  of  Nor- 
way, and  the  owner  of  "Hovin,"  one  of  the 
largest  estates  in  Norway.  "Hovin"  is  situated  a 
few  miles  out  of  Christiania,  Norway's  capital,  and 
is  famous  as  one  of  the  most  attractive  country 
seats  in  that  region.  The  maternal  grandfather 
of  Alf  E.  was  Judge  Hjorth,  of  Systrand,  on 
Sognefjord,  Norway.  Alf  Boyesen  attended  the 
pul)lic  schools  in  Norway,  and  also  studied 
with  his  father,  who  was  a  man  of  fine  educational 
attainments,  until  he  came  to  the  United  States 
at  the  age  of  twelve  years.  On  his  arrival  in 
this  countrv  he  went  to   Urbana  I^niversit\-,  at 


Urbana,  Ohio,  where  his  brother,  the  celebrated 
author  and  philologist,  the  late  Hjalmar  Hjorth 
Boyesen,  was  then  engaged  as  an  instructor.  In 
1878,  having  comjjleted  his  university  course, 
Mr.  Boyesen  came  to  Minnesota,  located  in  Min- 
neapolis, and  was  taken  into  the  law'  office  of 
Shaw,  Levi  &  Cray,  as  a  law  student.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  Hennepin  County  in 
1880,  and  shortly  afterward  went  to  Fargo,  North 
Dakota,  to  engage  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. He  continued  there  in  that  business 
until  1887,  when  he  returned  to  Minnesota  and 
located  at  St.  Paul,  where  he  has  been  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  ever  since.  He  is  now 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Munn,  Boyesen  & 
Thygeson.  This  partnership  was  formed  in  1890, 
and  constitutes  one  of  the  leading  law  firms  of 
the  state.  Mr.  Boyesen  is  what  may  be  called 
a  Cleveland  Democrat  in  politics,  is  a  thorough 
believer  in  sound  money,  in  a  low  tarifif  and  ad- 
heres to  the  principles  of  civil  service  reform. 
He  has,  however,  never  aspired  to  any  political 
office,  and  has  no  desire  to  achieve  honors  or 
responsibilities  of  that  kind.  His  political  ac- 
tivities consist  chiefly  of  a  leading  membership 
in  the  Civil  .'^er^'ice  Reform  Association,  of  St 
Paul.  Mr.  Boyesen  was  married  in  1883  to  Miss 
Florence  Knapp,  of  Racine.  AMsconsin.  They 
have  no  children. 


58 


PROGRESSIVE  MEX  OF  MINNESOTA. 


THO^IAS  BARLOW  WALKER. 

Thomas  Barlow  Walker  is  one  of  the 
most  honored  names  in  the  city  of  [Minneapolis, 
where  he  is  known  not  so  much  for  his  large 
fortune  a.s  for  his  numerous  philanthropies,  pub- 
lic and  private.  ;\lr.  Walker  was  born  February 
I,  1840,  at  Xenia,  Ohio,  the  second  son  of  Piatt 
Bayless  and  Anstis  K.  Barlow  (Walker).  His 
maternal  grandfather  was  Hon.  Thomas  Barlow, 
of  New  York.  When  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  a  child  his  father  fitted  out  a  train  for  the 
newly  discovered  gold  fields  in  California,  in- 
vesting all  his  means  in  that  enterprise.  While 
on  his  way  to  California  he  fell  a  victim  to  the 
cholera  scourge.  This  threw  the  lad  upon  his 
own  resources  and  the  remainder  of  his  boyhood 
was  a  hard  struggle  with  poverty.  He  had  a 
natural  aptitude  for  study,  however,  and  notwith- 
standing tile  adversity  which  he  suffered  man- 
aged to  acquire  an  excellent  education.  I'rom 
his  ninth  to  his  si.Kteenth  year  he  attended  only 
short  terms  in  the  public  schools.  At  that  time 
his  family  removed  to  I'erea,  ( )hio,  for  the  better 
educational  advantages  to  he  attained  at  Baldwin 
L'niversity.  Here  he  was  obliged  to  devote  mf)st 
of  his  time  to  a  clerkship  in  a  coiuitry  store  in 


order  to  support  himself,  so  that  he  was  able 
to  attend  the  university  only  one  term  of  each 
year.  His  industry  and  capacity  were  such,  how- 
ever, that  he  soon  outstripped  many  of  the 
regular  students.  At  nineteen  he  was  employed 
as  traveling  salesman  by  Fletcher  Hulet,  manu- 
facturer of  the  Berea  grindstones.  His  travels 
brought  young  Walker  to  Paris,  Illinois,  where 
he  became  engaged  in  the  purchase  of  timber 
land  and  in  cutting  cross  ties  for  the  Terre  Haute 
&  St.  Louis  Railroad.  Unfortunately,  after 
eighteen  months  of  successful  work,  he  was 
robbed  of  nearly  all  his  earnings  through  the 
failure  of  the  railroad  company.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Uhio  and  during  the  next  winter 
taught  a  district  school  with  much  success  and 
was  subseciuently  elected  to  the  assistant  profes- 
sorship of  mathematics  in  the  Wisconsin  State 
University.  This  position  he  was  obliged  to  de- 
cline, however,  because  of  arrangements  already 
made  to  enter  the  service  of  the  government  sur- 
vey. While  at  ^McGregor,  Iowa,  Air.  Walker 
clianced  to  meet  J.  AI.  Robinson,  a  citizen  of 
the  then  young  but  thriving  town  of  Alinneap- 
olis.  Mr.  Robinson  presented  the  attractions 
and  prospects  of  the  young  city  with  such  per- 
suasive elc>ciuence  that  jMr.  Walker  determined 
at  once  to  settle  there,  taking  passage  on  the 
first  steamboat  for  St.  Paul  and  bringing  with 
him  a  consignment  of  grindstones.  There  he 
met  an  unusually  intelligent  and  energetic  young 
man  enu^iloyed  by  the  transportation  company 
as  clerk  and  workman  on  the  wharf,  of  whom 
he  has  been  a  firm  ami  trusted  friend  ever  since. 
That  young  man  was  James  J.  Hill.  From  St. 
Paul  Mr.  Walker  came  over  the  only  railroad  in 
the  state,  to  Minneapolis,  and  within  an  hour 
after  his  arrival  entered  the  service  of  George  B. 
Wright,  who  had  a  contract  to  survey  govern- 
ment lands.  The  surveying  expedition  was  soon 
abanduneil  owing  to  an  Indian  outbreak,  and 
returning  to  ^Minneapolis  Mr.  Walker  devoted 
the  winter  to  his  books  ha\ing  desk  roc  mi  in 
the  oftice  of  L.  M.  .Stewart,  an  attorney.  The 
following  summer  was  occupied  in  examining  the 
lands  for  the  .St.  Paul  and  Pacific  Railroad.  In 
the  fall  lie  returned  to  his  C)liio  home  at  Berea, 
where  he  uas  married  December  ig,  1863,  to 
1  larrirt  ( J ,  the     youngest     daughter     of     Hon. 


PROGRESSIVE  ME\  OF  MINXKSOTA. 


59 


Fletclier  Unlet,  a  lady  whose  name  is  a  synonym 
in  Minneapolis  for  good  works.  Returning  to 
Minneapolis,  Mr.  Walker  entered  ujxin  an  active 
career  which  made  him  not  only  a  j)artici])ant  in 
but  the  chief  promoter  of  many  good  works  and 
enteq^risos  in  this  city.  In  the  summer  of  1864 
he  ran  the  first  trial  line  of  the  St.  I'aul  and 
Duluth  Railroad,  after  which  he  gave  attention 
for  years  to  the  government  survey.  In  1868 
he  began  to  mvest  in  pine  lands  and  thus  laid 
the  fomidation  for  the  large  fortune  which  he 
subsequently  accjuired.  His  first  partners  in  the 
business  were  L.  I'.utler  and  Howard  \V.  Mills 
under  tlic  firm  name  of  Butler,  Mills  &  Walker, 
the  first  two  furnishig  the  capital  while  Mr. 
Walker  supplied  the  labor  and  experience.  This 
led  also  to  the  extensive  manufacture  of  lumber 
by  the  old  firm  of  Butler,  Mills  &  Walker,  after- 
wards L.  FiUtler  &  Co.,  and  later  I'.utler  & 
Walker.  (,.)t  later  years  his  most  important  oper- 
ations in  this  regard  have  been  his  large  lumber 
mills  at  Crookston  and  Grand  Forks,  both  of 
\  which  have  been  leading  factors  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Northwest.  Mr.  Walker's  business 
career  has  been  characterized  by  strict  integrity 
and  honorable  dealing,  but  he  has  not  been  con- 
tent to  acquire  money  simply.  At  the  time  of 
the  grasshopper  visitation  he  not  only  labored 
for  the  inmiediate  relief  of  the  starving  but  or- 
ganized a  plan  for  the  raising  of  late  crops  which 
were  of  inestimable  value.  One  of  the  most 
creditable  examples  of  his  public  spirit  and 
munificent  influence  was  his  organization  of  the 
public  library.  It  was  due  to  his  efifort  that  this 
institution  became  a  public  instead  of  a  private 
collection  and  was  made  available  to  the  public 
without  even  so  nuich  as  a  deposit  for  the  privi- 
lege of  using  the  books.  To  him  also  the  city 
owes  more  than  to  any  one  else  the  possession 
of  the  magnificent  library  building  which  it  now 
owns.  As  would  seem  right  and  proper  under 
the  circumstances,  Mr.  Walker  has  been  con- 
tinuously president  of  the  library  board  since  its 
organization  in  1885,  to  the  present  time.  To 
him  also  is  due  the  credit  for  the  inception  and 
principal  support  of  the  School  of  Fine  Arts,  of 
wdiich  Society  he  is  president.  Mr.  Walker's 
love       for       art       is       fully       exemplified       in 


the  splendid  collection  of  pictures  in 
his  own  private  gallery,  a  collection 
which  has  few  if  any  ecjuals  in  this  country, 
among  private  individuals.  His  home  library  is 
also  an  evidence  of  the  scholarly  tastes  and  stu- 
dious habits  of  its  owner.  The  Minnesota  Acad- 
emy of  .Vatural  Sciences  is  another  institution 
much  indebted  to  him  for  its  past  sujjport  and 
present  fortunate  situation.  Xot  the  least  im- 
portant of  the  services  rendered  by  him  to  Min- 
neapolis is  his  devotion  to  the  building  up  of  the 
material  interest  (jf  the  city  in  the  line  of  manu- 
factures, jobbing,  etc.  It  was  through  his  in- 
strumentality that  there  was  organized  the  Busi- 
ness Men's  I'nioii,  which  has  accom])lished  a 
great  deal  for  the  material  interests  of  the  city. 
The  Minneapolis  Land  and  Investment  Com- 
jiany  is  another  institution  at  the  head  of  which 
^Ir.  Walker  stands  ancl  upon  wliich  he  has  ex- 
pended nnich  lime  and  money.  This  enterprise 
is  located  a  short  distance  \\'est  of  the  city,  where 
a  company  organized  by  Mr.  Walker  purchased 
a  large  tract  of  land  and  established  a  number 
of  important  industries.  This  manufacturing 
center  is  directly  tributar\-  to  Minneapolis  and 
will  no  doubt  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  be- 
come a  part  of  the  city.  The  Flour  City  National 
Bank  was  organized  in  1887,  and  a  year  later 
Mr.  Walker  was  elected,  without  his  knowledge 
or  consent,  to  the  office  of  president.  He  ac- 
cepted the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  his  posi- 
tion, against  his  protest,  and  discharged  them 
until  January  i,  1894,  when  he  peremptorily  re- 
signed. Three  years  ago  Mr.  Walker  also  or- 
ganized a  company  of  which  he  is  president  for 
the  construction  of  the  Central  City  Market, 
proljably  one  of  tlie  finest  market  buildings  in 
the  United  States.  This  necessarily  brief  sketch 
but  imperfectly  outlines  the  numerous  activities 
and  beneficent  public  ser\-ices  of  a  man  who  has 
been  identified  very  largely  with  nearly  every 
good  work  and  public  enterprise  in  the  city  of 
Minneapolis.  No  man  was  ever  more  favored 
in  the  marriage  relation.  Mrs.  \\'alker  has  been 
the  inspiration  and  participant  of  her  husband's 
useful  and  successful  life,  and  as  a  leader  in 
every  philanthropic  effort  has  brought  honor  to 
his  name. 


60 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNE&3TA. 


LUCIUS  FREDERICK  HUBBARD. 

Hubbard  County,  Minnesota,  is  named  after 
the  man  who  for  two  successive  terms  filled  the 
office  of  governor  with  distinguished  ability. 
This  man  was  Lucius  Frederick  Hubbard,  of 
Red  Wing,  who  was  born  January  26,  1836,  at 
Troy,  New  York,  the  eldest  son  of  Charles  F. 
Hubbard  and  Alargeret  \'an  \'alkenberg  (Hub- 
bard.) At  the  time  of  his  father's  death  Lucius 
was  but  three  years  of  age,  and  was  sent 
to  live  with  an  aunt  at  Chester,  \'erniont, 
where  he  remained  until  twelve  years  of  age, 
when  he  was  placed  at  school  at  the  academy 
at  Granville,  Xew  York,  for  three  years.  At  the 
age  of  fifteen  he  went  to  Poultney,  X'ermont,  and 
began  an  apprenticeship  to  the  tinner's  trade, 
subsequently  completing  his  apprenticeship  at 
Salem,  New  York,  in  1854.  Then,  a  young  man 
of  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  resolved  to  go  West, 
and  moved  to  Chicago,  where  he  worked  at  his 
trade  for  three  years.  With  the  exception  of  the 
school  facilities  already  descril)ed  he  was  self- 
educated.  Having  literary  tastes  and  studious 
habits  he  devoted  all  his  spare  time  to  systematic 
and  careful  stufly  in  reading,  and  in  this  way  ac- 
quired an  excellent  practical  education.  In  July, 
1857,  Mr.   Htihbard  came  to   Minnesota  and  lo- 


cated at  Red  Wing.  Although  without  experi- 
ence in  the  publishing  business,  he  started  the 
Red  Wing  Republican,  the  second  paper  in 
Goodhue  County,  and  by  reason  of  his  energy, 
perseverance  and  good  practical  judgment  made 
the  paper  a  success  from  the  start.  In  1858  he 
was  chosen  by  the  people  of  Goodhue  County 
as  Register  of  Deeds.  In  1861  he  became  the 
Republican  candidate  for  the  state  senate,  but  was 
defeated.  In  the  meantime  the  War  of  the  Re- 
bellion had  broken  out  and  Mr.  Hubbard  was 
just  the  kind  of  a  man  to  feel  the  responsibility 
and  obligation  resting  upon  him  of  service  to  his 
country.  In  December,  1861,  he  sold  his  paper 
and  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  A, 
Fifth  Minnesota,  and  on  the  fifth  of  the  fol- 
lowing February  was  elected  captain.  The 
regiment  was  organized  March  20,  1862, 
when  Air.  Hubbard  was  advanced  to  the  rank 
of  lieutenant  colonel.  The  following  May  it  was 
divided,  three  companies  being  ordered  to  the 
Minnesota  frontier,  the  other  seven  to  the  South. 
Mr.  Hubbard  went  with  the  division  sent  South, 
and  four  days  after  its  arrival  at  its  destination 
was  engaged  in  the  battle  of  P'armington.  Alissis- 
sippi,  then  in  the  first  battle  of  Corinth,  where 
Col.  Hubbard  was  severely  wounded.  In  August, 
1862,  he  became  colonel  of  full  rank.  He  was  in 
connnand  of  the  regiment  at  the  battle  of  luka, 
at  the  second  battle  of  Corinth,  and  at  the  battles 
of  Jackson,  Mississippi  Springs,  Mechanicsburg 
and  Satartia.  Afississippi;  Richmond,  Louisiana; 
and  the  assault  and  siege  of  \'icksburg.  After 
the  fall  of  Vickslnirg,  Col.  Hubbard  was  given 
cunuiiand  of  the  Second  iM'igade,  first  division. 
Sixteenth  Armv  Corps,  ^^'ithin  a  very  short  time 
the  brigade  had  been  in  seven  battles  on  Red 
River  in  Louisiana  and  in  Southern  Arkansas. 
(  )n  returning  to  Memphis,  Col.  Hubbard's  com- 
mand took  part  in  several  engagements  in  the 
northern  part  of  Mississippi,  Arkansas  and  Mis- 
souri, enciiuntering  Gen.  Price.  Col.  Hubbard, 
with  his  brigade,  was  ordered  to  reinforce  Gen. 
Thomas  at  Nashville,  and  was  engaged  in  the  bat- 
tle of  Nashville,  December  15  and  i(<.  1864.  Here 
the  brigade  was  badly  cut  to  jjieccs,  Col.  Hub- 
bard having  two  horses  killed  under  him,  and 
being  severelv  wounded.  The  brigade,  w  hicli  had 
long  cnjovcd  a  wclI-carncd  reputatinn  under  its 


PROGKESSIVK  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


61 


gallant  coiiiiiiaiukT  fur  endurance  ami  brav(.-r\-,  un 
this  occasion  added  to  its  honors  by  capturing 
seven  pieces  of  artillery,  many  stands  of  colors, 
and  forty  per  cent  more  prisoners  than  there  were 
men  in  the  connnand  itself.  The  military  records 
of  the  Fifth  Minnesota  contain  this  official  entry: 
"Col.  Lucius  I'rederick  Hubl^ard  breveted  briga- 
dier general  for  conspicuous  gallantry  in  the  bat- 
tles of  Xashville,  Tennessee,  Dccemljcr  15  and  16, 
1864."  -Subsequently  Gen.  Hubbard  was  en- 
gaged in  ojjerations  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Or- 
leans and  Mobile,  and  was  mustered  out  in 
September,  1865.  He  was  engaged  in  thirty-one 
battles  and  miudr  engagements,  and  has  a  mili- 
tary record  of  which  his  state  had  reason  to  be 
proud.  Returning  to  his  home  in  Red  Wing  the 
latter  ])art  of  ICS65  with  shattered  health  he  rested 
for  a  time,  anil  the  following  year  his  health  iiav- 
ing  improved  he  engaged  in  the  grain  business, 
his  operations  subsequently  extending  into 
Waliasha  County  and  becoming  ()uite  extensive. 
In  1876  he  became  interested  in  railroad  building 
and  completed  the  Midland  Railway  from  Waba- 
sha to  Zumbrota.  This  road  was  purchased  by 
the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul,  but  resulted 
in  the  construction  and  operation  of  a  competing 
line  by  the  Northwestern  Railway.  Subsequently 
Mr.  Hubbard  projected  and  organized  the  ]\lin- 
nesota  Central  from  Red  Wing  to  Mankato. 
More  recently  he  projected  the  Duluth,  Red 
Wing  and  Southern,  which  is  now  under  his 
management.  In  politics  Mr.  Hubbard  has  al- 
ways been  a  Republican.  In  1868  he  was  nom- 
inated for  congress  from  the  Second  District 
of  Minnesota,  but,  a  question  of  the  regularity 
of  the  nomination  having  arisen,  he  declined  it. 
In  1872  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate,  and 
again  in  1874,  but  declined  a  re-election  in  1876. 
In  1881  he  was  nominated  for  governor  of  Min- 
nesota and  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  27,857, 
the  largest  ever  received  by  any  candidate  for 
governor  up  to  that  time.  In  1883  he  was  re- 
nominated and  re-elected.  He  discharged  the 
duties  of  his  responsible  office  throughout  his 
entire  incumbency  with  marked  abilitv  and  dig- 
nity. Among  the  important  measures  of  Gov. 
Hubbard's  administration  enacted  in  response  to 
his  recommendation,  were:  The  creation  of  tlie 
present   Railwav   and    \\'arehouse    Commission: 


the  existing  system  (jf  state  grain  inspection; 
state  inspection  of  dairy  produces;  the  present 
state  sanitary  (jrganization  for  protection  of  the 
inibiic  health;  the  creation  of  the  state  board  of 
charities  and  corrections;  the  establishment  of 
the  state  i)ublic  school  at  ()watonna:  the  organi- 
zation of  the  State  National  (juard,  and  the 
change  from  animal  In  biennial  elections.  The 
state  finances  were  also  administered  on  business 
pnnci])les  of  a  high  order.  During  the  five  years 
Gov.  Hubbard  was  in  office,  the  ta.xes  levied  for 
state  purposes  averaged  less  than  for  the  ten 
preceding  years  or  for  any  period  since.  The 
rate  of  taxation  was  largely  reduced,  while  the 
public  debt  was  materially  decreased  and  at  the 
same  time  the  trust  funds  were  increased  from 
$6,278,911.72  to  $9,001,637.14.  Gov.  Hubbard 
also  held  other  important  positi(jns  of  trust.  He 
was  on  the  commission  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor in  1866  to  investigate  respecting  the 
status  of  the  state  railroad  bonds  and  ascertain 
the  terms  on  which  holders  would  surrender 
them;  on  the  connnission  appointed  by  the  legis- 
lature in  1874  to  investigate  the  accounts  of  the 
state  auditor  and  state  treasurer;  in  1879  on  the 
commission  of  arliitration  appointed  by  the  legis- 
lature to  adjust  difTerences  between  the  state  and 
the  state  prison  contractors,  and  in  1889  he  ser\-ed 
on  the  commission  appointed  by  the  legislature 
to  compile  and  publish  a  history  of  Minnesota 
military  organizations  in  the  Civil  War  and  In- 
dian war  of  1861-65.  ^Ir.  Hubbard  is  a  member 
of  Acker  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota 
Commandery  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  the  Minnesota 
Society  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,  So- 
ciety of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee.  Red  Wing 
Commandery  of  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and 
the  board  of  trustees  of  Minnesota  Soldiers" 
Home.  Mr.  Hubbard  was  married  in  May, 
1868,  at  Red  Wing,  to  .Amelia  Thomas,  daughter 
of  Charles  Thomas,  a  lineal  descendant  of  Sir 
John  Moore.  They  have  three  children,  Charles 
F.,  Lucius  \'.  and  Julia  M.  Mr.  Hubbard  is 
descended  upon  his  father's  side  from  George 
Hubbard  and  .Mary  Bishop  who  emigrated  from 
England  to  America  during  the  Seventeenth  Cen- 
tury, and  on  his  mother's  side  from  the  \'an 
\'alkenburgs  of  Holland,  who  have  occupied  the 
valley  of  the   Hudson   since  its   earliest  historv. 


62 


PROGRESSIVE   MEN   OF  MINNESOTA. 


JOEL  PRESCOTT  HEATWOLE. 

Joel  Prescott  Heatwole  is  the  Representative 
in  Congress  of  tlte  Third  Congressional  District. 
He  is  of  German  descent,  his  great-grandfather, 
on  his  father's  side,  Mathias  Heatwole,  having 
come  to  this  country  September  15,  1748.  He 
settled  in  Pennsylvania.  His  son,  David  Heat- 
wole, grandfather  of  Joel,  emigrated  to  \'irginia, 
where  Henry  Heatwole,  Joel's  father,  was  born, 
the  youngest  of  eleven  children.  In  1835  Henry 
Heatwole  moved  to  Ohio,  where  he  married 
Barbara  Kolb.  Henry  Heatwole  was  born  in 
1813.  He  studied  medicine  and  built  up  a  suc- 
cessful practice.  He  became  active  in  politics, 
and  was  a  captain  in  the  state  militia.  Subse- 
quently he  joined  a  religious  denomination  called 
the  New  Mennonites,  closely  allied  to  the  ortho- 
dox Quakers.  He  then  renounced  politics,  con- 
scientiously obeying  the  teachings  of  the  church. 
He  died  in  1888.  Barbara  Kolb  was  descended 
from  George  Kloebber,  born  in  Germany.  He 
came  to  this  country  when  a  boy,  and  his  daugh- 
ter, Elizabeth,  married  Henry  Kolb,  grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  Kloebbers  and 
Kolbs  were  enlisted  on  the  Colonial  side  in  the 
Revolutionary  War.  .\Ir.  Heatwolc's  mother  is 
still  living  at  Goshen,  Indiana.  Joel  Pre.scott 
was  born  at  Watcrford,  Elkhart  County,  Indiana, 
Augu.st  22,  1856.     His  education  was  received  in 


public  and  private  schools.  Before  the  age  of 
seventeen  he  became  a  teacher  in  the  district 
schools  of  Northern  Indiana,  and  in  1876  was 
elected  principal  of  the  graded  schools  at  Millers- 
burg.  He  had  already  learned  the  printer's 
trade,  and  in  August,  1876,  began  publishing  his 
first  newspaper,  the  Millersburg  Enterprise,  and 
for  two  years  he  conducted  the  Millersburg 
graded  schools  and  at  the  same  time  published 
the  Enterprise  as  a  weekly  newspaper.  He  then 
decided  to  discontinue  his  work  as  teacher,  and 
moved  to  Middlebury,  where  he  established  a 
printing  office  and  began  the  publication  of  a 
weekly  paper  called  the  Record.  This  paper 
was  conducted  successfully  for  three  years,  when 
in  1881  he  sold  it  and  removed  to  Goshen,  Indi- 
ana. There  he  became  a  part  owner  of  the 
Times,  and  was  engaged  in  newspaper  work 
until  1882.  He  then  sold  out,  and  in  August, 
of  the  same  year,  came  to  Minnesota,  settling 
first  at  Glencoe,  where  he  purchased  a  half  inter- 
est in  the  Enterprise,  which  he  edited  until  the 
next  July.  He  then  sold  his  interest  and  went 
to  Duluth  and  was  employed  on  the  Lake  Su- 
perior News.  In  November,  1883,  he  returned 
to  Glencoe  and  resumed  charge  of  the  Enterprise 
until  April,  1884,  when  he  bought  the  Northfield 
News,  with  which  he  also  consolidated  the  North- 
field  Journal.  He  has  built  up  this  paper  to  one 
one  of  the  finest  weekly  newspaper  properties  in 
the  state.  He  is  prominent  among  the  editors  of 
Minnesota,  having  been  elected  first  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  State  Editorial  .\ssociation  in  1886, 
and  president  in  1887,  1888  and  1889.  He  has 
always  been  a  Republican  and  has  taken  an  act- 
ive part  in  politics.  He  was  made  a  member  of 
the  Republican  State  Central  Committee,  and  sec- 
retary of  that  body  in  1886,  which  position  he 
held  until  1800.  In  1888  Mr.  Heatwole  was 
unanimously  elected  a  delegate-at-large  to  the 
Republican  National  Convention.  In  i8()o  he  was 
elected  chairman  of  the  State  Central  Committee 
and  conducted  the  second  campaign  in  which  Mr. 
Merriam  was  a  candidate  for  re-election  as  gov- 
ernor. Mr.  Heatwole  was  made  regent  of  the  State 
University  in  December,  i8gi.  He  was  nominated 
for  Congress  from  the  Third  District  in  1892,  and, 
although  defeated,  succeeded  in  reducing  his  op- 
ponent's plurality  nearly  forty-three  hundred. 
He  then  ran  fur  mayor  <if  Xortlificld  and  was 
elected  l)y  a  vote  of  nearly  three  to  one.     In  1894 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


63 


he  was  renoniinated  for  Congress  and  was  eleeted 
by  a  plurality  of  5,268,  and  upcm  the  organization 
of  Congress  was  given  a  place  on  the  I'oreign 
Affairs  connnittec  of  the  House.  Mr.  Heatwole 
is  a  member  of  the  .Minnesota  Club,  of  St.  Paul, 
and  a  gentleman  of  genial  maimers  and  dignified 
bearing.  He  was  married  December  4,  iSgo,  to 
Mrs.  Gertrude  L.  Archibald,  of  .Xorlhtield,  Alinn. 


EDWARD   J.   DARRAGH. 

Edward  J.  Darragh  is  the  corporation  attor- 
ney of  the  city  of  St.  Paul.  He  was  born  at 
Painesville,  Ohio,  June  20,  1869,  and  he  entered 
the  Catholic  schools  of  that  city  until  he  was 
thirteen  years  of  age,  when  he  was  placed  in 
what  is  known  as  the  x\rchibald  Business  Col- 
lege in  Alinneapolis.  His  father,  Edward  Dar- 
ragh, was  a  railroad  contractor,  and  aided  in  the 
construction  of  several  of  the  most  important 
railroads  in  the  East,  notably  the  greater  part  of 
what  is  known  as  the  Nickel  Plate,  also  a  large 
part  of  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern. 
He  was  the  contractor  and  builder  of  the  stone 
arch  viaduct  belonging  to  the  Great  Northern 
Railroad  at  Minneapolis,  and  it  was  while  his 
father  was  engaged  in  this  work  that  the  family 
removed  to  Minneapolis  and  Edward  J.  attended 
the  Archibald  College.  He  graduated  from  that 
college  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  was  then  sent 
to  Notre  Dame  University  at  South  Bend,  In- 
diana. He  completed  the  course  undertaken 
there  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  but  remained  at  the 
university  two  years  longer  for  post-graduate 
work.  His  father  had  died  in  1883,  and  in  1887 
his  mother  also  died,  at  which  time  he  returned 
to  Minnesota,  and  in  September  of  that  year 
obtained  employment  in  the  wholesale  grocery 
house  of  P.  H.  Kelly  &  Co.,  in  St.  Paul.  He 
was  engaged  there  as  bill  clerk.  Here  he  earned 
his  first  dollar,  his  salary  being  the  modest  one 
of  $30  a  month.  He  was  employed  for  seven 
months  by  this  firm,  when  he  was  appointed  fore- 
man of  street  work  in  the  city  of  St.  Paul.  In 
1888  he  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of 
C.  D.  and  T.  D.  O'Brien,  in  St.  Paul,  and  after 
two  years'  work  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Sep- 
tember. i8qo.  In  Tanuar\-,  1801,  he  was  ap- 
pointed deputy  clerk  oi  the  district  court,  but  re- 


signed the  following  October  to  begin  the  prac- 
tice of  law,  which  he  did  with  a  partner  under 
the  firm  name  of  Barnard  &  Darragh.  This 
firm  was  subsequently  changed  to  Westfall  & 
Darragh,  and  this  business  association  still  con- 
tinues. Mr.  Darragh  is  a  Democrat  in  politics, 
and  in  1894  was  nominated  for  congress  from 
the  Fourth  district,  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
important  in  the  state.  He  made  a  brilliant  cam- 
paign, but  went  down  under  the  general  land- 
slide. He  is  said  to  be  the  youngest  candidate 
ever  nominated  for  congress  in  the  Cnited  States. 
In  March,  1895,  he  was  elected  corporation  at- 
torney of  the  city  of  St.  Paul,  an  office  which  pays 
a  salary  of  $5,000  a  >'ear,  and  still  holds  that  posi- 
tion. He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
the  Irish-American  Club  and  the  St.  Paul  Com- 
mercial Clul).  He  was  married  in  September, 
1892,  to  Aliss  Nellie  Agnew,  daughter  of  ex- 
Sheriff  Francis  Agnew,  of  Chicago.  They  have 
two  children,  Agnew  Charles  and  Dorothy  Marie. 
It  is  an  unusual  thing  for  a  man  of  Mr.  Darragh's 
years  to  be  entrusted  with  such  weighty  responsi- 
bilities as  those  which  attach  to  his  present  office, 
and  that  he  should  have  been  selected  for  this 
position  when  scarcely  twenty-six  years  of  age, 
and  with  but  brief  experience  professionally,  ar- 
gues the  recognition  of  superior  ability  and  at- 
tainments. 


64. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ALBERT  ALONZO  AMES. 

Alljert  Alniizo  Ames  is  one  of  the  best 
known  names  in  the  city  of  MinneapoUs,  and 
at  various  times  during  his  career  has  been  the 
leader  of  a  larger  and  more  enthusiastic  follow- 
ing probably  than  has  ever  been  attached  to 
the  fortunes  and  person  of  any  single  citizen  of 
that  city.  He  was  born  at  Garden  Prairie,  Boone 
County,  Illinois,  January  i8,  1842.  He  was  the 
fourth  son  of  a  family  of  seven  boys.  His  par- 
ents were  Alfred  Elis'ha  Ames,  M.  D.,  who  died 
in  .Minneapolis  in  1874,  and  Martha  A.  Ames, 
who  still  resides  in  ^Minneapolis.  Dr.  Alfred 
Elisha  Ames  came  with  his  family  to  JMinneap- 
olis  in  the  spring  of  1852,  before  the  locality 
had  a  name  and  while  it  was  still  a  portion  of 
the  Ft.  Snelling  reservation.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  then  a  lad  of  ten  years.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  until  sixteen,  graduating 
from  the  high  school,  which  was  at  that  time  a 
department  of  the  Washington  school,  then 
located  on  the  block  now  occupied  by  the  new- 
court  house  and  city  hall.  In  1857,  while  still 
attending  the  high  school,  he  served  as  "printer's 
devil"  and  as  a  newspaper  carrier  for 
the  Northwestern  Democrat,  published  by 
Maj.  \V.  A.  I-Iotchkiss,  the  first  paper 
issued  in  Minneapolis  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river .  The  building  where  the  Democrat 
was  published  is  still  standing  nn  the  southeast 


corner  of  Third  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue  South. 
It  was  in   his  capacity  as  "printer's  devil"   that 
Albert  Alonzo  Ames  earned  his  first  dollar.     In 
the  summer  of  1858  he  commenced  the  study  of 
medicine  and  surgery  with  his  father,  and  after 
attending   two     preliminary     and     two     regular 
courses  at  the  Rush  Aledical  College,  Chicago, 
he  graduated  with  the  degree  of  M.  D.,  February 
5,  1862,  at  the  age  of  twenty.     In  the  following 
August,  Dr.  A.  A.  Ames,  who  had  returned  to 
Minneapolis   to   begin   the  practice   of  his    pro- 
fession, at  the  call  of  President  Lincoln  helped 
to  organize   Company  B,   of  the  Ninth   Minne- 
sota   Regiment,   enlisting    himself  as   a  private. 
That  was  the  time  of  the  Indian  troubles  on  the 
frontier,   and  the  men   of  the   Ninth   Regiment, 
who  had  been  given  fifteen  days'  leave  of  absence 
after  enlisting,  in  which  to  return  to  their  homes 
for  the  purpose  of  settling  up  their  affairs,  were 
ordered    hurriedly    to    the     front     against     the 
Indians,  who  were  rapidly  advancing  on  Minne- 
apolis.      Dr.  Ames  had  been  appointed  orderly 
sergeant,  a    musket   was    issued    to    him,    which 
he  still  possesses,  and  he  was  ordered  to  gather 
up  the  men  of  his  command  for  active  duty.      A 
few  days  afterward  he  was  commissioned  assist- 
ant surgeon  Seventh    Minnesota    Regiment    In- 
fantry Volunteers,  and  was  ordered  to  report  to 
that  regiment  then  en  route  to   Fort   Ridgeley, 
which    the    Indians  were  infesting.       Dr.    Ames 
served  with  his  regiment  during  its  three  years 
of  hard  service,  and  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  Surgeon  IMajor  in  July,   1864,  when  he  was 
only  twenty-two  years  of  age.       Dr.  Ames   re- 
turned to  Minneapolis  at  the  close  of  the    war, 
but  being  of  an  adventurous  and  ambitious  spirit 
he  set  out  for  California  by  way  of  the   Isthmus 
in  1868.       In  California  he  went  into  the  news- 
paper   business    and    soon     became     managing 
editor  of  the  Alta  California,  the  leading  paper 
on  the  Pacific  Coast.     In  the  fall  of  1874  he  was 
summoned  back  to  Minneapolis  to  the  death-bed 
of  his  father,  and  In-  has  been  a  resident  of  the 
citv  almost   continimusly  ever  since.        He    has 
always  taken   an   active   interest    in   politics,   his 
political   sentiments  lieing    those    urdinarily   en- 
tertained  by    those    who    are    known    as    "war 
Democrats."     In  the  fall  of  1867  he  was  elected 
a  member    of    the  legislature    from     Hennepin 
County  on  what  was  called  the  "soldier's  ticket." 
In    1876  he  was   elected   "centennial    mayor"    of 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


65 


Minneapolis.  lu  1882  he  was  again  elected  to 
the  same  office,  and  in  1886  was  for  the  third 
time  chosen  mayor  of  the  city.  In  the  latter  year 
he  was  nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  for 
governor  and  in  the  race  for  the  latter  office 
reduced  the  previous  large  Republican  majorities 
to  only  2,600,  the  actual  result  being  in  doubt 
for  some  days.  He  was  also  defeated  as  Demo- 
cratic nominee  for  congress  and  for  lieutenant 
governor,  having  the  misfortune  to  belong  to 
the  minority  party  in  the  state.  At  this  writing 
Dr.  Ames  maintains  an  independent  stand  re- 
garding politics,  his  Democracy  meaning  Jeffer- 
sonianism  and  his  interest  in  politics  being 
directed  chiefly  by  his  sympathy  for  the  masses. 
In  accepting  the  nomination  for  Governor  in 
1886,  Dr.  Ames  asked  the  Democratic  conven- 
tion to  pledge  the  party  to  the  support  of  a  bill 
for  the  establishment  of  a  Soldier's  Home  in 
Minnesota.  This  resolution  was  adopted,  and, 
although  his  party  was  unsuccessful,  the  Re- 
publicans accepted  his  suggestion  and  the  result 
is  the  commodious  and  well  appointed  retreat 
for  the  aged  and  indigent  veterans  on  a  com- 
manding site  at  the  junction  of  the  romantic 
Minnehaha  with  the  majestic  Mississippi.  Dr. 
Ames  served  as  surgeon  of  this  institution  for 
nearly  five  years  after  its  establishment  when  his 
professional  duties  necessitated  his  resignation. 
Dr.  Ames  has  been  Master  of  Hennepin  Lodge, 
No.  4,  of  the  Masonic  order;  High  Priest  of  St. 
John's  Chapter,  No.  g;  Eminent  Conmiander  of 
Zion  Commandery,  No.  2,  Knights  Templar,  and 
Grand  Chancellor  of  the  Grand  Connnandery 
Knights  Templar  of  Minnesota.  He  has 
been  Chancellor  Commander  of  Minneapolis 
Lodge,  No.  I,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Grand  Chan- 
cellor of  Minnesota  and  Supreme  Representative 
to  the  Supreme  Lodge  of  the  world  from  this 
jurisdiction.  He  was  on  the  charter  list  of  No. 
44,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
the  pioneer  lodge  of  the  Northwest,  and  its  first 
Exalted  Ruler.  He  is  a  member  of  the  G.  N. 
Morgan  Post,  No.  4,  G.  A.  R. 


I 


CASPER    ERNST. 

Casper  Ernst  is  engaged  in  the  bankings 
and  investment  business,  with  offices  in  Minneap- 
olis and  St.  Paul.     Mr.  Ernst  is  a  son  of  Jacob 


Ernst,  who  was  a  surgeon  in  the  German  arm}-, 
and  whose  wife  was  Anna  Sophia  Van  iSer- 
gen.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in 
Aacken,  Germany,  March  9,  1867.  He  attended 
the  parochial  school,  which,  in  this  instance,  hap- 
pened to  be  a  very  excellent  one,  until  he  was  ten 
years  old.  At  that  time  he  went  to  the  gym- 
nasium, which  corresponds  to  the  American  col- 
lege, antl  graduated  with  honors,  August  12,  1884. 
Casper  lias  a  brother  in  the  banking  business  in 
Germany,  whose  business  is  the  care  of  the  large 
estate  left  by  his  father,  and  after  he  graduated 
in  1884,  he  spent  a  year  with  that  brother  in  the 
banking  business.  In  1887  he  came  to  America 
and  located  in  St.  I'anl.  He  regarded  the  outlook 
there  as  very  favoral;)le,  and  opened  an  office  in 
1888  as  an  investment  banker,  with  connections 
in  Germany,  which  enabled  him  to  establish  him- 
self in  a  large  line  of  investment  business.  He 
prosecuted  this  business  with  great  diligence 
until  1892,  when  its  proportions  justified  him  in 
opening  a  branch  office  in  Minneapolis,  and  ^Ir. 
Ernst  is  now  conducting  the  banking  and  invest- 
ment business  with  great  success  in  both  cities, 
giving  his  personal  attention,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  both  offices,  which  he  has  thoroughly  organ- 
ized with  competent  assistants.  He  was  married 
in  1894  to  Man,'  Burke,  of  St.  Paul.  They  have 
one  child,  Loretta. 


66 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES  B.  ELLIOTT. 

Charles  B.  Elliott  is  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  district  court  of  Hennepin  County,  and  is 
now  serving  his  second  term  in  that  ofTice.  Judge 
Elliott  is  a  native  of  Ohio.  He  was  born  in 
Morgan  County,  January  6,  1861,  the  son  of 
Edward  Elliott,  a  farmer  of  limited  resources.  His 
ancestry  is  English,  and  settled  in  New  England 
in  the  early  history  of  the  countrv.  Soon  after 
the  Revolutionary  War  the  town  of  Marietta, 
Ohio,  was  founded,  and  Judge  F.llii)tt's  people 
were  among  its  early  settlers.  His  education  was 
commenced  in  the  common  schools  of  Morgan 
Cciintv,  and  cimtimied  in  the  high  school  of 
Pennsville,  a  Quaker  village  of  that  county.  Be- 
fore the  age  of  sixteen  he  had  ([ualified  himself 
as  a  teacher,  and  after  pursuing  that  ])rofession 
for  a  short  time  he  entered  the  T'repara- 
tory  Department  <pf  Marietta  College.  With 
the  exception  of  short  intervals  occupied  in 
teaching,  in  order  to  earn  money  to  pay  his  ex- 
penses, he  continued  in  school  there  for  three 
years.  In  the  meantime  his  father  remi  ived  to  Iowa, 
and  Charles  B.  FJlir)tt  followed  him  and  en- 
tered the  law  de])artment  of  the  Iowa  Slate  I'ni- 
versity,  from  which  he  graduated  with  a  degree 
of  LL.  !!.,  in  1881,  at  the  age  (jf  twenty  years. 
He  entered  the  law  office  of  Barnan  &  Jayne,  at 


Muscatine,  Iowa,  where  he  remained  a  year.  Dur- 
ing this  time  he  had  become  a  contributor  to 
the  Central  Law  Journal,  of  St.  Louis,  and  his 
contributions  were  received  with  such  favor  that 
in  April,  1882,  he  was  ofifered  a  position  on  the 
editorial  stafif  and  removed  to  St.  Louis.  For 
eighteen  months  he  devoted  his  time  to  writing, 
inaiul}  for  the  Central  Law  Journal,  the  South- 
ern Law  Review  and  the  A\'estern  Jurist.  About 
this  time  his  eyes  began  to  fail  him  and  he  was 
obliged  to  abandon  his  editorial  work  in  St.  Louis 
and  went  to  .•\berdeen.  South  Dakota,  w-here  he 
opened  a  law  office  and  became  the  representative 
of  the  Muscatine  Mortgage  and  Trust  Company. 
January,  1885,  found  him  in  ^ilinneapolis  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law,  and  here  he  pursued  his 
profession  until  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the 
municipal  court,  January  15,  i8go,  by  Governor 
Merriam.  During  this  time  he  also  pursued  a 
post  graduate  course  in  history  and  international 
law  for  three  years  at  the  LTniversity  of  Minne- 
sota, from  which  he  received  the  degree  of  Ph. 
D.,  in  1888.  In  1892  he  was  re-elected  to  the 
municipal  bench  by  the  largest  majority  given  to 
any  candidate  on  his  ticket,  and  served  in  that 
ofifice  until  January  4,  1894,  w'hen  he  was  ap- 
pointed judge  of  the  district  court  by  Governor 
Nelson,  to  fill  an  unexpired  term.  He  was  elected 
again  to  the  district  bench  in  the  fall  of  1894, 
for  a  term  of  six  years,  and  is  now  serving  in 
that  capacity.  He  was  lecturer  in  the  college  of 
law  at  the  University  of  Minnesota  from  1889  to 
i8()4,  and  since  Septeni1)er  I,  1894,  has  been  head 
of  the  department  of  corporation  and  international 
law  in  the  same  school.  Judge  Elliott  is  a 
student  and  a  man  of  high  attainments,  and 
although  now  but  thirty-five  years  of  age,  has 
come  to  1)C  recognized  as  an  authority  on  ques- 
tions of  intcrnaticinal  and  public  law.  He  has 
written  extensively  on  these  subjects,  and  a  list 
of  his  writings  fills  two  pages  of  the  report  of 
the  .American  Historical  Association.  Notable 
among  his  works  were,  the  treatise  in  1888  on  the 
''I'nited  States  and  the  Northeastern  Fisheries"; 
"Principles  of  the  Law  of  Private  Corporations," 
1894;  "Outline  of  the  Law  of  Instirancc,"  1895, and 
a  work  on  "International  Law,"  now  in  press.  His 
b("ik  (in  the  .Xnrthwestern  Fisheries  is  regarded 
as  the  highest  authority  on  that  subject.  George 
I'ancroft  pronounced  it  "admirable,  exact,  thor- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


67 


ough  and  free  from  prejudice."  Henry  Cabot 
Lodge  wrote:  "It  is  the  best  and  clearest  history 
of  the  question  I  have  seen."  Political  Science 
Quarterly  pronounced  it  "One  of  the  most  ex- 
haustive articles  on  this  question."  Judge  Elliott, 
while  accomplishing  so  much  in  his  profession 
and  as  an  author,  has  not  been  a  recluse,  but  has 
founil  time  to  mingle  freely  among  men  and  is 
held  in  high  esteeni  by  all,  not  only  on  account 
of  his  intellectual  qualifications,  but  also  on  ac- 
count of  his  social  qualities.  He  is  a  Mason, 
Knight  Templar,  a  member  of  Zuhrah  Temple, 
also  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  belongs  to 
the  Congregational  Church  and  takes  an  active, 
practical  interest  in  all  current  questions,  local  as 
well  as  general.  On  iSIay  13,  1884  he  married 
Edith  Winslow,  and  has  four  children.  He  has 
recently  been  complimented  by  the  Iowa  State 
University  with  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.  D. 


HENRY    C.    BELDEN. 

Henry  C.  Belden  is  one  of  the  judges  of 
the  district  court  of  Hennepin  County.  He  is 
a  son  of  Haynes  W.  Belden  and  Lydia  P.  Blake 
(Belden.)  His  father  was  a  farmer  in  poor  circum- 
stances in  A'ermont.  His  father's  ancestry  was 
English  and  was  among  the  early  settlers  of  Con- 
necticut. His  mother's  family  was  Scotch,  and 
among  the  earlier  settlers  in  New  Hampshire. 
Henry  C.  Belden  was  born  at  Burke, 
Caledonia  County,  Vermont,  on  August  30th, 
1841.  The  financial  circumstances  of  his 
family  were  such  that  he  could  not  have 
the  advantages  of  college  training.  His 
early  education  was  confined  to  the  common 
schools  and  the  village  academy.  Henry  C.  Bel- 
den has,  however,  not  depended  upon  teachers 
and  the  class  room  for  an  incentive  to  study.  He  is 
widely  read,  and  general  scientific  studies  have 
been  his  favorites.  He  had  not,  however,  neg- 
lected the  study  of  politics  and  current  eco- 
nomic questions.  He  began  the  study  of  law  in  the 
office  of  Hon.  Thomas  Bartlett  at  Lyndon,  Ver- 
mont, where  he  remained  from  1861  to  April, 
1864.  He  was  then  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began 
the  practice  of  law  at  Lyndon.  Subsequently  he  re- 
moved to  St.  Tohnsbury,  A'ermont,  where  he  re~ 
mained  until  December,  1884.  He  there  formed  a 
partnership  in  1873.  the  stjde  of  the  firm  being 
Belden  &  Ide.    This  firm  did  a  verv  extensive  busi- 


ness and  was  one  of  the  strongest  law  firms  in  the 
state.  Mr.  Belden  has  always  been  a  Republican 
and  served  the  people  of  Caledonia  County,  A'er- 
mont, as  their  representative  in  the  state  senate 
for  two  terms,  from  1876  to  1880.  He  was  also 
made  a  delegate  to  the  National  Republican  Con- 
vention at  Chicago  in  1880  and  voted  for  the 
nomination  of  Garfield.  In  December,  1884  he  re- 
moved to  Minneapolis,  where  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  John  B.  Gilfillan  and  C.  A.  'Willard. 
and  continued  the  practice  of  his  profession  with 
great  success.  Judge  Belden  had  never  taken  a 
very  active  part  in  Minnesota  politics  until  1894, 
when  he  was  nominated  by  the  Republicans  to 
the  office  of  district  judge,  and  was  elected.  He 
owes  his  choice  for  the  nomination  to  his  recog- 
nized ability  as  a  lawyer  and  to  the  reputation 
which  he  maintains  as  a  gentleman  of  high  char- 
acter and  sterling  integrity.  Judge  Belden  is  a 
member  of  the  Minneapolis  Club ;  is  a  gentleman 
of  broad  and  liberal  views,  and  possesses  those 
qualities  which  constitute  in  largest  measure 
the  equipment  of  a  wise  and  successful  judge.  He 
is  not  a  member  of  any  church,  as  he  regards 
church  creeds  too  narrow  to  fit  his  ideas  of  re- 
ligion. He  is,  however,  a  man  of  upright  life,  and 
highly  honored  in  the  community.  He  was  mar- 
ried April,  1865,  to  Carrie  H.  Kimball.  They  have 
five  children.  Mary,  George,  Helen,  Agnes  and 
Harry. 


68 


PROGRESSIVE  MEX  OF  MINNESOTA. 


1)(  ).\ALI)  GRANT. 

The  fame  of  Donald  Grant  does  not  rest 
upon  that  fact  alone,  but  it  is  interesting  to  note 
at  the  begiiming  of  this  sketch  that  to  Mr.  Grant 
is  due  the  credit  of  having,  as  a  contractor  and 
railroad  builder,  laid  more  miles  of  track  in  one 
da\-  than  were  ever  built  by  any  other  road 
builder  in  the  country.  In  the  construction  of 
the  Great  Northern  from  Minot  to  Helena,  dur- 
ing the  year  1887,  he  laid  in  one  day  ten  and  one- 
half  miles  of  track  and  on  several  occasions  laid 
over  eight  miles  a  day  the  same  season.  Donald 
Grant  was  bom  December  10,  i8_^7,  in  Glengarry 
County,  Ontario.  His  father,  .Mexander  Grant, 
was  for  thirty  years  .sherifif  of  that  cf)imt\-.  His 
mother  was  Catharine  Cameron,  a  native  of  Scot- 
land. Both  father  and  mother  were  Highlanders, 
the  ancestors  on  both  sides  having  come  from 
that  sturdy  race  of  people.  .Mr.  Grant  is  si.x  feet 
four  in  height,  but  so  well  proiwjrtioned  that  his 
lunisual  stature  is  not  often  noted  excei)t  as  he 
ajjjjears  with  men  of  ordinary  size.  Donald's  first 
dollar  was  earned  working  at  seventy-five  cents  a 
day  on  an  ( )liio  farm,  where  he  had  gone  as  a 
young  man  in  search  oi  his  fortune.  Carefully  sav- 
ing every  jiossible  penny  he  finally  accnnnilated 
several  hunflred  dollars.  Iletouk  the  money  home 
to  his  parents  in  Canacla,  only  to  find  when   he 


arrived  there  that  it  was  the  issue  of  "wild  cat" 
banks  that  had  failed  before  he  had  the  oppor- 
tunity to  use  the  money.  Mr.  Grant  began  the 
business  of  railroad  building  in  1865.  His  first 
contract  was  a  small  one  for  ties  for  the  ;\linne- 
sota  Central,  now  the  Iowa  «&  ^Minnesota  Divis- 
ion of  the  Milwaukee  road.  He  was  also  engaged 
in  track  laying  on  the  same  road  from  Faribault 
to  the  Iowa  boundary.  From  that  time  until 
the  present,  over  thirty  years,  he  has  been  a  rail- 
road contractor.  For  the  first  fifteen  years 
his  career  was  one  of  varying  success.  The  re- 
maining fifteen  years  have  been  attended  with  re- 
markable success.  Mr.  Grant  belongs  to  a  class 
of  men  now  passing  away  who  introduced  the 
railroad  into  the  wilderness  and  the  frontier,  the 
forerunner  of  civilization.  He  was  engaged  in 
the  Iniilding  of  parts  of  the  Iowa  &  Minnesota 
road,  the  Hastings  &  Dakota,  the  Minneapolis  & 
St.  Louis,  the  Dnluth  &  Winnipeg,  the  Southern 
Minnesota,  the  Wisconsin  Central,  the  Canadian 
Pacific,  the  ]\lesaba  road,  the  Winona  &  South- 
western, the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  and  the  Northern 
Pacific.  Mr.  Grant  is  a  Republican,  but  has  never 
sought  political  preferment.  He  was,  however, 
induced  bv  the  citizens  of  Faribault  to  accept  the 
olfice  of  mayor.  He  accepted  it  for  two  terms, 
iS()2  and  1803,  cliict1\-  from  a  sense  of  duty, 
being  intlorsed  by  both  Democrats  and  Repub- 
licans for  both  terms.  His  business  interests  are 
large.  The  principle  of  economy  and  thrift  which 
he  ado])ted  at  the  outset,  together  with  his  great 
business  sagacity,  has  enabled  him  to  accumulate 
a  handsome  fortune.  He  is  interested  in  manu- 
facturing enterprises,  and  is  director  in  three 
banks.  Notwithstanding  the  multiplicity  of  his 
business  connections,  he  is  a  man  of  genial  na- 
ture, and  his  success  is  largely  due  to  his  agree- 
able manners  and  superior  business  ability.  He 
enjoys  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  man  of  integ- 
rity, and  has  the  confidence  of  business  men  in  a 
large  degree.  He  is  the  chief  owner  of  the  Vene- 
zuelan concession  to  the  companv  of  capitalists, 
known  as  the  Orinoco  Companv,  and  is  also 
largely  interested  in  the  Rio  ^'erde  Canal  Com- 
pany, of  Arizona.  Donald  Grant's  wife's  maiden 
name  was  Mary  C"ameron.  They  have  had  seven 
children,  si.x  daughters  and  one  son.  Their  names 
are  .Samuel,  Fllen,  Katherine,  Isabella,  F.mma, 
AIar\'  ,'nid    Margeret    Jane. 


PROGRESSIVE   MH.M  OF   MINNESOTA. 


G9 


DWICIir  MAY   SAliiX. 

Dwight  Alay  Sabin,  cx-Uiiitcd  Stales  Senator 
of  Minnesota,  was  born  at  Manlius,  Illinois, 
April  25,  1843.  Air.  Sabin  was  the  eldest  son 
of  Horace  Carver  Sabin  and  Maria  Elizabeth 
Webster  (Sabinj.  The  Sal)in  family  were  of 
Scotch  descent  and  came  to  America  in  1740. 
Thev  settled  in  New  Hampshire  and  t'onnecticut, 
and  Horace  Carver  Sabin  was  born  in  Windiiam 
County,  Connecticut,  on  a  l^eautifid  farm  owned 
by  his  father,  Jedediah  Sabin.  In  early  man- 
hood, Horace  Carver  Sabin  moved  to  the  West- 
em  Reserve,  Ohio,  and  later  came  farther  \\  est 
to  Ottawa,  Illinois,  then  a  thriving  trading  vil- 
lage at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Illinois 
river.  Here  he  engaged  in  farming  and  became 
an  extensive  breeder  of  blooded  cattle,  having 
the  first  business  of  this  kind  established  in  the 
state.  He  was  one  of  the  original  abolitionists, 
and  his  protection  and  services  were  often  ac- 
corded to  fugitive  slaves  passing  through  that 
section  on  their  perilous  \vay  towards  safety  and 
liberty.  The  Sabin  residence  was  in  fact,  one  of 
the  important  stations  on  what  was  known  as 
the  underground  railroad  to  which  escaped  ne- 
groes were  directed  for  assistance  and  where 
they  invariably  received  help  and  a  heartv  "God 
speed."  Horace  Carver  Sabin  was  a  friend  and 
co-laborer  with  ( )wen  Lovejoy  and  John  F. 
Farnsworth,  and  was  an  acquaintance  and  great 
admirer  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  All  of  these  gentle- 
men were  frequently  guests  at  his  house  when 
on  professional  and  political  trips  made  in  those 
days  generally  on  horse  back,  railroads  being  as 
yet  unknown  in  that  new  country.  Mr.  Sabin, 
although  evincing  a  deep  interest  in  the  afifairs  of 
the  state  and  the  nation,  declined  strictly  political 
offices.  He  held,  however,  for  many  years  posi- 
tions of  trust  and  responsibility  on  county  and 
state  boards,  and  was  at  one  time  member  of 
the  state  canal  and  land  commission.  He  was 
also  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  national  con- 
vention at  Chicago  which  nominated  Abraham 
Lincoln  for  president.  On  account  of  his  fail- 
ing health  Air.  Sabin,  with  his  wife  and  twa 
sons,  Dwight  Alay  and  Jay  H.,  returned  to  the 
old  home  in  Connecticut  at  the  urgent  request 
of  his  father,  Jedediah,  who  in  his  declining 
years  wished  for  the  presence  of  his  onlv  son. 
Jedediah  died  in  1864.   \Miile  living  on  the  Con- 


necticut farm,  Dwight  Alay  attended  a  little 
district  school  for  three  years,  when,  his  own 
father's  health  becoming  seriously  impaired,  the 
care  of  the  farm  and  the  somewhat  extended  lum- 
ber business  devolved  largely  upon  the  young 
man.  He  continued  in  this  work  imtil  he  was 
seventeen  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  Phillips 
Academy  for  one  year  in  order  to  pursue  a 
course  of  study  in  higher  mathematics  and  civil 
engineering,  after  which  he  returned  to  the  man- 
agement of  his  father's  business.  His  life  re- 
mained thus  uneventful  until  Lincoln's  call  for 
volunteers  in  1862,  when  his  patriotism  prompted 
him  to  offer  his  services  to  Gov.  Buckingham, 
of  Connecticut,  who  sent  him  to  W'ashington  to 
join  a  Connecticut  regiment.  He  was  unable  to 
pass  the  medical  examination,  however,  and  was 
rejected  for  active  service  on  account  of  pul- 
monary weakness  and  his  youth.  He  was  then 
assigned  to  the  (|uartermaster's  department,  and 
was  afterwards  given  a  first  class  clerkship  in 
the  third  auditor's  office  in  Washington,  which 
position  he  retained  until  June,  1863.  At  that 
time  he  was  transferred  to  the  commissarv  depart- 
ment of  Beaufort's  Cavalry  Brigade,  and  reached 
the  scene  of  action  inuuediatelv  prior  to  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg.  He  remained  with  this 
brigade  during  many  subsequent  engagements, 
following  Lee's  retreating  army.  The  following 
year  he  was  called   home   bv  the   death   of    his 


70 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


father,  and  was  appointed  executor  of  the  family 
estate,  together  with  his  mother.  He  was  occu- 
pied with  these  affairs  and  other  business  enter- 
prises until  1867.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year 
the  delicacy  of  his  constitution  becoming  more 
apparent,  physicians  ailvised  a  change  of  loca- 
tion, and  Minnesota  was  chosen  for  climatic  rea- 
sons. He  first  located  in  Minneapolis,  where, 
during  the  ensuing  winter,  he  busied  himself 
investigating  the  lumber  outlook.  In  the  spring 
of  1868  an  opportunity  to  enter  this  busine.ss  in 
.Stillwater  presented  itself  and  he  settled  there, 
where  he  has  since  continued  to  reside.  In  con- 
nection with  the  lumber  business  he  carried  on 
other  enterprises,  building  up  the  manufacture 
of  threshing  machines,  engines  and  railway  cars. 
This  business  gradually  assumed  immense  pro- 
portions, giving  employment  at  one  time  to  over 
thirt\--five  hundred  men.  He  also  became  a  pro 
moter  and  partner  in  lumljer  operations  at  C'lo- 
quet,  Minnesota,  on  the  St.  Louis  river.  Mr. 
Sabin,  as  his  ancestry  would  indicate,  has  always 
been  a  Republican  and  in  1870  he  was  elected  to 
the  state  senate,  where  he  served  until  i883,when 
he  was  sent  to  the  United  States  senate  to  succeed 
the  late  William  Windom.  While  a  member  of  the 
senate,  Mr.  .Sabin  was  the  chairman  of  the  railway 
committee,  member  of  the  Indian  and  pension 
committees,  and  secured  pensions  for  over  eight 
hundred  old  soldiers.  He  made  no  pretense  to 
oratory,  and  was  not  known  as  a  speech-making 
senator,  but  rather  a  hard  working  member  in 
the  interest  of  his  state,  especially  in  the  line  of 
transportation.  Through  his  efforts,  aided  by 
Senator  Palmer,of  Michigan,  he  was  able  to  secure 
large  appropriations  for  the  .speedy  completion 
of  the  new  canal  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie.  He  was 
also  instrumental  in  securing  large  appropriations 
from  congress  for  the  improvement  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  other  rivers.  IMr.  Sabin  was  promi- 
nent in  the  councils  of  his  party,  and  for  several 
years  previous  to  his  election  as  United  States 
senator  he  w-as  Minnesota's  member  of  the  Re- 
pul)lican  National  Committee,  and  at  the  death 
of  Gov.  Jewell,  in  December,  1883,  was  elected 
liis  successor  to  the  chairmanship,  and  in  this 
capacity  presided  over  the  Republican  National 
Convention  in  Chicago  in  1884.  Mr.  Sabin  is 
married  and  has  three  adopted  daughters.  Since 
his  retirement  from  the  senate  he  has  been  ac- 
tively interested  in  business,  especially  in  the 
lines  of  Iuml)cr  and  iron. 


NATHAN  PIERCE  COLBURN. 

The  name  at  the  head  of  this  sketch  is  that 
of  a  man  who  has  helped  in  the  upbuilding  of 
this  state  since  its  infancy,  having  served  as  a 
member  in  its  constitutional  convention  and 
having  been  a  prominent  member  of  the  legal 
profession  of  the  state  since  1856.  Nathan  Pierce 
Colburn  was  born  at  Hebron,  New  Hampshire, 
December  22,  1825,  the  son  of  Abel  Colburn 
and  Deborah  Phelps  (Colbum.)  His  ancestors 
on  his  fathers  side  were  of  English  descent,  and 
on  his  mother's,  English  and  Irish.  His  maternal 
grandfather,  Samuel  Phelps,  was  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Hebron,  New  Hampshire,  a  soldier 
in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  a  skilled  worker 
in  ^\■ooden  ware.  Abel  Colburn,  the  father  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  farmer  and 
stone  cutter,  in  moderate  financial  circumstances. 
He  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  Nathan 
holds  the  memory  of  his  mother  in  filial  rever- 
ence. She  was  a  woman  of  strong  mental  and 
physical  powers,  well  informed,  and  reared  a  fam- 
ily of  nine  children.  She  died  at  the  age  of 
ninety-three,  retaining  her  mental  faculties  to  the 
last.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  early 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  Hebron, 
Campton  and  Plymouth,  New  Hampshire.  He 
was  obliged  to  discontinue  his  studies,  however, 
at  the  age  of  fourteen.  \Mien  he  was  about 
fifteen  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Ouincy, 
[Massachusetts,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  was 
apprenticed  to  learn  the  cabinet  trade  at  Reading. 
He  followed  this  line  of  business  for  nearly 
twelve  years,  a  part  of  the  time  working  at  the 
bench,  and  for  a  time  engaged  in  business  for 
himself.  The  latter  five  years  of  this  time  he 
resided  at  South  Reading  (now  Wakefield),  and 
while  there  was  made  justice  of  the  peace  and 
twice  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  select 
men,  assessor  and  overseer  of  the  poor.  In  the 
early  part  of  1854  he  was  appointed  deputy 
sheriff  of  Middlesex  County,  Massachusetts,  and 
held  that  office  mitil  he  came  West.  Pie  located 
at  Waukokee,  Fillmore  County,  ^Minnesota,  in 
October,  1855,  where  he  ;uid  his  brother  Joseph 
erected  a  steam  sawmill,  nno  of  the  first  in  th;it 
])art  of  the  coimtry.  He  sold  imt  his  interest  to 
his  brother  in  IMarch,  1857,  and  entered  the  law 
office  of  the  late  H.  C.  P)Utlcr,  of  Rochester,  then 
located  at  Carimona,  and  resumed  the  re;iding 
of  law,  which  he  had  pursued  while  deputy  sheriff 
in   Massachusetts.     In   the  fall   of   1857   he   was 


PKOCiKKSSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


71 


admitted  to  the  bar.  In  June,  1858,  he  removed 
to  Preston  and  commenced  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  He  has  since  practiced  in  the  state 
and  United  States  courts  up  to  five  years  ago, 
when  he  retired  from  active  business.  From 
1865  to  1870  he  was  in  partnership  with  Judge 
H.  R.  Wells;  from  1881  to  1883  with  Judge 
Henry  S.  Bassett,  and  from  1883  to  1888  with 
his  son,  Warren  E.  Colburn.  He  removed  to 
Rushford,  ]\Iinnesota,  in  Septemljer,  1883,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  In  his  early  life  Mr.  Colburn 
took  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  military  affairs. 
He  was  elected  first  lieutenant  of  an  independent 
company  when  twenty-two  years  of  age  at 
Reading,  Afassachusetts;  at  twenty-four  was 
elected  major  of  the  Fourth  Regiment,  and  at 
twenty-five  was  elected  colonel  of  the  Seventh 
Regiment,  which  regiment  he  connnanded  five 
years,  and  up  to  the  time  of  his  removal  to  Min- 
nesota. The  Seventh  being  one  of  the  best  regi- 
ments in  the  state  w^as  ordered  out  on  most  pub- 
lic occasions,  and  had  the  honor  of  escorting 
Daniel  Webster  through  the  cit}-  of  Boston  on 
the  occasion  of  his  last  speech  in  Faneuil  Hall 
on  his  return  from  Wasliington  in  1852.  In  the 
summer  of  1862,  at  the  time  of  the  Indian  out- 
break, Mr.  Colburn  was  in  St.  Paul,  and  at  the 
request  of  Gov.  Ramsey  returned  home  and  or- 
ganized a  company  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  mounted  men,  which  started  west, 
making  headquarters  at  Winnebago  City.  For 
five  -weeks  the  company  was  engaged  in 
scouting  and  building  earthworks,  and  was 
then  relieved  by  a  company  of  regulars:  but  they 
had  no  skirmish  with  the  Indians,  as  they  kept 
beyond  their  reach.  On  March  2,  1863,  at  the 
request  of  Hon.  William  Windom,  President  Lin- 
coln commissioned  Mr.  Colburn  as  paymaster 
in  the  army,  and  he  joined  the  Department  of 
the  Missouri.  He  served  in  that  department 
about  one  year,  when  failing  health  made  his 
resignation  necessary,  and  he  returned  to  Min- 
nesota and  resumed  his  law  practice.  Air.  Col- 
burn followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father  and 
affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party  when  he 
first  became  a  voter,  but  being  opposed  to  the 
extension  of  slavery  he  left  the  party  during  the 
administration  of  Franklin  Pierce.  For  a  time 
he  acted  with  the  Free  Soil  party,  but  in  the 
sunnner  of  1855  he  assisted  in  organizing  the 
Republican  party  in  Aliddlesex  County,  Alassa- 


chusetts.  Although  always  interested  in  politics, 
Afr.  Colburn  has  never  sought  office;  what  offi- 
cial honors  he  has  received  have  come  to  him 
unsought.  In  1857  he  served  as  a  member  of 
the  constitutional  convention.  In  the  following 
year  he  was  elected  to  tlie  lower  house  of  the 
legislature,  but  the  former  legislature  having  pro- 
vided by  law  that  no  session  should  be  held  the 
ne.xt  year  unless  called  together  Ijy  the  governor, 
no  session  was  held.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the 
house  in  the  legislatures  of  1866  and  1871,  at 
both  sessions  serving  as  chairman  of  the  judi- 
ciary connnittee.  He  has  also  served  ten  years 
as  county  attorney,  twenty-four  years  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  education  at  Preston  and 
Rushford,  and  one  year  as  nia3'or  of  the  latter 
place.  Mr.  Colburn  is  a  Master  Mason,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Eastern  Star,  and  has  belonged  to  the 
Odd  I-"ellows,  Sons  of  Temperance  and  Good 
Templars.  He  is  a  Universalist  in  belief,  but 
not  a  member  of  any  church.  In  April,  1850, 
Mr.  Colburn  was  married  at  South  Reading, 
Massachusetts,  to  Mary  Jane  Fames.  Four  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them,  only  one  of  whom  is 
now  living,  Warren  E.  Colburn,  senior  member 
of  the  firm  of  W.  E.  Colburn  &  Co.,  of  the  Aler- 
chants'  Exchange  Bank,  South  Chicago.  Illinois. 
Airs.  Colburn  died  at  Preston,  July  9,  1874.  Sep- 
tember i6th,  1877,  ^Ir.  Colburn  was  married  to 
Airs.  Helen  AI.  Tinkham,  his  present  wife,  at 
Ratavia,  Xew  A'ork. 


72 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ANDREW  H.  BURKE. 

The  subject  of  tliis  sketch  is  in  the  truest 
sense  of  the  word  a  seU'-made  man.  Born  in  New 
York  City,  May  15,  1850,  of  humble  parentage, 
he  was  left  by  the  death  of  both  father  and 
mother  at  the  age  of  four  years  a  homeless  and 
friendless  child  in  a  great  city.  That  beneficent 
institution  which  has  done  so  much  for  unfortu- 
nate childhood,  the  Children's  Aid  Society,  took 
him  in  charge,  and  at  the  age  of  eight  years  he 
was  sent  West,  where  a  home  had  been  found 
for  him  with  a  farmer  who  lived  near  Noblesville, 
in  Indiana.  Here  he  lived  and  developed  into  a 
I)romising  lad  of  exemplary  habits  until  he 
reached  the  age  of  twelve  years.  In  1862  he  ran 
away  to  enlist  in  the  service  of  his  country  as  a 
drummer  boy  in  the  Seventy-fifth  Indiana  volun- 
teers. After  serving  in  the  war  he  returned  home 
to  take  advantage  of  such  educational  facilities  as 
he  was  able  to  procure,  with  the  money  he  had 
saved  from  his  pay  as  drummer,  lie  was  enrolled 
as  a  student  at  Asbun,-,  now  Dc  1  'auw  University, 
at  Greencastle,  Indiana.  From  lack  of  means, 
however,  he  was  unaldc  to  pursue  his  studies 
there  as  long  as  he  desired,  and  was  obliged, 
therefore,  to  lay  aside  his  books  and  seek  em- 
ployment in  business  channels.     Anu)ng  his  im- 


portant business  engagements  was  that  of  busi- 
ness manager  of  the  Evansville,  Indiana,  Courier. 
Subsequently  he  removed  to  Cleveland,  where  he 
was  employed  in  the  service  of  a  commercial 
agency.  In  1877  he  came  to  Minneapolis  and 
was  for  two  years  employed  as  a  bookkeeper  by 
N.  B.  Harwood  &  Co.,  wholesale  dry  goods  mer- 
chants. He  was  a  fellow  employe  with  S.  E.  Olson, 
now  one  of  the  prominent  department  store  mer- 
chants of  Minneapolis,  and  formed  a  close  per- 
sonal friendship  with  that  gentleman  which  has 
continued  ever  since.  Later  he  was  employed  by 
a  lumber  firm  at  New  York  ;\lills.  In  1880  he 
removed  to  Casselton,  North  Dakota,  where  he 
was  for  a  time  engaged  in  commercial  business, 
and  subsec|uently  became  cashier  of  the  First 
National  Bank  at  that  point.  While  holding  this 
position  he  was  elected  treasurer  of  Cass  County, 
and  was  twice  re-elected  and  resided  at  Fargo,  the 
county  seat,  during  his  six  years  incumbency  of 
said  office.  In  1890  he  was  nominated  by  the  Re- 
publicans for  governor  of  North  Dakota  and 
elected,  being  the  second  officer  of  that  rank  in 
the  new  state.  Flis  administration  was  a  very  suc- 
cessful one,  highly  creditable  to  himself  and  ad- 
vantageous to  the  state.  Upon  the  expiration  of 
his  term  as  governor  he  removed  to  Duluth, 
where  he  now  resides,  and  is  engaged  in  the  gran) 
commission  business.  In  this  he  has  been  highly 
successftd,  his  honorable  record  both  public  and 
private  in  North  Dakota  having  served  to  bring 
him  business  in  his  chosen  line  in  larger  volume 
than  he  would  otherwise  have  enjo}-ed.  Governor 
Burke,  as  he  is  still  known,  is  a  gentleman  of 
high  character,  genial  manners,  and  creditable 
literary  attainments,  and  is  held  in  great  esteem 
by  the  people  of  North  Dakota  and  Minnesota, 
who  admire  him  for  his  sterling  qualities  and  his 
native  ability,  and  the  distinguished  success  which 
he  has  achieved  in  spite  of  the  adverse  circum- 
stances of  his  youth.  He  was  married  in  Minne- 
apolis in  1880  to  Miss  Carrie  Cleveland,  who  was 
then  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  that  city. 
He  has  two  daughters,  who  are  twins,  born  in 
October,  1885.  Governor  Burke  is  a  thirty-third 
degree  Mason,  and,  although  not  a  member,  is 
a  lil^cral  supporter  of  the  Episcopal  church,  to 
which  his  wife  and  daughters  belong. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


73 


CYRUS  NORTHROP. 

It  is  but  a  moderate  statement  of  fact  and  but 
a  just  recognition  of  wortli  to  say  that  to  Cyrus 
Northrop,  more  than  to  any  otlier  one  person,  is 
due  the  wonderful  success  of  the  University  of 
Minnesota.  Dr.  Northrop  was  elected  president 
of  the  university  in  1884.  At  that  time  the  insti- 
tution had  less  than  three  hundred  students, 
counting  a  large  number  in  the  preparatory  de- 
partment and  in  almost  entirely  detached  classes 
of  evening  technical  study.  In  1896  the  enroll- 
ment of  the  university  will  reach  two  thousand 
and  six  hundred.  When  President  Northrop 
took  up  the  management  of  the  university  it  had 
but  one  important  building;  it  now  has  a  score 
of  well  equipped  structures  adapted  to  the  needs 
of  a  modern  institution  of  learning.  In  1884  the 
school  was  a  university  only  in  name;  now  its 
colleges  embrace  all  the  departments  usually 
deemed  essential  to  a  university  in  fact.  But 
more  than  all  this,  the  university  in  the  past 
twelve  years  has  risen  from  the  position  of  an 
unknown  Western  college  to  the  second  rank 
among  state  universities  in  point  of  attendance 
and  to  an  equal  rank  with  the  leading  educa- 
tional institutions  of  the  country  in  scholarship. 
Dr.  Northrop  brought  to  the  work  of  building 
up  a  Western  college  an  experience  of  twenty 
years  in  a  leading  professorship  at  Yale,  a  mind 
ripened  by  long  study  not  only  of  books,  but  of 
men  and  affairs,  and  genial,  engaging  traits  of 
character  and  the  faculty  of  making  friends  every- 
where. From  the  moment  he  entered  the  univer- 
sity he  has  been  its  leading  spirit.  From  the  first 
he  has  been  loved  and  respected  by  students  and 
faculty.  President  Northrop  is  a  native  of 
Connecticut.  He  was  born  on  September 
30,  1834,  at  Ridgefield.  His  father,  whose 
name  was  also  Cyrus  Northrop,  was  a 
farmer.  His  mother,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Polly  B.  Fancher,  was  a  native  of 
New  York.  He  attended  the  common  school 
in  Ridgefield  until  he  was  eleven  years  old,  and 
then  went  to  an  academy  in  the  same  town.  This 
school  was  held  in  a  building  which  was  the  birth- 
place of  Samuel  G.  Goodrich,  commonly  known 
as  Peter  Parley.  At  this  academy  he  was  imder 
the  instruction  of  H.  S.  Banks  and  Rev.  Chaun- 
cey  Wilcox,  both  graduates  of  Yale.  In  1851,  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  Williston  Semin- 


ary, Easthampton,  Massachusetts,  then  under  the 
principalship  of  Josiah  Clark,  and  graduated  at 
the  end  of  the  year.  The  next  fall  he  entered 
Yale.  During  his  college  life  he  lost  one  year 
by  illness,  so  that  his  graduation  did  not  occur 
till  1857.  His  rank  upon  graduation  was  third 
in  a  class  of  one  hundred  and  four.  During  his 
college  life  he  was  a  member  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa, 
Skull  and  Bones,  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  and 
Alpha  Sigma  Phi.  He  was  first  president  of 
the  "Brothers  in  Unity,"  one  of  the  literary  soci- 
eites,  which  embraced  half  the  students  in  the  col- 
lege. In  the  fall  of  1857  he  entered  the  Y^ale  Law 
School  and  graduated  in  1859.  While  in  the  law 
school  he  taught  Latin  and  Greek  in  the  school 
of  Hon.  A.  N.  Skinner  in  New  Haven,  and  fitted 
two  classes  for  Yale.  At  this  time  Dr.  Northrop 
had  no  other  career  in  view  than  that  of  the  law. 
Upon  completing  his  course  at  the  law  school 
he  entered  the  law  office  of  the  Hon.  Chas.  Ives 
in  New  Haven.  But  the  stirring  times  just  before 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war  were  at  hand,  and  the 
young  man  was  irresistably  drawn  into  the  polit- 
ical battle  for  the  Union  and  freedom,  which  had 
as  its  visible  object  the  election  of  Lincoln.  Dr. 
Northrop  took  an  active  part  in  the  campaign, 
speaking  in  many  places  in  Connecticut  and  New 
Y^ork.  In  the  spring  of  1S60  he  was  elected 
assistant  clerk  of  the  Connecticut  House  of  Rep- 


7-t 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


resentatives,  the  next  3ear  was  made  clerk,  and 
in  the  following  year  he  \\as  chosen  clerk  of  the 
senate.  He  had  opened  a  law  office  in  Norwalk 
in  1861,  and  expected  to  return  to  it,  but  in  1S62 
he  was  called  to  the  editorial  chair  of  the  New- 
Haven  Daily  Palladium,  and  for  a  }ear  wrote  all 
the  editorials  and  had  entire  charge  of  that  paper. 
This  year,  President  Northrop  admits,  was  one 
of  the  hardest  of  his  life.  The  paper  was  a  prom- 
inent one  and  at  times  required  extensive  and 
unceasing  editorial  comment  on  the  great  events 
then  transpiring.  Papers  had  not  then  the  mod- 
ern conveniences  and  facilities  now  thought  es- 
sential, and  the  mechanical  details  of  the  work  of 
an  editor  were  exhausting.  In  1863  Dr.  North- 
rop was  called  to  the  chair  of  rhetoric  and  Eng- 
lish literature  in  Yale,  a  position  which  he  held 
till  1884,  when  he  was  called  to  the  presidency  of 
the  University  of  ^Minnesota.  Neither  of  these 
positions  was  sought  by  him,  and  he  was  not 
aware  that  he  was  under  consideration  as  a  candi- 
date for  either  position  until  it  was  actually  ten- 
dered to  him.  He  visited  jNIinnesota  with  his 
family  in  1881,  but  had,  at  that  time,  no  thought 
of  becoming  a  resident  of  the  state.  While 
a  professor  at  Yale,  durinig  the  war  and 
the  subsequent  agitation  respecting  reconstruc- 
tion, Dr.  Northrop  took  an  active  part  in  politics, 
making  many  addresses,  and  in  1867  he  was  a 
candidate  for  Congress  in  tlie  New  Haven  dis- 
trict. Since  1876  he  has  not  taken  any  part  in 
politics  except  to  cast  his  ballot.  During  the  ad- 
ministrations of  Presidents  Grant  and  Hayes  he 
was  the  collector  of  customs  of  the  port  of  New 
Haven.  During  the  twelve  years  in  which  Presi- 
dent Northrop  has  lived  in  Minneapolis,  though 
devoting  his  time  and  energies  to  building  up  the 
university,  there  have  been  many  demands  for 
his  presence  on  the  public  platform,  and  he  has 
made  many  addresses,  delivered  numerous  lect- 
ures and  has  frequently  occupied  leading  pul- 
pits. He  is  a  direct,  straight-forward  si)eaker, 
using  no  tricks  of  oratory  to  make  his  points, 
but  often  making  an  almost  homely  i^hrase  or  a 
humorous  statement  of  a  propositidn  count  for 
more  than  studied  eloquence.  As  an  after  dinner 
speaker  he  is  easily  the  foremost  in  the  North- 
west, and  has  been  so  much  sought  after  in  this 
capacity  that  he  has  been  obliged  to  refuse  all 
but  a  very  few  invitations  for  such  occasions. 
Though  not,  as  he  asserts,  in  pnlitics,  President 


Northrop,  through  his  influence  on  hundreds  of 
young  men  who  have  graduated  from  the  uni- 
versity and  become  voting  citizens  almost  at  the 
same  time,  has  exerted  an  influence  on  the  stand- 
ards of  citizenship  which  will  be  far  reaching  in  its 
effects.  President  Northrop  was  married  Septem- 
ber 30,  1862,  to  Aliss  Anna  Elizabeth  Warren, 
daughter  of  Joseph  D.  Warren,  of  Stamford,  Con- 
necticut. Their  eldest  daughter,  Minnie,  died  at  the 
age  of  ten  }ears  and  six  months.  Their  son, 
Cyrus,  Jr.,  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Min- 
nesota. Their  daughter,  Elizabeth,  entered  the 
university,  but  on  account  of  ill  health,  did  not 
graduate.  I'resident  Northrop  is  a  Congrega- 
tionalist,  and  has  been  very  prominent  in  the 
affairs  of  that  denomination.  In  1889  he  was 
moderator  of  the  National  Council,  held  that 
year  in  Worcester,  Massachusetts.  He  was  also 
a  delegate  to  the  International  Congregational 
Council,  held  in  London,  England,  in  the  smn- 
mer  of  1891,  and  he  was  one  of  the  two  vice- 
presidents  appointed  from  .\merica. 


JOHN  OUINCY  FARMER. 

John  Quincy  Farmer,  of  Spring  \'alley,  Min- 
nesota, has  cut  an  important  figure  in  the  history 
of  Southeastern  ?iIinnesota  during  the  last  thirty 
years.  He  was  born  in  Burke,  Caledonia  County, 
Vermont,  August  5,  1823.  The  family  residence 
was  a  log  house  on  Burke  Hill.  The  Farmers 
were  of  English  descent.  The  grandfather,  Ben- 
jamin Farmer,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary 
army,  and  his  grandson,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
recalls  having  heard  him  describe  several  battles 
in  which  he  participated,  among  them  being  the 
battle  of  Lexington.  On  his  moiiier's  side  the 
descent  is  from  a  Scotch  family  by  the  name  of 
Snow,  and  Grandfather  Snow  was  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business.  John  Quincy  was  the  son 
of  Hiram  and  Salina  Snow  (Farmer),  who  re- 
moved from  \'ermont  to  Madison,  Lake  County, 
Ohio,  in  1833,  and  settled  on  a  farm  near  the 
shore  of  Lake  Eric.  His  opportunities  for  edu- 
cation were  cjuite  limited,  his  father  being  unable 
to  afford  him  any  other  facilities  than  those  of  the 
district  school  during  the  winter  months.  \\  hen 
he  arrived  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  however,  he 
began  to  realize  that  he  was  deficient  in  the  mat- 
ter of  schooling,  and,  having  nbtaineil  permission: 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


75 


from  his  father  to  attend  an  academy,  set  about 
earning  money  to  pay  his  expenses,  receiving 
only  about  fifty  cents  a  day.  He  first  attended  an 
academy  in  the  neighborhood,  next  at  l^ainsville, 
and  finally  at  Grand  I\iver  institute,  Ashtabula, 
County,  C_)hio.  But  the  most  important  part  of 
his  education  was  received  at  Twinsburg,  .Summit 
County,  Ohio,  at  an  academy  conducted  by  Rev. 
Samuel  Bissel,  a  man  who  has  probably  assisted 
more  young  people  to  acquire  an  education  than 
any  other  man  in  Ohio.  John  Quincy  taught  a 
district  school  for  several  terms,  his  comijcnsation 
being  ordinarily  $14  a  month,  with  the  privilege 
of  boarding  around  among  the  parents  of  the 
scholars.  He  began  the  study  of  law  at  Pains- 
ville  with  I'erkins  &  Osborn.  He  afterwards  at- 
tended the  law  school  of  Prof.  Fowler,  at  Palston 
Springs,  New  York.  After  graduating  there  he 
came  West  and  spent  some  time  in  looking  up  a 
location  in  Wisconsin.  In  1850  he  settled  at 
Omro  and  went  into  practice.  In  December  of 
that  year  he  returned  home  with  the  intention  of 
getting  married  and  returning  in  the  spring,  but 
while  at  home  he  was  persuaded  by  Brewster 
Randall,  of  Conneaut,  Ohio,  to  go  into  his  law 
office  and  take  up  the  practice  which  Air.  Randall 
wished  to  lay  down.  This  proved  a  very  profit- 
able arrangement,  and  on  the  17th  of  November, 
1852,  Mr.  Farmer  married  Maria  N.  Carpender, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Joseph  R.  Carpender,  of  Pains- 
ville,  Ohio.  He  remained  in  practice  at  Conneaut 
about  six  years,  then  removed  to  Ashtabula, 
where  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Hon.  L.  S. 
Sherman.  He  remained  there  about  six  years, 
having  in  the  meantime  served  one  term  as 
coimty  attorney.  The  health  of  his  wife  failing 
he  came  West  again,  locating  in  Spring  Valley, 
Minnesota,  where  his  father's  people  had  already 
preceded  him.  The  benefit  to  his  wife's  health 
did  not  prove  to  be  permanent,  however,  and 
she  died  March  6,  1866,  leaving  two  sons,  George 
R.  and  Charles  J-,  who  still  live,  and  a  daughter, 
Carrie  M.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  five  years.  On 
his  arrival  in  Minnesota,  ]\Ir.  Farmer  gave  up 
the  practice  of  law  and  engaged  in  farming,  but 
his  brother,  James  D.,  who  was  engaged  in  prac- 
tice at  Spring  Valley,  gradually  interested  him  in 
his  practice  and  it  resulted  in  Mr.  Farmer's  re- 
turning to  his  profession.  In  1865  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature 
from  Fillmore  Count v,  and  was  re-elected  in  the 


fall  of  1866.  He  became  a  candidate  for  speaker 
of  the  house  and  was  elected.  In  1867  he  was 
again  elected  to  the  house  and  re-elected  speaker 
without  opposition.  In  1870  he  was  elected  to 
the  state  senate  for  two  years,  but  the  new  ap- 
portionment law  having  been  passed  that  winter 
he  stood  for  re-election  in  1871  and  was  success- 
ful. He  was  chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee 
both  terms  while  in  the  senate.  In  1879  he  was 
elected  district  judge  of  the  Tenth  judicial  dis- 
trict, and  was  re-elected  in  1886  without  opposi- 
tion. Prior  to  the  expiration  of  his  second  term 
he  announced  his  purpose  not  to  be  a  candidate 
for  re-election.  Nevertheless  the  Republican  con- 
vention nominated  him  for  a  third  term,  but  he 
absolutely  refused  to  run.  ^Ir.  Farmer  was 
president  of  the  Minnesota  Farmers'  Mutual  Fire 
Insurance  Association  for  about  twelve  years,  an 
association  organized  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
farmers  safe  insurance  on  their  property  at  first 
cost.  He  was  a  Henry  Clay  ^^  hig  in  his  politics 
and  helped  to  organize  the  Republican  part}-,  with 
which  he  has  always  been  identified.  He  is  a 
firm  believer  in  protection  to  American  industr\' 
and  sound  money.  Four  years  after  the  death 
of  his  first  wife,  already  noted,  he  married  Susan 
C.  Sharp,  January  13,  1869,  who  has  become  the 
mother  of  six  boys,  John  Frederick,  John  Coy, 
Daniel  Ehvin,  Ernest  >ilelvin,  Frank  C.  and 
James  Duane,  all  of  whom  are  living. 


76 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


FRA\'CIS  IVES. 

Tiie  subject  of  this  sketch  while  an  occupant  of 
the  district  bench  in  the  Fourteenth  Judicial  dis- 
trict brought  upon  himself  considerable  opposi- 
tion by  his  vigorous  enforcement  of  the  law 
against  violators  of  the  statutes  relating  to  gam- 
bling and  the  liquor  traffic.  This  opposition 
undertook  to  secure  his  impeachment  in  the  legis- 
lature of  1895,  but  without  success,  l^-ancis  Ives 
was  born  in  Orange  County,  \'ermont,  July  16, 
1 83 1,  the  son  of  Warren  and  Louisa  B.  Ladd 
(Ives.)  His  father  was  a  lumber  manufacturer  in 
comfortable  financial  circumstances.  I-Vancis  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  and  academies. 
He  began  the  study  of  law  in  Xew  York  in  1852 
and  was  admitted  to  the  l)ar  in  1855.  He  came  to 
Minnesota  in  June,  1856,  and  settled  in  Red  Wing, 
where  he  practiced  law  until  the  spring  of  1859. 
He  then  made  a  tour  of  Texas,  Arizona  and  Mex- 
ico, and  was  absent  as  a  newsi)aper  correspondent 
until  the  spring  of  1861.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  he  was  on  his  way  home  from  the  South.  In 
Tune,  1861,  he  married  .Miss  Helen  M.  Many,  a 
native  of  Vermont,  and  again  located  at  Red 
Wing  for  the  practice  of  his  profession.  His  wife 
died  in  1868,  and  in  the  year  1878  he  removed  to 
Crookston,  the  change  being  made  largely  on 
account  of  his  failing  health.    The  years  between 


1870  and  1878  spent  mostly  out  of  doors 
to  regain  health.  In  his  new  location  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  John  McLain, 
which  partnership  continued  until  August, 
1881.  The  firm  of  Ives  &  McLain  was,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  last  decade,  one  of  the  best 
known  legal  firms  in  Northern  Minnesota.  After 
the  dissolution  of  the  partnership,  jMr.  Ives  con- 
tinued alone  in  the  practice  of  law  until  1888, 
when,  for  a  short  period,  he  \\as  associated  with 
the  late  D.  E.  Hottlestad.  In  June,  1883,  he  was 
married  to  ]\Iiss  Cornelia  E.  Brigham,  of  Boston. 
Mr.  Ives  had  always  been  a  republican  in  his  early 
years,  but  in  1890  believing  that  the  republican 
party  was  no  longer  in  sympathy  with  the  politi- 
cal principles  upon  which  it  was  founded,  he 
transferred  his  connections  to  what  was  then 
known  as  the  Alliance.  In  February,  1891,  when 
the  People's  party  was  formed,  he  joined  that 
organization,  and  in  1892  was  nominated  by  it 
for  the  office  of  judge  of  the  Fourteenth  Judicial 
District,  and  was  elected.  He  took  his  seat  in 
January,  1893.  He  soon  found  several  towns  in 
his  district  under  the  control  of  gamblers  and 
keepers  of  houses  of  ill-fame,  and  soon  after- 
wards inaugurated  a  movement  which  subse- 
quenth'  resulted  in  the  eradication  of  these  forms 
of  vice  and  crime  to  a  very  considerable  extent. 
This  was  not  accomplished,  however,  without  vig- 
orous opposition.  The  grand  jury,  which  met  in 
December,  1894,  having  failed  to  indict  violators 
of  the  law,  although  urged  to  take  such  action^ 
Judge  Ives  dcnoimced  their  course  as  in  violation 
of  plain  duty,  and  discharged  them  with  a  repri- 
mand. He  then  directed  the  clerk  to  call  another 
jury  for  the  term  beginning  January  15,  1895, 
which  found  lifty-six  indictments  and  four  pre- 
sentments on  practically  the  same  evidence  that 
was  ]>resented  tt)  the  previous  jur)-.  This  vigor 
ous  action  on  Judge  Ives'  part  led  to  the  pre- 
sentation of  charges  before  the  grand  jury  and 
proceedings  of  impeachment,  but  the  legislature 
declined  to  sustain  the  charges.  As  the  result  of 
his  vindication  :\  nuich  more  wholesome  respect 
for  law  and  the  hetler  observance  of  its  require- 
ments has  Ikch  the  rule  in  that  district  ever  since. 
Judge  Ives  has  one  child  living,  the  .son  of  his 
first  wife,  Harry  E.  Ives,  who  now  resides  at  St., 
Hilaire. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


77 


A.  L.  MUHLER. 

A.  L.  Mohler  has  probably    been  connected 
with    the   raih-oad    service   in   the    Northwest   as 
long  as  any  other  man  now  engaged  in  tliat  line 
of   business.      His   business   career    has   been   a 
continual  advance  from  the  bottom   to  the  top. 
A  recortl  of  his  career  shows  that  he  has  earned 
his  promotion  from  one  stage  of  responsibility  to 
another  by  fidelity  to  his  trust  and  the  ]5ossession 
of  superior  business  ability.     A.  L.    Al older  is  of 
Swiss  descent  on  his   father's  side,  and   on    his 
mother's  side  of  Welsh  origin.      His  father's  an- 
cestry  came    to    Pennsylvania   in    1650   and    his 
mother's  to   Maryland  in    1692.      Both   families 
were  members  of  that  persecuted  and  yet  sterling 
people,  the  Quakers.    The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  born  in  Euphrata,  Pennsylvania,  May  6,  1849. 
His  educational  advantages  were  those   of    the 
common    school,    supplemented    by    a    business 
training  in  a  commercial  college.      He  grew  up 
on  the  farm  and  entered  the  railroad  service  as 
a  warehouse   office   clerk   for   the    Chicago   and 
Northwestern  Railroad  at  Gait,  Illinois,  in  1868. 
In  1870  he  was  made  station  agent  of  the  Rock- 
ford,  Rock  Island  and  St.  Louis  Railway  at  Erie, 
Illinois.     His  business  methods  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  his  superiors  and  the  next  year  he  was 
given  a  clerkship  in  the  department  of  operating 
accounts  in  the  auditors  office  of  the  .same  road. 
Soon   afterwards  he   transferred    his   services   to 
the    Burlington,    Cedar   Rapids   and    Minnesota, 
now  the  Burling-ton,  Cedar  Rapids  and   North- 
ern  and  was  employed   in   the   service   of    that 
company  from  1871  to  October,  1882.     During 
that  time  he  ser\'ed  two  years  as  pioneer  agent 
and  traveling  agent,  two  years  as  chief  clerk  in 
the  general  freight  department,   from  which   he 
was  promoted  to  the  position  of  assistant  general 
freight  agent.      After  one  year  in  that  office  he 
was  promoted  to  the  position  of  general  freight 
agent  and  continued  in  that  office  for  six  vears. 
In  1882  the  old  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Mani- 
toba, now  the  Great  Northern  Railroad,  was  ex- 
tending its  business  rapidly  into  the  Northwest 
and  needed  just  such  men  as  A.  L.  Mohler  for 
the  best  promotion  of  its  interests,  and  October 
9,  of  that  year,  he  was  ofifered  the  position   of 
General  Freight  Agent.     He  occupied  this  office 
until  March  i,  1886,  when  he  was  transferred  to 
the  position  of  land  conmiissioner:  a  verv   im- 
portant office  in  the  sen-ice  of  that  company,  as 


it  had  large  tracts  of  land  to  dispose  of.  The 
tide  of  innnigration  ])oured  in  the  Northwest  and 
settled  along  the  lines  of  the  Great  Northern 
Railroad.  Mr.  Mohler  continued  in  this  posi- 
tion until  January  15,  1887,  when  he  was  re- 
turned to  the  freight  department  as  General 
Freight  Agent  and  held  that  position  a  little  over 
a  year.  April  i,  1888,  he  was  appointed  General 
Superintendent  of  the  whole  line  and  in  October 
of  the  same  year  was  promoted  to  the  position  of 
Assistant  (leneral  Manager.  A  year  later,  or 
September  i,  1889,  he  was  prouKjted  to  the  posi- 
tion of  General  Manager  of  the  Great  Northern 
and  Montana  Central  Railroads  as  successor  to 
Allen  Manvel,  the  deceased  president  of  the  A.,  T. 
&  S.  F.  He  held  this  position  until  December 
I,  1893.  I'l  J"lv,  1894,  the  Minneapolis  and  St. 
Louis  reorganized  and,  restored  from  the  hands 
of  the  receiver  to  its  stockholders,  called  Mr. 
Mohler  to  the  position  of  general  manager,  the 
office  which  he  now  holds,  and  under  whose  direc- 
tion this  excellent  property  is  enjoying  a  con- 
stantly increasing  prosperity,  and  has  paid  the 
first  dividend  in  the  history  of  the  old  or  new 
organization.  Mr.  Mohler  is  a  splendid  example 
of  a  self-made  man,  one  who  has  demonstrated 
his  ability  to  seize  the  opportunities  which  come 
to  men  of  industry  and  merit,  and  bv  an  exhibi- 
tion of  self-reliance  and  perseverance  he  has 
achieved  the  1  est  which  his  chosen  profession  has 
to  offer. 


78 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ARCHIBALD  DOUGLAS  GRAY. 

A.  D.  Gray,  of  Preston,  Fillmore  County, 
Minnesota,  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York. 
His  father,  Alonzo  G.  Gray,  was  a  farmer,  the 
son  of  Elias  Gray,  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812. 
His  wife  was  Miss  Lucy  Ann  Murch.  At  the 
time  of  the  birth  of  their  son,  which  occurred 
on  November  13,  1845,  they  were  living  in 
Chenango  County,  New  York.  During  his 
childhood  the  family  was  in  poor  circumstances. 
\\'hen  he  was  nine  years  old  the  family  moved 
to  Newburg,  Fillmore  County,  Minnesota,  where 
Mr.  Gray,  Sr.,  continued  to  reside  upon  a  farm 
until  his  death  in  1896.  Archibald  lived  with 
his  parents  on  the  farm,  attending  school  in  an 
old  log  school  house  shingled  with  shakes  and 
eciuipped  with  puncheon  benches  and  tables. 
To  complete  his  education  he  attended,  during 
one  winter,  the  select  school  in  Flesper,  Iowa, 
and  sujiplemcnted  this  with  two  years  at  the 
Upper  Iowa  University,  located  at  Fayette. 
When  quite  young  he  became  a  student  of  law, 
using  at  first  the  old  law  books  belonging  to  his 
father,  and  afterwards  receiving  the  assistance  of 
Cyrus  Wellington,  who  was  for  years  a  member 
of  his  father's  family.  After  leaving  school,  he 
began  teaching  school  during  the  winter  season, 
working  on  the  farm  in  the  sunnncr  and  run- 
ning a  threshing  machine   in    the   fall.     About 


this  time  he  was  married,  in  !\[arch,  1868,  to 
;\Iiss  Emma  W.  Seelyc.  For  a  number  of  years 
he  continued  school  teaching.  LSut  in  the  fall  of 
1877  he  was  elected  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Fill- 
more County.  For  the  next  four  years  he  held 
this  office  and  studied  law  night  and  day.  In 
November,  1881,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He 
at  once  formed  a  partnership  with  R.  E.  Thomp- 
son, with  whom  he  had  studied  law,  and  who 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  the  same  time  as 
himself.  This  partnership  has  continued  to  the 
present  time.  Mr.  Gray  has  tried  and  assisted 
in  the  trial  of  a  great  many  important  cases.  In 
the  prosecution  by  the  government  of  Drs.  Phil- 
lips, Jones  and  Love,  for  alleged  pension  frauds, 
Gray  &  Thompson  assisted  in  securing  the  ac- 
quittal of  these  gentlemen.  In  the  fall  of  1894, 
the  firm  assisted  the  county  attorney  of  Winne- 
sheek  County,  Iowa,  in  the  trial  of  what  is  known 
the  Carter  murder  case.  The  defendant  was 
found  guilty  of  murder  in  the  first  degree.  This 
was  one  of  the  greatest  murder  trials  in  the 
history  of  Iowa.  But  their  practice  is  by  no 
means  entirely  in  the  criminal  line.  The  name 
of  the  firm  may  be  found  in  the  state  reports, 
connected  with  some  of  the  most  important 
cases  recorded.  Mr.  Gray  has  always  voted  the 
straight  Republican  ticket.  From  the  time  he 
was  twenty-one  years  old  until  he  went  to  Pres- 
ton, he  held  the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
and  for  many  years  he  was  County  Commis- 
sioner and  chairman  of  the  board,  which  he  re- 
signed when  elected  Clerk  of  the  Court.  The 
latter  office  he  held  until  January,  1891.  In  1892 
he  w^as  nominated  and  elected  Republican  presi- 
<lential  elector  for  ^linnesota  and  cast  his  vote 
for  Flarrison.  He  represented  the  First  con- 
gressional district  in  the  National  Republican 
Convention  at  St.  Louis  in  June,  1896.  He  is 
now  chairman  of  the  Republican  county  com- 
mittee, a  post  which  he  has  frequently  held  in 
l^revious  years.  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Gray  have  six 
children,  Miss  Stella  E.  Gray,  a  .student  at  the 
University  of  Minnesota;  Archie  D.  Gray,  who 
is  studying  law  with  his  father:  Mrs.  Lucy  Ras- 
mussen,  the  wife  of  Rev.  Henry  Rasmussen,  of 
Lanesboro;  Nettie  M.  Gray,  who  is  a  teacher  of 
music,  and  .\ndrew  G.  and  Alton  E.  Gray  who 
are  both  attending  school  at  Preston. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


7'J 


LARS  (  ).    Till  iKI'l'.. 

Lars  ( ).  Thorpe,  cashier  "i  tlic  l\aiidi)uhi 
County  r.ank  at  W  ilhiiar,  is  a  tyi>e  i>\  liic  success- 
ful Scaudinavian-Aniericau  settlers  frequently 
found  in  the  state  of  Minnesota.  I  le  was  horn  in 
\'ikor  I'arish,  liardanger,  Norway,  on  December 
24,  1847.  His  father,  Ule  Thorpe,  was  a  teacher  in 
the  common  schools  and  owned  a  small  farm.  He 
was  in  moderate  circumstances.  His  wife  was 
JMiss  Britha  Skaare.  lioth  were  well  connected 
and  religious  people.  Young  Lars  attended  the 
common  school  near  his  home  for  a  few  months, 
but  after  his  father's  death,  when  he  was  but  five 
years  old,  he  received  little  schooling.  His  step- 
father owned  a  freighting  vessel,  and  Lars  made 
several  trips  as  cook  on  this  ship.  l*"or  three 
years  he  was  employed  on  a  fishing  vessel.  When 
seventeen  years  of  age  the  poor  prospects  for  the 
future  suggested  to  the  young  man  immigration 
to  America,  and,  with  the  help  of  his  step-father 
ami  his  own  little  savings,  he  managed  to  come 
as  far  as  Detroit,  Alichigan.  From  that  point  a 
fellow  passenger  assisted  him  to  Sharon,  Wis- 
consin. Here  Mr.  Thorpe  worked  on  farms  and 
attended  the  common  schools  for  about  three 
months  during  the  succeeding  winter.  In  the 
spring  of  1865  he  came  to  Winona  and  worked 
in  a  planing  mill  and  later  on  a  farm.  The  next 
winter  he  went  to  Dodge  County,  and  was  em- 
ployed as  teacher  in  a  parochial  school.  In  the 
following  spring  he  followed  a  company  of  land 
hunters,  and  traveled  with  oxen  and  covered 
wagons  along  the  Minnesota  river  as  far  as 
Chippewa  County,  where  they  settled.  He  returned 
to  Dodge  County  during  that  summer,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1867  left  for  Xonvay  to  fulfill  a  promise 
given  his  parents,  that  he  would  return  in  four 
years.  In  the  spring  of  1868  he  returned  to 
America  with  a  brother  and  sister,  and  thev  all 
located  in  Dodge  County.  The  next  year  found 
Mr.  Thorpe  contracting  for  railroad  work  in 
Meeker  County,  and  in  the  same  summer  he 
located  a  homestead  in  Kandiyohi  County.  At 
this  time  he  concluded  to  learn  the  printers'  trade 
and  came  to  Minneapolis  and  commenced  type 
setting  on  the  Xordisk  Folkeblad.  But  printing 
did  not  agree  with  his  health,  and  he  accepted 
an  offer  from  A.  J-  Clark,  who  had  just  estab- 
lished the  Kandiyohi  Reveille,  and  went  to 
Kandiyohi  County  in  the  s])ring  of  187 1.     In  the 


fall  of  that  year  the  county  seat  was  established 
at  Willmar,  Mr.  Clark's  paper  suspended  and 
Mr.  Thorpe  was  thrown  out  of  employment.  He 
located  on  a  farm  in  Dovre,  Kandiyohi  County, 
and  tried  to  combine  farming  in  a  small  way 
with  teaching  and  the  duties  of  Justice  of  the 
Peace  and  Town  Clerk.  In  1875  he  was  elected 
Register  of  Deeds  of  the  county,  which  office  he 
held  for  three  terms.  In  1881  the  directors  of 
the  Kandiyohi  County  Bank  tendered  Mr.  Thorpe 
the  position  of  cashier.  He  accepted  the  offer 
and  has  occupied  the  position  ever  since.  During 
the  next  year  the  Willmar  .Seminary  was  estab- 
lished and  Mr.  Thorpe  took  an  active  part  in 
putting  the  institution  on  its  feet.  As  a  member 
of  the  republican  party  Mr.  Thorpe  has  taken  an 
active  part  in  the  county  and  state  elections.  He 
was  presidential  elector  in  1884  and  was  elected 
state  senator  in  1894.  He  has  held  numerous 
local  offices.  As  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Synod, 
he  has  been  a  member  of  several  important  com- 
mittees, and  is  now  alternate  for  the  member-at- 
large  of  the  Church  Council.  One  of  Mr. 
Thorpe's  hobbies  has  been  practical  temperance 
work.  On  June  6.  1870,  he  was  married  to 
IMartha  Ovale,  of  Dodge  County.  They  have 
had  nine  children.  Six  are  now  living,  Dorothea, 
now  Mrs.  J.  O.  Estreem,  of  New  London;  Ed- 
ward Lawrence,  Christian  Scriver,  Edith  Bea- 
trice, lane  Olea,  Bertha  Hcrborg. 


80 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN'  OF  MINNESOTA. 


DWIGHT  MAJOR  BALDWIN. 

Dwight  j\I.  Baldwin  is  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  substantial  citizens  of  Red  Wing,  Minne- 
sota. He  is  a  transplanted  Yankee  of  the  tj-pe 
which  has  given  the  Northwest  so  many  ex- 
cellent business  men.  Hart  B.  Baldwin,  Mr. 
Dwight  M.  Baldwin's  father,  was  born  at  Wood- 
bridge,  Connecticut,  on  April  15,  1814.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Rebecca  Barnum  on  May  6. 
1835.  She  was  a  native  of  Bethel,  Connecticut, 
and  a  cousin  of  Phineas  T.  Barnum,  the  famous 
showman.  Mr.  Baldwin  still  lives  at  Red  Wing, 
a  retired  business  man,  and  "well  fixed"  finan- 
cially. Mrs.  Baldwin  died  January  5,  1870,  at 
Red  Wing.  Their  son  Dwight  was  born  at 
Woodbridge,  Connecticut,  on  August  26,  1836. 
He  was  the  oldest  of  six  children,  five  sons  and 
one  daughter.  Two  of  his  l)rothers  arc  still 
living.  Young  Dwight  finished  his  school  days 
at  the  "Connecticut  I^iterary  Institution"  at  Suf- 
field  in  1853.  He  learned  the  carpenter's  and 
joiner's  trade  with  his  father,  tiien  a  contractor 
and  builder,  and  at  the  lighter  work  could  keep 
up  with  the  most  of  the  men  ulicn  lie  was  only 
fourteen  years  old.  At  eighteen  he  was  a  full- 
fledged  journeyman,  working  at  tlic  business  in 
New  York  City.  Later  he  went  tu  Danbin-y. 
Connecticut,  and  clcrkefl  in  his  fatiier-in-law's 
grocery  store.     In  April.  1862.  he  moved  to  Red 


Wing,  bringing  with  him  the  young  wife,  whom 
he  had  wedded  at  Danbury  on  October  30,  i860, 
and  their  first  child.  ;\Irs.  Baldwin  was  Miss 
Susan  Holmes,  of  Danbury.  Upon  his  arrival 
in  Minnesota  Mr.  Baldwin  became  warehouse 
clerk  for  Sheldon  and  Hodgman.  His  next 
employment  was  that  of  steamboat  clerk  for  the 
old  "Davidson"  line  between  St.  Paul  and  La 
Crosse.  After  several  years  of  river  life,  he  went 
into  partnership  with  his  brother  George  W.  in 
the  drug  and  grocery  business,  but  was  not  alto- 
gether successful.  He  then  turned  his  attention 
to  insurance  and  real  estate  business  and  still 
has  an  office  in  the  same  line,  having  built  up  a 
competence,  and  become  interested  in  many  of 
the  business  enterprises  of  Red  \Mng.  Mr.  Bald- 
win is  president  of  the  North  Star  Stoneware 
Company  and  Vice-President  of  the  Lnion 
Stoneware  Company,  of  Red  Wing.  Mr.  Baldwin 
was  not  engaged  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion, 
but  was  commissioned  by  Gov.  Ramsey,  Captain 
of  Company  A,  Tenth  regiment,  ^Minnesota  State 
Militia,  organized  under  the  act  of  the  special 
session  of  the  legislature  convened  in  1862-3.  The 
company  was  fully  armed  and  equipped  and  was 
ready  for  service,  but  was  never  called  out.  A 
Democrat  on  general  principles,  Mr.  Baldwin  is 
at  the  same  time  a  "sound  money"  man.  His 
religious  affiliations  are  \\iLh  the  Episcopal 
church.  He  is  very  prominent  in  the  Masonic 
order,  and  is  a  member  of  Red  Wing  Lodge,  No. 
8,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.;  La  Grange  Chapter,  No.  4, 
R.  A.  j\I.;  Tyrian  Council,  No.  4,  R.  &  S.  M.; 
Red  Wing  Commandery,  No.  10,  K.  T. ;  Red 
Wing  Chapter,  No.  88,  O.  E.  S.,  and  Osman 
Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  iM.  S.,  of  St.  Paul.  He  is 
a  past  officer  in  all  these  divisions  of  the  order 
and  has  been  representative  in  its  highest  coun- 
cils. r^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Baldwin  have  had  six  chil- 
dren, three  of  whom  are  living.  Mrs.  Mary 
Estellc  Fuller  was  born  at  Danbury,  December 
31,  1861,  and  is  now  living  in  2\linneapolis. 
Dwight  Major  Baldwin,  Jr.,  was  bo:n  at  Red 
Wing  on  May  28,  1867.  He  is  a  resident  of  Alin- 
neapolis,  and  is  proprietor  of  the  "Dwight  Flour 
jNlills''  at  Gracevillc,  Minnesota,  and  is  doing  a 
very  successful  business.  I  le  was  married  on 
."-September  18,  1889,  to  Miss  Edith  E.  Sheehan, 
at  Fargo,  North  Dakota,  and  they  have  two 
children,  Rose  Estelle  and  Dwight  Major  HI. 
Alfred  Holmes  Baldwin,  born  at  Red  ^^'ing.  Feb- 
ruary 17,  1877,  is  now  living  at  home. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


81 


CHARLES  JOHN  TRYON. 

Charles  John  Trj-on  is  a  lawvcr  pracliciiig  his 
profession  in  Aiinnfapohs.  He  is  descended 
from  old  Colonial  stock.  His  father,  A.  D. 
Tryon,  of  Uatavia,  (k-nesee  County,  New  York, 
was  in  active  business  as  druggist  and  bookseller 
in  that  place  for  about  thirty-five  years,  and  in 
fairly  comfortable  circumstances  for  the  greater 
part  of  that  period.  After  closing  out  his  busi- 
ness he  made  Western  investments  at  Spokane 
Falls,  which,  however,  have  not  proven  very 
profitable.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of 
Republican  jirinciplcs,  being  repeatedly  chairman 
of  county  committees,  but  has  never  held  any 
office.  He  was  born  in  Montgomery  County, 
New  York,  in  1824,  and  is  still  living.  His  wife, 
Amanda  Hatch  Shepard  (Tryon)  was  born  in  the 
first  log  house  built  in  her  town  in  Genesee 
County,  New  Y'ork,  removing  to  Batavia  shortly 
after  marriage.  \\^illiam  Tryon,  great-grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  and  lived 
in  early  life  in  Connecticut,  and  was  among  the 
New  England  levies  who  took  part  in  the  cam- 
paign ending  in  Burgoyne's  surrender.  His  son, 
John  Tryon,  grandfather  of  Charles,  served  in 
the  militia  in  the  war  of  1812.  They  and  their 
ancestors  were  all  farmers  living  in  Connecti- 
cut, in  the  vicinity  of  Wethersfield,  for  many  gen- 
erations, being  descended  from  William  Tryon 
who  came  from  England  in  1640  and  settled  in 
Connecticut.  The  paternal  grandmother  of 
Charles  was  of  pure  French  blood,  of  Huguenot 
stock,  her  family  having  settled  in  Connecticut 
during  the  Revolutionary  period.  The  grand- 
father of  the  stibject  of  this  sketch  on  his  mother's 
side  was  a  physician  and  farmer,  being  one  of 
the  first  settlers  in  the  western  part  of  Genesee 
County,  New  York,  having  come  overland  with 
his  wife  from  Vermont,  where  both  were  born. 
They  were  connected  with  the  Phelps  and  Graham 
families  of  that  state.  Charles  John  Try-on  was 
born  at  Batavia,  Genesee  County,  New  York, 
September  8,  1859.  He  was  educated  at  the 
Batavia  Union  school,  which  was  then  as  now 
under  the  control  of  the  regents  of  the  University 
of  New  Y^ork,  and  which  was  superior  to  the 
ordinary  academy  of  to-day.  He  was  compelled, 
however,  to  leave  school  at  the  age  of  fifteen  to 
aid  in  support  of  the  family,  after  the  business 
collapse  of  1873.  He  worked  as  a  clerk  in  his 
father's  store  for  four  years,  when,  having  pro- 


cured a  clerkship  in  the  first  auditor's  office  in 
the  treasury  department,  he  left  for  Washington 
in  1878.  He  held  this  position  until  April,  1886, 
when  he  came  West  and  located  at  ^Minneapolis. 
He  had  commenced  the  study  of  law  before  going 
to  Washington,  and  continued  its  study  while  in 
that  city.  He  received  the  degree  of  LL.  B. 
from  the  law  school  of  the  National  University, 
and  LL.  At.  at  the  Columbian  Law  School.  On 
his  arrival  at  Minneapolis  he  entered  the  law 
office  of  Kitchel,  Cohen  &  Shaw.  Shortly  after- 
wards he  was  made  examiner  for  the  Alinnesota 
Title  Lisurance  and  Trust  Company,  was  soon 
made  assistant  counsel,  and  in  October,  1892, 
was  made  counsel  of  the  company.  In  the  fall 
of  1895,  retaining  his  position  as  counsel  for  the 
trust  company,  he  opened  offices  for  general  law 
practice,  giving  special  attention,  however,  to 
real  estate,  corporation  and  insurance  law.  Mr. 
Tryon  is  also  a  director  of  and  attorney  for  the 
Northern  Standard  Telephone  Compan\-.  In 
politics  Mr.  Tryon  has  always  been  a  supporter 
of  the  Republican  party,  but  has  held  no  political 
offices.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Minneapolis 
Commercial  Club,  and  of  the  Plymouth  Congre- 
gational church.  June  10,  1891.  he  was  married 
to  ]\Iiss  Isabel  Gale,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Harlow  A.  Gale.  Afr.  and  Afrs.  Tryon  have 
three  children,  Frederick  Gale.  Elizabeth  Gale 
and  Phillip  ^'an  Dorn. 


82 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


D.  S.  B.  JOHNSTON. 

D.  S.  B.  Johnston  is  the  president  of  the 
land  mortgage  company,  of  St.  Paul,  which  bears 
his  name.  He  was  born  at  South  Bainbridge, 
now  Afton,  Chenango  County,  New  York,  May 
17,  1832.  His  father,  Levi  Johnston,  was  a 
farmer  in  the  Susquehanna  ^'alley  near  Afton, 
until  1886,  when  he  came  to  St.  Paul  to  reside 
with  his  son,  and  where  he  died  in  iSyo  in  the 
eighty-ninth  year  of  his  age.  His  father,  William 
Johnston,  was  a  captain  in  the  Revolutionary 
War.  Evaline  Buck,  wife  of  Levi  Johnston,  was 
a  daughter  of  Daniel  Buck,  who  located  in  Afton 
about  the  year  1800.  As  a  hunter  he  was  the 
Daniel  Boone  of  Southern  New  York  and  North- 
ern Pennsylvania.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  be- 
gan his  education  in  the  common  schools  in  his 
native  place  and  afterwards  prepared  for  the  soph- 
omore year  in  college  at  the  Delaware  Literary 
Institute,  of  Franklin,  New  York,  intending  to 
enter  Hamilton  College,  but  finally  concluded  to 
teach  school  instead,  believing  that  the  experience 
would  be  as  good  a  preparation  for  active  life 
as  a  college  course.  Pic  relied  upon  his  own  re- 
sources after  the  age  of  fifteen.  In  1849,  a*  ^'ic 
age  of  seventeen,  he  began  teaching,  and  kept  at 
it  in  district  and  select  schools  until  1854,  when 
he  became  principal  of  the  Union  School,  in 
Greene,  Chenangf)  County,  New  York.    The  fol- 


lowing year  he  abandoned  teaching  in  the  East 
and  started  W'est,  with  Galena,  Illinois,  as  his 
objective  point,  but  not  liking  the  appearance  of 
things  there,  he  at  once  took  a  steamboat  for  St. 
Paul,  where  he  arrived  on  the  evening  of  July 
20,  1855.  Two  days  later  he  set  out  for  St. 
Anthony  on  foot,  the  possessor  of  two  cents, 
which  was  all  the  money  he  had  left.  He  at  once 
began  to  look  for  a  chance  to  open  a  private 
school  and  soon  obtained  permission  to  use  a 
portion  of  a  vacant  two-story  building,  standing 
where  the  Exposition  Building  is  now  located. 
The  lower  story  contained  two  rooms,  one  of 
which  had  been  seated  for  school  purposes.  Here, 
in  August  1855,  he  opiened  a  select  school  with 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  Capt.  Rollins,  Leottard 
Day,  Dr.  Ames,  Air.  Stanchlield,  Air.  Libby  and 
other  prominent  pioneers  for  pupils,  [n  the 
spring  of  1856  Mr.  Johnston  was  employed  by 
Hon.  Isaac  Atwater,  then  editor  and  proprietor 
of  the  St.  Anthony  Express,  and  assisted  him  in 
editing  and  managing  the  newspaper  until  the 
following  winter.  Mr.  Johnston  then  joined  a 
company  organized  to  select  town  sites  on  the 
Minnesota  side  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North. 
The  expedition  set  out  from  St.  Cloud,  January 
I,  1857,  with  five  yoke  of  oxen  drawing  two 
loaded  sleds,  and  guided  by  Pierre  Bottineau,  the 
famous  Hudson  Bay  scout,  and  his  brother 
Charles.  It  required  thirty  days  to  make  this  dis- 
tance between  the  Alississippi  and  the  Red  River, 
and  the  explorers  nearly  perished  in  snow  storms. 
Four  buffalo  were  killed  out  of  a  herd  of  about 
one  hundred  north  of  the  Otter  Tail  river,  near 
the  present  site  of  Breckinridge.  The  winter  was 
long  and  severe  and  the  snow  was  so  deep  that 
no  relief  could  reach  the  party  until  late  in  the 
spring.  The  flour  was  soon  exhausted,  and  the 
cattle,  unable  to  obtain  anything  but  willow  twigs 
to  feed  upon,  were  killed  to  save  them  from 
death  by  starvation,  and  were  mostly  eaten  v,-ith- 
out  .salt.  And,  not  only  that,  but  other  supplies 
having  been  exhausted  before  spring,  the  party 
was  finally  compelled  to  subsist  upon  boiled,  salt- 
less  Red  River  cat-fish  and  tea  until  other  sup- 
plies could  reach  them  across  the  flooded  streams 
and  swamps  in  that  memorable  spring  of  1857. 
From  this  advt'nturc  Mr.  Johnston  accumulated 
a  large  aninunt  of  experience.  Imt  nut  nnich  else. 
He  returned  to  !>!.  Anthony  in  luno,  .-ind  tiie  fol- 
lowing   [ul\-,    in    connection    with    Charles    H. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


X3 


Slocum,  he  Ijouylit  the  St.  Anthony  Express  and 
became  its  editor.  His  competitors  at  that  time 
were  William  S.  King,  of  the  Atlas,  and  W.  A. 
Crolifut,  of  the  Xews.  The  Express  was  the  up- 
country  organ  of  Senator  Ilcnry  M.  Rice,  and, 
during  l!uchanan's  administration  and  the  sub- 
sequent triangular  contest  of  Lincoln, Douglas  and 
Breckenridge,  politics  and  newspaper  rivalrj'  were 
lively.  With  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  Mr.  John- 
ston abandoned  the  newspaper  business  and 
thought  of  joining  the  First  Minnesota  regiment, 
but  upon  examinanon  by  Dr.  A.  E.  Ames  was 
found  to  be  disqualified.  In  1864  Mr.  Johnston 
went  into  the  insurance  and  investment  business 
at  St.  Paul.  In  1874  he  dropped  insurance  and 
has  since  devoted  his  attention  entirely  to  real 
estate  and  mortgage  investments.  I  lis  business 
was  finally  merged  into  a  company,  organized  in 
1885,  under  the  name  of  the  D.  S'.  B.  Johnston 
Land  Mortgage  Company,  of  which  he  is  presi- 
dent, and  which  has  a  capital  stock  of  $500,000, 
nearly  all  of  which  he  and  his  two  sons  own.  It 
has  handled  nearly  seven  thousand  mortgages  and 
bought  and  sold  a  great  deal  of  property.  Since 
the  war  broke  out  Mr.  Johnston  has  been  a  Re- 
publican, although  he  has  never  held  any  political 
office  or  been  possessed  of  any  such  desire.  He 
is  one  of  the  most  ardent  advocates  of  the 
union  of  the  two  cities,  especially  along  the  lines 
of  commercial  efifort.  He  says  he  expects  to 
live  to  see  the  time  when  ^Minneapolis  and  St. 
Paul  will  be  consolidated  under  one  name  and 
government,  and  he  desires  to  do  all  he  can  to 
bring  about  that  result.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
People's  Church,  of  St.  Paul.  On  January  i, 
1859,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Hannah  C.  Stanton, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Nathan  Stanton,  one  of  the 
Quaker  pioneers  of  St.  Anthony.  His  first  wife 
died  in  January,  1879,  leaving  two  sons,  Charles 
L.,  now  Vice  President,  and  A.  D.  S.  Johnston, 
Secretary  of  the  mortgage  company  which  bears 
his  name.  In  May,  1881,  Mr.  Johnston  again 
married,  his  second  wife  being  Miss  Mary  J.  King, 
of  Canandaigua,  New  York,  daughter  of  Rev. 
David  King,  a  Presbyterian  minister  of  New  Jcr- 
sev  in  the  earlv  fifties. 


JULIUS  H.  BLOCK. 

The  parents  of  Julius  H.  Block,  the  sheriff'  of 
Nicollet    countv.    emigrated    from    Germany    in 


1854.  William  Block,  the  father,  became  a 
farmer.  He  settled  in  Ohio  where,  at  Gallon, 
Crawford  County,  his  son  Julius  was  born  on 
March  30,  i860.  In  1870  Air.  Block  brought 
his  family  to  Minnesota.  They  lived  first  at  St. 
Peter  in  Nicollet  County  and  later  moved  to  a 
farm  in  Le  Sueur  County.  In  the  fall  of  1875 
they  moved  to  Lake  Prairie,  Nicollet  County, 
where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Block  still  reside.  Young 
Julius  attended  the  public  schools  at  Gallon,  Ohio, 
and  at  Ottawa,  Le  Sueur  County,  Minnesota, 
dividing  his  time  between  his  studies  and  work 
on  his  father's  farm.  When  he  reached  the  age 
of  nineteen  years  he  obtained  a  position  as  yard- 
master  at  the  Minnesota  Hospital  for  the  Insane  at 
St.  Peter.  After  a  year's  efilicient  service  in  this 
capacity,  he  was  appointed  store  keeper  and  su- 
pervisor at  the  Hospital  and  retained  the  position 
for  six  years.  For  three  }'ears  following  he  was 
connected  with  the  cit)-  government  of  St.  Peter 
and  in  the  fall  of  1888  was  elected  sherifif  of  Nicol- 
let Count}-.  He  has  since  been  re-elected  for  the 
succeeding"  terms  and  still  holds  the  office,  man- 
aging the  affairs  of  the  post  in  a  creditable  man- 
ner. J\Ir.  Block  is  at  the  present  time  a  member 
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  State  Hospital 
for  the  Insane.  He  was  married  on  February 
12,  1885,  to  Miss  Sarah  West,  of  St.  Peter,  yi'm- 
nesota 


84. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WILLIA^I  EDWARD  HALE. 

The  founder  of  the  family  in  this  cuuiitry  to 
which  Air.  Hale  belongs  was  Samuel  Hale,  who 
settled  in  Glastenbury,  Connecticut,  in  1637, 
where  many  of  his  descendants  still  reside.  Sam- 
uel, with  his  brother  Thomas,  sei-ved  in  the 
Pequot  war,  and  other  members  of  the  family  in 
the  Revolutionary  \\ar.  Among  those  who 
achieved  distinction  in  later  years  were  the  late 
James  T.  Hale,  member  of  congress  in  Pennsyl- 
vania; Reuben  C.  Hale,  of  Philadelphia;  Gideon 
Wells,  late  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  Rev. 
Albert  Hale,  of  Springfield,  Illinois.  Moses 
Hale,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
emigrated  to  Rutland,  Vermont,  about  a  hundred 
years  ago,  and  afterwards  moved  to  Xorwood, 
New  York.  His  son,  Isaiah  Hyron  liurr  Hale, 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  subsequently 
located  in  Wheeling,  Virginia,  and  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  law.  He  married  Mary  E.  Covey, 
October  12,  1841,  at  McConncllsville,  Ohio, 
and  William  Edward  was  born  at  Wheeling, 
West  \'irginia,  May  11,  1845.  I  p  tn  his  six- 
teenth year  William  received  but  a  common 
school  education.  He  finst  came  to  the  state  of 
Minnesota  in  1858  on  a  pros]U'cting  tour  with 
his  father,  returning  a  few  months  later  to  his 
home  in  Wisconsin,  where  his  parents  had  re- 
moved  from   Ohio  some    years    j)revious.      1  Ic 


came  to  jNIinnesota  again  in  the  fall  of  i860,  lo- 
cating at  Plainview.  He  enlisted  from  this  point 
as  a  private  in  the  Third  Minnesota  in  the  fall  of 
1861,  serving  three  years  in  the  defense  of  his 
country  and  was  honorably  discharged.  On  his 
return  home  Mr.  Hale  entered  Hamline  Univer- 
sity, then  at  Red  Wing,  Minnesota,  in  order  to 
complete  his  education.  He  took  a  collegiate 
course  at  this  institution  of  three  years,  but  did 
not  graduate,  lacking  one  year's  course.  He 
then  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of 
Judge  Wilder,  at  Red  Wing,  and  was  admitted  to 
liractice  at  St.  Paul  in  1869.  Mr.  Hale  then 
moved  to  Buffalo,  Wright  Count}-,  where  he 
commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He 
was  elected  county  attorney  of  Wright  County, 
which  office  he  held  for  two  years.  In  the  spring 
of  1872  he  moved  to  jNIinneapolis,  where  he  has 
lived  ever  since.  He  was  elected  county  attorney 
of  Hennepin  County  in  1878,  and  re-elected  at 
the  end  of  his  first  term,  serving  altogether  four 
years.  Mr.  Hale  first  became  associated  with 
Judge  Seagrave  Smith  in  1877,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Smith  &  Hale,  wdiich  partnership  con- 
tinued until  1880.  He  then  connected  himself 
with  Judge  Charles  M.  Pond,  the  firm  being 
known  as  Hale  «&  Pond.  Later  he  associated 
himself  with  Charles  B.  Peck,  the  firm  known  as 
Hale  &  Peck.  The  firm  with  which  Mr.  Hale  is 
now  connected  is  known  as  Hale,  Morgan  & 
Montgomery.  In  his  practice  Mr.  Hale  has  been 
highly  successful,  having  been  prominently  iden- 
tified with  much  of  the  heavy  litigation  before  the 
bar  in  the  Hennepin  County  for  the  past  fifteen 
years.  Several  times  he  has  been  tendered  and 
urged  to  accept  the  appointment  of  judge  of  the 
district  court,  but  on  each  occasion  he  has  de- 
clined, preferring  to  devote  himself  to  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession.  Although  his  father  was 
a  Democrat,  and  a  co-laborer,  politically,  for  a 
time,  with  Silas  Wright,  of  New  '^'ork,  Mr.  Hale 
has  always  been  a  staunch  Republican  and  has 
always  taken  an  active  part  in  ])olitics.  He  has^ 
however,  never  been  a  candidate  for  any  office, 
excej)!  that  of  county  attorney,  already  men- 
tioned. His  cliurch  connections  are  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  lie  was  married 
in  1870  to  Ella  C.  Sutherland,  \\lio  had  been  a 
student  with  him  at  1  laniline  I'niversity.  They 
have  Iiad  three  rliildren,  llekn  \'.,  I'rank  C.  ;nid 
I'lorence  I^. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WTTJ.TAAI  JAMES  AlUXRO. 

W.  J.  Alunru  is  a  proniiiioiit  l)usincss  man 
of  Morris,  Minnesota.  Like  many  successful 
Minnesota  men  he  is  a  native  of  Canada. 
His  father,  Hugh  Munro,  was  born  in 
Rosshire,  .Scotland,  liul  he  left  the  land 
of  his  birth  when  a  young  man  and  went  to 
Cape  Breton,  Nova  Scotia.  He  was  superin- 
tendent of  schools  of  that  province  for  some 
years;  later  he  was  in  the  mercantile  business  at 
S)'dney;  while  there  was  elected  member  of  the 
House  of  Assembly  of  the  Provincial  Parliament. 
In  this  honorable  position  he  served  twelve  years. 
His  wife  was  Miss  Hannah  Croll,  a  native  of 
Halifax,  Nova  Scotia.  In  i860  Mr.  Munro  was 
made  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works  of 
Nova  Scotia,  and  removed  to  Plalifax,  the  capi- 
tal. He  held  the  position  until  the  change  of 
government  in  1864.  Two  \ears  later  he  re- 
moved to  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  in  1873  ^^^ 
came  to  Minnesota,  locating  first  in  St.  Paul  and 
afterwards,  in  1876,  at  the  town  of  Morris,  where 
he  resided  until  his  death  in  1886.  Mrs.  Munro 
died  in  1878.  W.  J.  Munro  was  born  at  Sydney, 
on  June  i,  1850.  He  was  educated  at  private 
schools  at  Sydney  and  Halifa.x,  and  graduated 
from  the  St.  Johns  Academy  in  the  latter  city. 
He  came  to  .Minnes(jta  in  1872,  and  was  first 
employed  l^y  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific  Railroad 
Compan}-,  in  St.  Paul.  After  a  time  he  took 
charge  of  a  grain  elevator  owned  by  the  com- 
pany and  remained  in  that  position  until  the  fall 
of  1875,  when  he  removed  to  Morris.  At  Morris 
he  engaged  in  the  grain  business  and  has  almost 
continuously  been  interested  in  that  line  ever 
since.  He  has,  however,  had  many  other  im- 
portant interests.  During  1876  and  1877  he  was 
in  the  hardware  business  with  A.  A.  Stone,  and  in 
the  latter  year  he  purchased  the  Stevens  County 
Tribune.  He  changed  the  name  of  the  paper 
to  the  Morris  Tribune  and  kept  the  editorial 
chair  until  1882,  when  he  sold  out.  Then,  in 
company  with  H.  H.  Wells  and  others,  he  or- 
ganized the  Stevens  County  Bank,  and  was  its 
cashier  for  twelve  years.  In  1894  he  disposed  of 
his  interest  in  the  bank  and  purchased  the  Morris 
Sun,  which  he  now  controls.  Since  1890  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  firm  of  House  &  Munro. 
dealers  in  agricultural  implements.    .Since  1886  he 


has  been  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Wells,  Pearcc  & 
Co.,  grain  dealers.  Mr.  Munro  is  a  member  of 
the  Republican  party,  and  has  taken  an  active  in- 
terest in  the  local  affairs.  He  has  been  called 
upon  to  serve  his  city  as  treasurer  for  four  years, 
and  he  has  held  the  office  of  mayor  for  four 
terms,  the  last  three  being  in  succession.  Like 
most  progressive  business  men  he  has  become 
identified  with  various  social  and  secret  organi- 
zations, and  he  is  past  master  and  charter  mem- 
ber of  Golden  Sheaf  Lodge,  No.  133,  A.  F.  & 
A.  JNI.,  a  member  of  Mount  Lebanon  Chapter, 
No.  47,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  Past  Eminent  Com- 
mander Bethel  Commandery,  No.  19,  Knights 
Templar.  In  1875  Mr.  Munro  was  married  to 
Miss  Mary  A.  Golcher,  daughter  of  Wm.  Gol- 
cher,  of  St.  Paul.  She  died  the  following  year. 
In  April,  1878,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ida  A. 
Stone,  daughter  of  the  Hon.  H.  \\'.  Stone,  of 
Stevens  County.  They  have  five  children,  Beat- 
rice C,  Hugh  -S.,  Ida  Blanche,  \\'illiam  J.  and 
Katherine  C.  During  his  early  life  Mr.  Alunro 
had  considerable  experience  at  sea.  He  w-as  for 
two  summers  on  board  of  the  Dominion  revenue 
cutter  "Daring."  In  1866  he  went  to  Harbor 
Grace.  Newfoundland,  and  was  for  four  years 
in  the  mercantile  and  shipping  trade,  during  that 
time  making  several  trips  as  su|5ercargo. 


86 


PROGRESSIVE  MEX  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WALLACE  GEORGE  NYE. 

Wallace  George  Nye  is  the  comptroller  of 
the  city  of  Minneapolis,  the  duties  of  which  posi- 
tion he  has  discharged  with  ability  and  fidelity 
for  two  terms.  The  end  he  has  aimed  at  as  the 
occupant  of  that  office  has  been  to  simplify  the 
methods  by  which  the  public  business  is  trans- 
acted and  to  reduce  to  the  lowest  practicable  limit 
the  expense  of  the  municipality.  Mr.  Nye's  an- 
cestors, so  far  as  he  knows,  have  been  natives 
of  this  country.  His  father  was  a  farmer  boy 
who  grew  u])  in  Ashtabula  County,  Ohio,  but 
when  only  twenty  years  of  age  he  moved  to  Mil- 
waukee County,  Wisconsin,  and  continued  the 
business  of  farming.  Here  he  was  married  in 
1850  to  Hannah  A.  Pickett,  and  two  years  later 
settled  near  the  village  of  Hortonville,  Wiscon- 
sin. Four  years  ago  that  farm,  after  being  de- 
veloped into  one  of  the  best  in  that  section  of 
Wisconsin,  and  after  having  been  the  family 
home  for  thirty-nine  years,  was  sold  and  a  home 
purchased  in  the  village  where  Mr.  Nye's  father 
still  resides.  His  mother  died  in  October,  1893. 
Wallace  was  the  third  of  seven  children.  His 
father  served  as  a  private  soldier  in  the  civil  war 
and  is  now  passing  his  declining  years  in  com- 
fort and  ease.  Wallace  G.  Nye  was  born  on 
the  farm  at  Hortonville,  October  7.   18^0-     ITe 


attended  the  district  school  until  the  winter  of 
1875  and  1876,  when,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  he 
engaged  in  teaching  in  a  neighboring  district. 
With  the  money  thus  earned  he  began  a  course 
at  the  State  Normal  School  at  Oshkosh,  and 
continued  there  until  the  fall  of  1879.  He  was 
then  employed  as  principal  of  the  high  school  at 
Plover,  and  also  in  the  same  capacity  at  Horton- 
ville. After  two  years  at  Plover  and  Horton- 
ville he  al)andoned  the  profession  of  teacher  and 
took  up  the  study  and  practice  of  pharmacy  in 
Chicago.  In  September,  1881,  he  left  Chicago 
to  find  a  suitable  location  for  his  business  in 
some  Wisconsin  town,  but  on  the  train  he  heard 
a  good  deal  about  Minneapolis  and  its  prom- 
ising future  and  concluded  to  visit  it.  He  was 
so  pleased  with  its  activity  and  thrift  that  he  de- 
cidetl  to  locate  there,  establishing  a  drug  busi- 
ness. He  took  an  active  interest  in  politics,  and, 
also,  a  particular  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
northern  portion  of  the  city,  where  he  assisted 
in  organizing  the  North  ^Minneapolis  Liiprove- 
ment  Association,  which  has  rendered  much  val- 
uable service  in  building  up  and  beautifying  that 
section.  He  was  its  first  secretary.  Li  the  cam- 
paign of  1888  he  represented  his  ward  on  the 
county  campaign  committee,  and  the  following 
January  was  chosen  secretary  of  the  board  of 
park  connnissioners,  which  position  he  held  for 
four  years,  being  elected  annually.  Li  1892  he 
was  nominated  by  the  Republicans  for  city  comp- 
troller, was  elected,  and  was  re-elected  in  1894. 
receiving  the  highest  vote  of  any  candidate  on 
the  city  ticket.  In  1893  he  was  chosen  to  fill 
the  vacancy  on  the  park  board  caused  by  the 
resignation  of  Hon.  C.  M.  Loring.  Mr.  Nye 
is  a  meml^er  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  Union 
League,  the  Conmiercial  Club,  the  I.  O.  O.  P.. 
the  A.  P.  and  A.  M..  the  K.  of  P.,  and  the  A.  O. 
I'.  ^\'.  lie  has  been  honored  with  various  offices 
by  the  Odd  Fellows;  was  elected  Grand  Master 
of  the  order  in  Minnesota  in  1890,  Grand  Repre- 
sentative to  the  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  for  two 
vears  and  in  1894  was  made  Grand  Patriarch  of 
the  Encampment  branch  of  the  order  in  this 
state,  from  which  position  he  was  again  pro- 
moted to  the  office  of  Grand  Representative, 
which  position  he  now  holds.  He  is  an  attend- 
ant of  the  P.aptist  Church,  and  was  married  in 
1881  to  Etta  Riiild,  at  New  London,  Wisconsin. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


.S7 


CllRlST()i'lll';i<  I'KAXCIS  CASE. 

The  Lyou  Cuiiul}'  Rcpuiicr,  of  Marshall,  is 
published  by  C.  F.  Case,  h'or  a  score  of  years 
Mr.  Case  has  ])cen  identified  with  Lyon  County 
journalism,  and  has  I)cen  imusually  successful. 
He  comes  of  good  old  .New  hji.nland  stock  with 
ancestral  lines  running  back  to  the  revolution 
and  before.  Ashbel  VV.  Case,  his  father,  was 
descended  from  Richard  Case,  who  had  an  estate 
in  South  Manchester,  Connecticut,  as  early  as 
1 67 1.  He  married  Dorothy,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Spencer,  of  East  Hartford.  The  Cases  were 
among  the  earliest  settlers  in  that  part  of  New 
England.  A.  W.  Case  married  Miss  Eleanor  D. 
Hollister,  of  South  Manchester.  .She  was  also 
of  a  very  old  family.  A  connected  line  of  an- 
cestry is  traced  by  the  family  back  to  Lieutenant 
John  Hollister,  who  was  born  in  England  in 
1612  and  who  came  to  Connecticut  and  had  large 
landed  interests  in  Wethersfield  and  Glastonbury. 
Several  of  his  descendants  were  ofificers  in  the 
wars  which  followed.  Thomas,  Gideon,  Asahel, 
Jonathan  and  Elisha  Hollister  were  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War.  Other  members  of  the  family 
were  in  that  and  other  wars  and  several 
were  taken  prisoners  by  the  Indians,  two  being 
carried  into  long  periods  of  captivity.  Mr.  Case's 
father  was  a  teacher  and  farmer  and  later  a  paper 
manufacturer  in  Rockton,  Illinois.  He  moved 
from  there  to  Waterloo,  Iowa,  where  he  died  in 
1856,  his  wife  having  died  the  year  previous.  Elis 
mother  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety.  Christopher  was 
born  at  South  Manchester,  November  i,  1839, 
and  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  place  and  in  Illinois  and  Iowa. 
He  spent  one  year  at  Beloit  College  in  Wisconsin 
and  finished  his  education  at  the  University  of 
Michigan  with  the  class  of  '68.  After  leaving 
college  he  went  to  Clarkesville,  Iowa,  and  com- 
menced the  publication  of  the  Clarkesville  Star. 
Five  years  later  he  went  to  the  Pacific  coast  and 
spent  a  year  there  and  in  Mexico.  Returning  to 
Iowa  he  published  the  Waverly  Repuldican  for 
two  years  and  then  moved  to  Marshall,  Minne- 
sota, in  1874.  He  bought  a  paper  called  the 
Prairie  Schooner  and  changed  its  name  to  the 
Alarshall  Messenger.  In  1882  he  published  a 
history  of  Lyon  County  with  a  sectional  map 
locating  residents.    In  1883  Mr.  Case  went  out  of 


the  newspaper  business  for  a  time  and  spent  sev- 
eral months  in  the  south,  but  the  climate  did  not 
agree  with  Iiim  and  he  returned  to  Marshall.  It 
can  be  said  of  the  newspaper  profession,  "Once 
a  newspaper  man,  always  a  newspaper  man." 
This  has  proved  the  case  with  Mr.  Case.  In  1890 
he  went  back  in  the  newspaper  field  with  the 
Lyon  County  Reporter  and  has  continued  its 
publication  ever  since.  Mr.  Case  worked  his 
way  through  college  and  has  practiced  the  quali- 
ties of  self  reliance  which  he  developed  when  a 
young  man.  This  with  industry  and  fairly  good 
fortune  have  made  him  a  competence.  He  is 
owner  of  lands  and  buildings  worth  probably 
$40,000.  Mr.  Case  was  a  member  of  the  Fortieth 
Wisconsin  Infantry.  He  was  married  in  Iowa 
on  November  6,  1874,  to  Miss  Caroline  F.  Waller, 
and  they  have  three  children,  Frank  Waller  Case, 
aged  twenty-one,  now  a  junior  in  the  University 
of  Minnesota;  Frederick  Hollister  Case,  aged 
fourteen,  and  Dorothy  Alice,  aged  twenty-two 
months.  Mr.  Case  has  been  a  life  long  Repub- 
lican and  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  politics 
ever  since  he  cast  his  first  vote  for  Lincoln.  He 
has  held  town  offices,  was  Mayor  of  ^Marshall  in 
1894,  was  postmaster  under  appointment  from 
Hayes  for  five  years  and  has  been  president  of 
the  school  and  lilirarv  boards  of  his  town. 


88 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JENS  KRISTIAN  GRONDAHL. 

Jens  K.  Grondahl  enjoys  the  distinction  of 
being  one  of  the  youngest  men  in  the  state  to 
serve  in  the  legislature.  He  was  elected  in  1894 
when  but  twenty-five  years  of  age.  He  is 
a  newspaper  man  and  a  resident  of  Red  Wing, 
where  he  came  with  his  parents  from  Norway 
in  1882.  His  father,  Lars  Grondahl,  was  a 
farmer  of  limited  means  but  with  advanced  ideas 
as  to  the  education  and  training  of  his  children; 
a  man  of  warm  heart  and  generous  disposition. 
Mr.  Grondahl  died  in  1895  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
two.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Martha 
Margrete  Julsrud,  is  still  living  aged  sixty-seven. 
She  is  a  woman  of  most  estimable  character. 
Their  son  Jens  was  born  at  Eidsvold,  near  Chris- 
tiania  Norway,  on  December  3,  1896.  He  at- 
tended the  i>ublic  schools  at  the  place  of  his 
birth  and,  after  coming  to  America,  at  the  age 
of  thirteen,  at  Red  Wing.  He  graduated  from 
the  Red  Wing  Seminary  in  1887  with  high 
honors.  Later  he  attended  the  University  of  Min- 
nesota for  one  year.  Shortly  before  graduating 
from  the  seminary  in  1887  he  won  the  oratorical 
prize  of  fifteen  dollars.  This,  rather  oddly,  led  liim 
into  tlic  newspaper  Ijusiness.  He  invested  the 
money  in  the  confectionery  business,  starting  a 
tiny  shop,  where  be  soon  accumulated  enough 
debts  to  last  him  for  several  rears.  To  mend  the 


failing  fortunes  of  his  enterprise  he  carried  papers 
and  later  acted  as  correspondent  for  some  of  the 
city  dailies.  When  the  "Red  Wing  Daily  Inde- 
pendent" was  started  in  1891  he  was  engaged  to 
conduct  the  paper — a  post  which  proved  to  con- 
sist in  preparing  all  the  local  and  editorial  "copy,'" 
distributing  it  among  three  printing  offices,  and, 
after  the  matter  was  set  up,  collecting  the  type 
and  carrying  it  to  the  office  where  the  paper  was 
printed.  (  )ccasionally  these  manifold  duties  were 
supplemented  liv  the  light  work  of  running  off 
the  edition  on  the  cylinder  press  and  delivering 
the  paper  to  the  waiting  subscribers.  During 
the  sunmier  of  this  year  ^Ir.  Grondahl  made  a 
brief  excursion  into  the  lecture  field,  assuming 
the  role  of  humorous  lecturer — an  experience 
which  he  now  looks  back  upon  as  one  of  the 
most  humorous  in  his  career,  whatever  the  pub- 
lic may  have  thought  about  it.  A  one-night  stand, 
and  an  audience  of  one,  discouraged  the  budding 
lecturer,  and  he  has  since  devoted  himself  to 
journalism  and  politics.  The  campaign  of  1892 
found  Mr.  Grondahl  an  active  worker  in  the  Re- 
publican ranks.  Two  years  later  he  was  a  candi- 
date for  the  legislature  to  represent  Goodhue 
County  in  the  lower  house.  A  bitter  campaign 
against  the  "boy"  candidate  ended  in  his  election 
by  a  large  majority.  During  the  succeeding  ses- 
sion he  took  an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the 
house  and  made  some  very  effective  speeches  on 
prison  labor  reform,  the  training  school  bills  and 
other  measures  which  he  regarded  especially 
worthy  of  support  or  denunciation.  He  was  also 
successful  in  securing  various  important  legisla- 
tion for  the  benefit  of  his  own  county.  He  was 
one  of  two  men  who  were  present  at  every  ses- 
sion of  the  legislature.  With  this  record  behind 
him,  Air.  Grondahl  went  into  the  representative 
convention  in  1896  and  received  the  re-nomina- 
tion by  acclamation.  In  1892  he  became  con- 
nected with  the  "Red  Wing  Daily  Republican," 
and  in  1894  assumed  charge  of  "Nordstjcrnen," 
a  Norwegian  weekly  which  was  then  started  by 
the  same  company.  In  the  si)ring  of  1896  he  was 
elected  secretary  of  the  Mimiesota  Republican 
Editorial  Association.  Mr.  Grondahl  has  taken 
an  active  ]>art  in  the  Rc])ublican  stale  conven- 
tions for  the  past  two  years.  He  was  chosen  as 
one  of  the  delegates  to  represent  Minnesota  in 
the  national  convention  of  Republican  clubs  at 
Alilwaukee,  in  .\ugust.  181)6.  Mr.  Grondahl  is 
unmarried.     lie  is  a  Lutheran. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MIXXESOTA. 


89 


WALTER  SIIERMAX  JJ(JOTII. 

Walter  S.  Booth,  author  and  publisher,  was 
born  on  September  28,  1827,  on  his  father's  farm 
on  the  banks  of  the  Housatonic  River,  in  llridge- 
water,  Connecticut.  The  family  is  an  old  and 
distinguished  one,  which  traces  its  line  back  to 
the  year  1200.  Richard  Booth,  his  first  Ameri- 
can ancestor,  came  from  England  and  settled  in 
Stratford,  Connecticut,  in  1640.  Daniel  Booth, 
his  father,  lived  on  the  homestead  near  New- 
town, Connecticut,  which  has  been  kept  by  the 
family  since  1706.  His  mother  was  Sabra  Sher- 
man, who  was  descended  from  Samuel  Sherman, 
one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Stratford,  Connecticut, 
and  an  ancestor  of  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman  and 
Senator  John  Sherman,  as  well  as  Honorable 
William  Evarts  and  Senator  Hoar,  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Walter  S.  Booth  was  educated  at 
Newtown  Academy  and  Trinity  College,  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  and  stood  high  in  his  classes. 
In  1848  he  married  Miss  Catherine  Eliza  Peters, 
of  Kent,  Connecticut,  who  was  also  descendant 
of  an  old  colonial  family.  Her  father  died  in 
1892  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-five.  After 
his  marriage  J\Ir.  Booth  taught  classical  .schools 
in  Connecticut,  fitting  young  men  for  college, 
until  1855,  when  he  removed  to  Fillmore  County, 
Minnesota,  and  subsequently  studied  law  with 
Hon.  Thomas  H.  Armstrong,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  at  Austin  in  March,  1861.  He  re- 
moved to  Rochester  in  October,  1862,  taking 
charge  of  the  Rochester  City  Post,  then  owned 
by  Hon.  David  Blakely,  secretary  of  state,  and 
continued  in  charge  till  the  close  of  the  Civil 
War,  in  1865.  He  then,  with  Maj.  J.  A.  Leonard, 
just  returned  from  militar)-  service  in  the  South, 
purchased  the  City  Post  of  Mr.  Blakely,  and 
the  Republican  of  Shaver  &  Eaton,  publishers, 
uniting  the  two  papers  under  the  name  of  the 
Rochester  Post,  which  still  continues,  un- 
der Mr.  Leonard.  Mr.  Booth  was  also  for  many 
years  court  commissioner,  and  city  and  ward  jus- 
tice of  Rochester.  During  his  connection  with 
the  Post  he  wrote  the  Justice's  Manual  and  the 
Township  Manual  for  Minnesota,  which  have 
since  passed  to  the  thirteenth  editions  and  become 
standard  for  the  use  of  officers  throughout  the 
state.  In  1876  Mr.  Booth  sold  his  interest  in 
the  Rochester  Post  to  ^Ir.  Leonard  to  engage 
exclusivelv  in  the  publication  of  township  and 
law  blanks,  books  and  manuals,  assisted  by   his 


son,  Walter  S.,  Jr.  The  new  business  of  editing 
and  publishing  elementary  works  of  instruction 
for  township  and  other  officers,  and  supplement- 
ing them  with  well-prepared  blanks  and  record 
books,  proved  a  great  success,  and  during  the 
succeeding  eight  years  Booth's  publications  be- 
came standard  throughout  the  state.  Needing 
larger  facilities  for  publishing  and  a  more  cen- 
tral point  for  distributing  their  publications, 
Messrs.  ISuoth  &  Son  removed  their  establish- 
ment and  families  to  JMinneapolis  in  1884  and 
extended  their  field  to  embrace  the  entire  Terri- 
tory of  Dakota  also.  Their  extensive  establish- 
ment was  entirely  burned  up  in  the  disastrous 
Tribune  fire  of  1889,  but  they  recovered  from 
their  unfortunate  loss  in  a  few  years,  and  pre- 
pared and  published  Justices'  and  Township  and 
Notaries'  Manuals  for  each  of  the  new  states  of 
North  and  South  Dakota,  as  well  as  the  same 
class  of  publications  for  use  in  Minnesota,  so 
that  in  1896  the  house  of  Walter  S.  Booth  & 
Son  were  the  editors  and  publishers  of  twelve 
different  standard  law  manuals  and  over  twelve 
hundred  different  kinds  of  standard  law  and  town- 
ship blanks.  IMr.  Booth  is  a  member  of  the 
Episcopal  church.  His  children  were  Harriet 
Gertrude,  who  died  in  Milwaukee  in  1879,  John 
Peters,  Walter  Sherman.  Jr.,  Henry  ^^'hipple  and 
William  Hull.  The  last  two  died  before  reaching 
maturity. 


90 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


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^l^^^^K^    'VXn^: 

-'"'-•     "  "    ^"  ^'?M^WM 

FREDERICK  X'ON  BAU.MBACH. 

"The  flower-loving  auditor  of  Douglas 
County"  is  the  title  by  which  the  Hon.  I-'rederick 
von  Baumbach  is  known  among  many  of  his 
friends  in  and  about  Alexandria.  Mr.  von  Baum- 
bach secured  this  appellation  through  the  beauty 
of  his  home  and  grounds  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Agnes,  in  the  outskirts  of  Alexandria.  -It  is  a 
model  country  home,  and  the  grounds  are  made 
verj^  beautiful  by  the  profusion  of  flow^ers,  shrubs 
and  trees.  Mr.  von  Baumbach  is  of  a  distin- 
guished (kTman  family.  His  father,  Lewis  von 
Baumbach,  was  a  wealthy  and  distinguished 
member  of  the  German  parliament  in  1848.  He 
had  been  a  soldier  and  officer  in  the  Prussian 
army  and  president  of  the  diet  of  Hesse-Cassel,  of 
which  province  he  was  a  citizen.  Espousing  the 
cause  of  German  unity  he  was,  in  1848,  obliged 
to  fly  from  his  native  country,  as  were  many 
other  prominent  people  about  that  time.  He 
came  to  Ohio  and  became  a  faniier.  Later  he 
moved  to  Milwaukee  and  was  for  years  German 
consul.  He  died  in  1884.  His  wife,  who  was 
Minna  von  Schenk,  a  daughter  of  une  of  the 
oldest  families  of  Hesse-Cassel,  and  which  is  still 
prominent  there,  had  died  fourteen  years  pre- 
viously. Frederick  was  one  of  the  youngest  of 
a  large  family.  His  brothers  and  sisters  all  live 
in  Milwaukee  and  are  people  of  iM-ominence.    P.orn 


on  the  family  estate  August  30,  1838,  Frederick 
was  but  ten  years  old  when  the  family  came  to 
America.  There  was  always  a  private  tutor  for 
the  children  but  Frederick  also  attended  the  pulj- 
lic  schools  of  Elyria,  Ohio,  near  his  father's 
farm.  \\\  Milwaukee  he  acted  as  clerk  in  a  store 
and  was  for  two  years  employed  in  the  office  of 
the  city  treasurer.  In  i860  he  went  South  and 
was  employed  in  a  store  at  San  Antonio,  Texas, 
when  the  war  broke  out.  His  northern  sym- 
pathies led  him  to  start  for  home  at  once,  and 
he  had  some  very  exciting  adventures  before  he 
reached  the  Union  states  As  soon  as  he  reached 
Alihvaukee  he  enlisted  in  Company  C,  Fifth  Wis- 
consin infantr\-  antl  served  during  the  war,  par- 
ticipating in  the  battles  of  Yorktown,  \Villiams- 
burg,  the  Seven  Days'  Battle  at  Richmond,  sec- 
ond Bull  Run,  Antietam,  Fredericksburg,  Alobile 
and  others.  He  was  promoted  successively  to 
the  rank  of  corporal,  sergeant,  sergeant-major, 
second  lieutenant  and  first  lieutenant  of  his  com- 
pany, and  in  1863  \vas  made  captain  of  Company 
B,  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Wisconsin,  and  later  major. 
He  was  not  mustered  out  until  April  16,  1866. 
As  soon  as  he  was  mustered  out  Major  von 
Baumbach  went  to  Chippewa,  in  Douglas 
County,  Minnesota,  and  looked  over  the  ground. 
He  was  delighted  with  the  country  but  returned 
to  Wisconsin,  where  he  engaged  in  the  drug" 
business  in  Fond  du  Lac.  A  fire,  a  year  later, 
took  everything  he  had,  and  with  less  than  $100 
in  his  pocket  he  returned  to  Douglas  County  and 
took  up  land.  Since  that  time  he  has  been 
closely  identifietl  with  the  affairs  of  the  county. 
In  1872  he  was  elected  county  auditor  and  served 
until  1878,  when  he  was  elected  secretary  of 
state.  After  seven  years  of  service  for  the  state 
he  returned  to  the  auditor's  office  and  has  con- 
tinued to  serve  his  home  county  ever  since.  l'"or 
many  years  he  has  been  a  village  alderman  and 
school  director.  ^Fr.  von  Banmbach  was  mar- 
ried in  Milwaukee  in  1863  to  .Miss  Sarah  J.  1  )ecker. 
They  have  had  no  children,  but  have  raised 
two  oqihans.  jacnb  and  Julia,  whom  they 
ado|)ted,  and  are  miw  caring  fur  two  younger 
children.  Mr.  von  liaumbach  is  a  Mason.  Knight 
of  Pythias  and  ( )dd  l'"ell(nv.  He  has  taken  spe- 
cial interest  in  the  latter  order,  and  lia^  filled  all 
the  chairs  in,  the  local  lodge.  He  is  also  a  nu-m- 
ber  of  the  ( \.  !\.  R.  and  Loyal  Legion. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


91 


WILLIAM    Dkl'.W  WASIlKrRX. 

William  Drew  W'aslilnirn  is  a  iiK-inbcr  of 
the  celebrated  W'ashijuni  family  cif  .\laiiK-,  a  fam- 
ily whose  members  have  included  a  secretary  of 
state,  two  governors,  four  members  of  congress, 
a  member  of  the  United  States  senate,  a  major- 
general  in  the  army,  two  foreign  ministers,  two 
state  legislators,  one  surveyor  general  and  one 
second  in  command  in  the  L'nited  States  navy — 
a  family  of  which  three  members,  from  three 
different  states,  were  in  congress  at  the  same 
time.  But  William  Drew  does  not  owe  his  claim 
to  distinction  to  the  attainments  of  his  brothers. 
He  has  made  his  own  record.  His  birthplace 
was  Livermore,  Androscoggin  County,  Maine, 
where  he  was  born  January  14,  1831.  His  early 
advantages,  though  limited  compared  with  those 
enjoyed  by  the  sons  of  parents  in  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances in  these  days,  were  after  all  favorable 
to  his  development  along  the  line  which  he 
afterward  followed.  He  attended  the  district 
school  and  had  for  his  teachers  Timothy  O.  Howe, 
afterwards  United  States  senator  from  Wisconsin, 
and  Leonard  Swett,  afterward  a  prominent  law- 
yer in  Chicago,  and  the  man  who  nominated 
Lincoln  for  president  in  the  convention  of  i860. 
He  also  attended  the  high  school  in  the  village 
and  finally  prepared  for  college  at  Farmington, 
Maine.  He  entered  Bowdoin  College  in  the  fall 
of  1850.  Upon  the  completion  of  his  college 
course  he  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office 
of  his  brother  Israel,  and  from  there  he  went 
into  the  ofifice  of  Honorable  John  A. 
Peters,  in  Bangor,  present  chief  justice 
of  the  supreme  court  of  Maine.  It  was 
in  the  winter  of  1856  and  1857  that  Mr.  Wash- 
burn determined  to  go  West.  He  selected  as 
his  location  St.  Anthony  Falls,  and  reached  that 
village  May  i,  1857.  He  opened  a  law  oi^ce, 
but  pursued  his  profession  only  about  two  years. 
In  the  meantime  he  had  perceived  that  there  were 
better  opportunities  in  other  lines  of  effort,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1857  ^''^  ^^'^^  elected  agent  of  the 
Minneapolis  Mill  Company  and  began  improving 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river.  He  served  in  that  capacity  for  ten 
)ears.  About  this  time  he  engaged  in  the  lum- 
bering business  and  built  the  Lincoln  saw  mill 
on  the  falls,  and  also  an  extensive  mill  at  Anoka. 
He    also    became    interested    extensivelv    in    the 


manufacture  of  tfour,  and  was  the  principal  owner 
of  flouring  mills  which  were  afterwards  incor- 
porated with  the  Pillsbury  properties  and  con- 
solidated under  the  name  of  the  I^illsbury- Wash- 
burn Milling  Company.  Air.  Washburn  has 
always  been  active  in  the  promotion  of  important 
public  enterprises,  and  it  was  due  to  his  energy 
and  enterprise  that  the  Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis 
Railroad  was  built,  commencing  in  1869.  Mr. 
Washburn  was  made  president  of  the  road,  and 
retained  that  position  for  a  number  of  years.  But, 
perhaps,  the  most  conspicuous  example  of  his 
services  to  the  public  in  that  direction  was  pro- 
jecting and  constructing  the  Minneapolis,  St. 
Paul  &  Sault  Ste.  Marie  Railroad,  built  originally 
from  Minneapolis  to  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  where  it 
connected  with  the  Canadian  Pacific,  forming  an 
independent  competitive  line  to  New  York  and 
New  England,  and  rendering  a  service  of  incalcu- 
able  benefit  to  the  whole  Xorthwest  by  the  great 
reduction  in  rates  which  it  secured  on  all  traffic 
between  Minneapolis  and  the  Atlantic  Coast.  This 
road  was  completed  on  the  ist  of  January,  1888. 
It  has  since  been  extended  westward  to  a  con- 
nection with  the  Canadian  Pacific,  near  Regina, 
and  constitutes  an  important  link  in  the  trans- 
continental Canadian  Pacific  system.  Mr.  Wash- 
burn has  always  been  an  active  and  consistent 
Republican,   and   has   served   his   city   and   state 


92 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


in  various  important  positions.  He  was  elected 
to  the  Aliniiesota  state  legislature  in  185S 
and  again  in  1871.  President  Lincoln  se- 
lected him  for  surveyor  general  of  the  district  of 
Alinnesota  in  1861.  In  1878  he  was  elected  to 
Congress,  and  again  in  1880  and  in  1882,  serving 
six  consecutive  years.  He  took  high  rank  in 
that  body,  and  was  regarded  as  one  of  its  most 
influential  and  successful  members.  After  his 
retirement  from  Congress  he  devoted  his  time  for 
a  number  of  years  to  the  diligent  prosecution 
of  his  extensive  private  business,  and  it  was  dur- 
ing this  time  that  the  road  to  the  "Soo"  was 
built,  with  Air.  \\'ashburn  serving  as  president 
of  the  company,  and  managing  the  finances  of 
that  important  enterprise.  In  1888  he  was  elected 
to  the  United  States  senate,  and  served  six  years 
in  that  capacity.  His  jirevious  experience  in 
national  legislation,  his  wide  acquaintance  and  his 
grasp  of  affairs  soon  secured  for  him  recognition 
as  one  of  the  half  dozen  leading  ni.embers  of  that 
body.  He  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  the  improvement  of  the  Alississippi  river,  and 
was  thus  enabled  to  exercise  an  important  influ- 
ence in  the  protection  and  completion  of  an  im- 
portant work  undertaken  by  him  when  a  member 
of  the  lower  house.  It  was  while  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  house  that  he  secured  appropriations 
for  the  construction  of  reservoirs  at  the  head  of 
the  Alississippi  river,  a  piece  of  public  work  which 
has  contributed  enormously  to  the  improvement 
of  navigation  and  the  prevention  of  the  disastrous 
floods  which,  f(jr  many  years,  wrought  such  havoc 
along  the  line  of  that  great  river.  Probably  no 
man  has  served  his  state  in  a  public  capacity  who 
has  more  to  show  for  his  efforts  in  the  public  be- 
half than  has  W.  D.  Washburn.  Always  among 
the  foremost  in  the  promotion  of  every  kind  of 
enterprise  tending  to  l)enefit  his  city  and  state, 
the  three  most  conspicuous  monuments  to  his 
sagacity  and  public  spirit  are  the  Minneapolis  & 
St.  Louis  Railroad,  the  .Mimieapolis,  St.  Paul  & 
Sault  Ste.  Alarie  Railroad  and  the  reservoirs  at 
the  head  waters  of  the  Mississipjii.  .\notlier 
enterprise  which  promises  to  Ik-  of  e(|ual  im- 
portance with  any  of  tliese,  if  not  greater,  is  the 
construction  of  government  dams  and  locks  at 
Meeker  Lsland,  between  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul, 
by  which  the  river  is  to  he  made  navigable  for 
the  largest  river  boats  to  the  l';ills    of    St.    An- 


thony, and  by  which  an  enormous  water  power 
will  be  developed.  The  inauguration  of  this  en- 
terprise is  due  to  .Senator  Washburn,  the  appro- 
priations for  the  initial  work  having  been  ob- 
tained by  him  during  his  term  in  the  senate.  This 
important  public  work  is  now  in  progress  of  con- 
struction. Although  well  advanced  in  years,  Mr. 
Washburn  is  a  well  preserved  man,  and  is  still 
in  possession  of  all  his  faculties,  and  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  most  perfect  physical  health,  with  the 
prospect  of  many  years  of  usefulness  yet  to  come. 
Mr.  Washburn  was  married  April  19,  1859,  to 
Miss  Lizzie  Muzzy,  daughter  of  Hon.  Franklin 
Muzzy,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Maine.  He  has 
provided  for  his  family  of  sons  and  daughters 
an  elegant  home  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis.  The 
house  is  one  of  the  most  stately  and  imposing  in 
the  country,  and  occupies  a  commanding  site  near 
the  center  of  the  city,  where  it  is  the  pleasure  and 
privilege  of  his  hospitable  wife  to  entertain,  liber- 
ally and  gracefully,  their  many  friends.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Washburn  are  members  of  the  Church  of 
the  Redeemer,  Universalist,  and  are  liberal  in 
their  public  and  private  charities. 


CHARLES  ARXETTE  TOWXE. 

Mr.  Towne  is  the  representative  in  Congress 
of  the  Sixth  District  of  ^Minnesota.  L'ntil  the 
adoption  of  the  money  plank  of  the  jilatform  at 
.St.  Louis,  June  18,  1896,  he  was  an  ardent  Re])ub- 
lican,  cherishing  as  one  of  the  proudest  events  in 
his  family  histor\'  that  his  father  cast  his  first  ballot 
in  1856  for  Fremont  and  Dayton,  the  first  stand- 
ard bearers  of  the  Republican  party.  Mr.  Towne 
was  born  November  21,  1858,  on  a  fai'm  in  Oak- 
land County,  Alichigan,  the  son  of  Charles  Jud- 
son  Towne  and  Laura  Ann  Fargo  (TowneY  His 
father  was  a  farmer,  whose  life  was  une\entful 
and  devoted  to  the  rearing  of  his  family  and  the 
faithful  performance  of  his  duties  as  a  citizen. 
The  Americ;ui  line  of  the  Towne  family  is  traced 
to  John  William  and  Jnanna  I'.lessing  Towne, 
who  landed  at  Salem,  Massachusetts,  in  1636. 
.'Vnidug  tlu'ii-  nunierous  descendaiUs  have  been 
Salem  Towne,  the  author  of  schonl  text  i^ooks 
in  general  use  a  gener;ition  or  two  ago,  and 
Henry  M.  and  A.  X.  Towne,  both  nf  wlidui  be- 
came i)rominent  in  the  i^resent  generation  as 
railroad  men.    (  in  the  mother's  side  the  ancestrr 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


!).'( 


embraced  branches  of  tlic  Mason  anil  l.awrencc 
families,  prominent  in  tlie  Colonial  history  of 
this  country.  Charles  Arnctte  be^an  his  education 
in  the  conuiion  schools  of  Michigan,  and  is  a 
firm  l)eliever  in  the  value  of  influences  which 
that  democratic  institution  exerts  in  the  sliaping 
of  motives  and  sympathies  and  in  the  formation 
of  character.  He  entered  the  Cniversity  of  .Mich- 
igan in  1875,  but  was  not  able  to  pursue  his 
sttidies  continuously  on  account  of  poor  health. 
He  was  graduated,  however,  in  June,  1881,  from 
the  academic  department  with  the  degree  of  Ph. 
13.  He  belonged  to  no  secret  college  societies.  He 
was  elected  orator  of  his  class  in  the  senior  year, 
and  delivered  in  that  capacity  at  graduation  an 
address  on  civil  service  reform.  He  also  lec- 
tured on  that  subject  in  the  wiiUer  of  iSBo  and 
1881  at  the  university,  as  part  of  the  lecture  course 
in  which  e.x-Governor  Austin  iSlair,  Professor 
Moses  Tyler,  Judge  T.  J\l.  Cooley  and  Hon.  Sher- 
man S.  Rogers  participated.  After  graduation  Mr. 
Towne  declined  several  offers  of  professorships, 
but  accepted  an  appointment  as  chief  clerk  in 
the  department  of  public  instruction  at  Lansing, 
Michigan.  In  that  capacity,  and  in  a  similar  one 
in  the  state  treasury  department,  he  remained  un- 
til the  fall  of  1885.  In  the  meantime  he  had 
prosecuted  the  study  of  law,  and,  with  a  natural 
aptitude  for  public  speaking,  had  participatetl  in 
state  and  national  campaigns,  an  experience 
which  he  began  as  early  as  the  campaign  of  1876. 
In  1884  he  was  talked  of  by  the  newspapers  and 
politicians  as  a  suitable  candidate  for  congress 
from  the  Fifth  District  of  ^Michigan.  He  made 
no  efifort  to  secure  the  nomination,  however,  re- 
garding himself  on  account  of  his  youth  as  not 
properly  equipped  for  the  office.  He  was  then 
twenty-five.  In  April.  1885.  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  and  began  the  practice  of  law  at  .Marquette 
in  March,  1868.  In  March,  1889,  he  moved  to 
Chicago,  w'here  he  continued  the  practice  of  law 
until  June,  1890.  He  was  then  nuicli  impressed 
with  the  future  of  Duluth,  and  in  August  of  that 
year  located  in  that  city,  where  he  still  resides. 
His  professional  career  has  not  been  long,  but  it 
has  been  a  successful  one,  involving  various  im- 
portant litigations.  He  is  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Phelps,  Towne  &  Harris,  formed  January  i. 
1895,  and  composed  of  H.  H.  Phelps,  L.  C.  Har- 


ris and  himself.  .Mr.  Towne  never  held  any  ofifice 
prior  to  his  election  to  Congress,  although  at 
different  times  solicited  to  become  a  candidate. 
He  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1894,  and  his 
career  as  a  member  of  that  body  has  been  a  bril- 
liant one.  Mr.  Towne  has  been  an  ardent  advo- 
cate of  bimetallism,  and  no  .speech  delivered  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  on  that  side  of  the 
money  question  during  the  first  session  of  the 
Fifty-fourth  Congress  attracted  nearly  as  much 
attention  as  his,  an  effort  which  at  once  aroused 
interest  in  him  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  orators 
in  the  house  and  among  the  foremost  advocates 
of  the  financial  views  which  he  holds.  Mr.  Towne 
is  largely  a  self-made  man,  for,  while  his  father, 
out  of  the  scantiness  of  his  limited  resources,  and 
out  of  his  great  genius  for  economy,  furnished 
from  the  proceeds  of  his  labor  a  large  part  of  the 
money  necessary  to  pay  college  e.xpenses.  and 
while  some  assistance  was  received  from  Dr.  C. 
P.  Parkin,  of  Owosso,  Michigan,  whom  Mr. 
Towne  honors  in  memory  as  one  of  the  grandest 
and  noblest  characters  he  ever  knew,  much  of  the 
money  necessary  for  the  prosecution  of  his 
studies  was  earned  l)y  himself  as  a  school  teacher 
and  in  other  ways.  Mr.  Towne  was  married 
April  20,  1887,  to  Claude  Irene  ^^'iley.  at  Lan- 
sing, ^fichigan.   Tliev  have  no  children. 


>)t 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


FRANCIS  BENNETT  VAN  HOESEN. 

Minnesota  has  comparatively  few  people  of 
the  old  Dutch  stock,  but  wherever  they  are  found 
they  are  valuable  citizens  and  men  of  affairs. 
One  of  these,  of  almost  unmixed  Holland 
blood,  is  the  Hon.  F.  B.  Van  Hoesen,  of  Alex- 
andria, banker,  legislator,  lawyer  and  capitalist. 
The  Van  Hoesens  came  from  Holland  and  set- 
tled in  what  is  now  Columbia  County,  New 
\'ork  about  1650.  They  bought  a  tract  of  several 
hundred  acres  of  land,  on  a  part  of  which  the 
city  of  Hudson  now  stands.  Mr.  Van  Hoesen's 
great  grandfather,  Garrett  \'an  Hoesen,  emi- 
grated to  Cortland  County,  New  York,  in  1806 
and  purchased  a  tract  of  land  in  the  Tioughinoga 
\'alley,  in  the  town  of  Preble.  This  tract,  with 
certain  additions  which  the  thrifty  settler  ac- 
quired, came  into  the  possession  of  his  three  sons, 
Garrett,  Francis  and  Albert,  who  all  married  and 
reared  large  families.  They  and  their  descend- 
ants were  respected  citizens,  filling  offices  of 
trust  and  acquiring  large  properties.  Garrett, 
Mr.  Van  Hoesen's  great  grandfather,  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Revolution.  His  grandson,  John  Van 
Hoesen,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  came 
west.  He  is  now  retired  from  business  in  mod- 
crate  financial  circumstances.  His  wife  was  also 
of  direct  Holland  descent.  She  was  Rhoda  Ben- 
nett, daughter  of  Gershom  Bennett,  a  faniur  of 


Onondaga  County,  New  York,  whose  ancestors 
came  from  Holland  to  Green  County,  New  York, 
and  later  came  to  Onondaga  County  to  the  town 
of  Tully,  where  Mrs.  \'an  Hoesen  was  born  in 
1814.  Francis  \'an  Hoesen  was  born  at  Tully 
on  January  8,  1839.  When  he  was  fifteen  years 
of  age  his  parents  came  to  Hastings,  Minnesota, 
then  but  a  frontier  village.  His  early  schooling 
was  obtained  at  the  common  schools  of  New 
York  and  Minnesota.  Later  he  went  for  two 
years  to  the  Oneida  Conference  Seminary  at 
Cazenovia,  Madison  County,  New  York,  and  to 
the  Law  School  of  the  University  of  Michigan, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1864.  This  educa- 
tion was  not  obtained  without  much  hard  work. 
Air.  A'an  Hoesen  taught  school  and  engaged  in 
other  employment  as  he  could  in  order  to  obtain 
the  funds  to  maintain  himself  at  college.  After 
Ijeing  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  supreme  conn 
of  Michigan  in  1864  he  read  law  for  a  short  time 
at  Hastings  and  then  commenced  practice  cm  his 
own  account  at  Owatonna,  Minnesota,  with 
Julius  B.  Searles,  brother  of  J.  N.  Searles,  of 
.Stillwater.  Being  offered  an  attractive  partner- 
ship by  T.  B.  Waheman,  of  McHenry  County, 
Illinois,  he  went  there  in  1865,  but  his  health 
failed  after  a  few  months  and  he  was  obliged  to 
give  up  office  work  for  a  time.  He  returned 
to  Minnesota  and  spent  the  following  year  in 
the  woods  and  on  the  prairies  most  of  the  time 
engaged  in  examining  government  lands  for 
entry  by  private  parties.  On  one  of  his  visits  to 
St.  Cloud  then  the  location  of  the  United  States 
land  office,  he  became  acquainted  with  T.  C. 
McClure,  one  of  the  famotis  triumvirate  of  Clark, 
Wait  &  McClure,  who  for  many  years  were  domi- 
nant spirits  in  the  busmess  and  politics  of  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  state.  Mr.  McClure 
offered  young  Von  Hoesen  a  place  in  his  bank. 
The  offer  was  accept  and  the  position  was  held 
until  1867  when  he  went  to  Alexandria  and 
branched  out  for  himself.  Mr.  Van  Hoesen  at- 
tributes much  of  his  success  to  the  influence  and 
ti'aining  of  Mr.  McClure.  fnr  wli.ini  he  has 
always  had  the  greatest  regard  and  respect.  At 
Alexandria,  then  but  a  scattered  village,  eighty- 
five  miles  from  a  railroad,  Mr.  Van  Hoesen  re- 
connnenced  the  practice  of  his  profession.  ITe 
was  almost  immediately  elected  county  attorney, 
but  his  services  to  the  public  consisted  largely  in 
kee]iing  the  count\-  out  of  litig.'ition  r;ither  than 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


05 


trying  cases.  The  country  filled  up  rapidly  after 
the  war,  and  in  i86()  .Mr.  \'an  lluesen  interested 
other  parties  and  started  llu-  Hank  ol  Alexandria. 
He  was  cashier  and  niana^^er  and  so  continued 
until  1883  when  the  bank  was  reorganized  intothc 
First  National  Hank  (if  Alexandria,  of  wliicli  he 
became  president.  He  has  continued  to  hold  tiiat 
position.  Though  brought  up  a  Democrat,  .Mr. 
Van  Hoesen  says  that  in  the  seccmd  year  of  the 
war  he  saw  that  the  only  political  party  wliich 
was  trying  to  save  the  nation's  life  was  the  Re- 
publican party.  So  he  came  to  believe  in  its 
principles.  Since  locating  in  Alexandria  he  has 
taken  an  active  part  in  political  affairs,  lie  has 
been  county  attorney,  clerk  of  the  district  court, 
register  of  deeds,  first  president  of  the  village 
council,  member  of  school  board  and  its  treasurer 
for  a  dozen  years,  member  of  the  legislature  in 
the  house  of  1872  and  1881,  and  in  the  senate 
in  1883  and  1885.  He  has  been  a  Mason  since 
1866,  and  has  held  prominent  offices  in  the  local 
lodge.  In  1879  he  was  married  to  Miss  Alary  C. 
Gunderson,  daughter  of  James  Gunderson,  a 
farmer,  and  sister  of  C.  J.  (kmderson,  of  Alex- 
andria.    They  have  no  children. 


FRANK  M.  PRINCE. 

The  above  name  is  that  of  a  man  who  has 
grown  up  with  the  state,  and  by  his  strict  fidelity 
to  business  and  persevering  industry  has  won  for 
himself  a  place  among  the  financiers  of  this  com- 
monwealth. F.  M.  Prince  is  vice-president  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  .Minneapolis.  He  is 
the  son  of  George  H.  Prince  and  Sarah  E.  Nash 
(Prince.)  George  H.  Prince  is  at  present  not 
engaged  in  active  business,  being  in  comfortable 
circumstances  financially.  L'rank  Al.  was  born 
at  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  July  23,  1854.  He 
received  a  good  common  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  town  and  the  high  school. 
The  first  money  he  ever  earned  was  carrying  mail 
while  attending  school  from  twelve  until  he  was 
sixteen  years  of  age.  He  worked  in  a  general 
store  after  that  age  until  he  was  tw^entv  vears 
old,  when  he  came  to  Minnesota,  in  December, 
1874,  settling  at  Stillwater.  He  was  for  a  year 
employed  in  the  general  store  of  Prince  &  French 
in  that  city,  and  in  the  winter  of  1873  taught 
school.     In  April  of  that  year  he  obtained    em- 


ployment in  the  I'irst  National  iJank  of  Still- 
water, working  as  an  office  boy  and  general 
clerk.  He  continued  in  this  position  until  July, 
1878,  when  he  obtained  employment  in  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Minneapolis,  as  correspondent 
and  teller.  He  held  this  position  until  Novem- 
ber, 1882,  when  he  returned  to  the  First  National 
Bank  at  Stillwater,  taking  the  position  of  cashier, 
January  i,  1883.  He  remained  in  this  position 
for  nine  years.  On  August  i,  1892,  he  entered 
upon  his  duties  as  secretar)-  and  treasurer  of  the 
Minnesota  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  of  Minne- 
apolis. He  held  this  position,  however,  only  two 
years,  when  he  returned  to  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Minneapolis,  August  i,  1894,  taking  the 
position  of  cashier.  He  was  holding  this  ofifice 
when  he  was  elected  vice-president  of  the  bank, 
January  i,  1805.  ^'''-  Prince  is  held  in  high 
esteem  by  all  his  business  associates  for  his  sound 
judgment  and  his  qualifications  as  a  shrewd  and 
conservative  financier.  He  is  also  interested  in 
other  business  enterprises,  being  a  director  in  the 
Alinnesota  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  of  Minne- 
apolis; the  Stillwater  Water  Company,  the  C.  N. 
Nelson  Lvtmber  Company  and  the  Merchants' 
Bank  at  Cloquet.  Mr.  Prince's  political  affilia- 
tions are  with  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Minneapolis  and  Commercial 
clubs.  He  was  married  April  26.  1883.  to  Mary 
Bell  Russell.  Airs.  Prince  died  July  27.  1888. 
Thev  had  no  chiklren. 


90 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WILLIAM  WIRT   PENDERGAST. 

William  Wirt  Pendergast,  superintendent  of 
public  instruction  of  the  state  of  ^Minnesota, 
comes  from  a  long  line  of  New  England  ancestry, 
the  first  of  whom,  Stephen  Pendergast,  the  great- 
great  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
came  from  Wexford,  Ireland,  in  1713,  and  set- 
tled at  Durham,  New  Hampshire.  He  built  a 
garrison  house  at  Packer's  Falls,  where  his  son 
Edmond,  his  grandson  Edmond,  his  great  grand- 
son Solomon  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch  were 
all  born.  .Stephen  Pendergast's  wife  was  jane 
Cotton,  a  relative  of  John  Cotton.  Edmond  Pen- 
dergast, grandfather  of  ^^'illia^l  Wirt  Pendergast, 
served  in  the  Revolutionary  War  and  was  at  the 
capture  of  P.urgoyne.  ^fr.  Pendergast  was  born 
January  31,  1833,  the  son  of  Solomon  Pender- 
gast and  Lydia  (Wiggin)  Pendergast.  His  father 
was  a  farmer  wlio  had  a  large  family  and  was  in 
rather  straightened  circumstances.  He  was,  how- 
ever, a  man  of  education,  having  fitted  for  Dart- 
mouth College  at  Hampton  Academy.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  attended  district  school,  Dur- 
ham Academy,  Phillips  Exeter  Academy,  and  en- 
tered liowdoin  College  Brunswick,  Maine,  in 
T850.  He  was  a  classmate  of  ex-Scnatnr  W.  iX 
Washburn.  Within  the  last  two  years  he  has 
received  tlic  (icgrcc  of  A.  'S].  from  his  alma  mater. 
Mr.  Pendergast  was  obliged  tf)  ])ay  his  own  way 


through  college,  and  during  this  time  taught 
school  more  or  less,  at  the  same  time  carrying 
his  studies  and  keeping  up  with  his  class.  His 
salary  for  the  first  term  of  school  was  $15  a 
month.  After  leaving  college  he  taught  in  graded 
schools  in  Arnesbury  and  Essex,  Massachusetts, 
and  gained  the  reputation  of  being  a  very  suc- 
cessful teacher.  In  1856  he  came  to  Minnesota 
and  took  up  a  homestead  at  Hutchinson,  Mc- 
Leod  County.  The  following  year  he  taught  the 
first  public  school  opened  at  Hutchinson.  For 
twenty  years  he  was  identified  with  the  Hutchin- 
son schools  as  principal,  and  was  superintendent 
of  schools  for  McLeod  County  for  eight  years. 
In  1862  he,  with  eight  other  men  from  Hutchin- 
son, were  at  Fort  Snelling  to  enlist  in  the  army 
when  news  was  received  of  the  Sioux  outbreak. 
They  all  returned  immediately  to  defend  their 
homes  against  the  Indians.  Mr.  Pendergast  was 
placed  in  command  of  a  squad  of  home  guards 
and  constructed  a  fort  which  was  just  completed 
when  an  attack  was  made.  About  three  hundred 
Indians  surrounded  the  village,  half  of  which, 
including  ]Mr.  Pendergast's  house  and  an  academy 
building  which  he  had  just  built,  were  burned. 
The  three  hundred  Indians,  however,  were  driven 
l)ack  by  the  eighty  home  guards,  and  the  settlers 
were  protected  from  their  assaults.  Mr.  Pender- 
gast sent  his  family  to  Essex.  Alassachusetts,  and 
continued  in  the  service  as  a  member  of  the  home 
guards.  When  discharged  he  followed  his  family 
to  Massachusetts  and  remained  three  \ears,  as 
superintendent  of  the  Salisbury  Mills  High 
School.  Returning  again  to  Hutchinson  he  re- 
sumed his  work  in  the  schools  of  Hutchinson 
and  McLeod  County.  In  1881  he  was  appointed 
assistant  superintendent  of  public  instruction  with 
.Superintendent  D.  L.  Kiehle.  He  held  that  posi- 
tion for  seven  years,  when  he  was  made  principal 
of  the  school  of  agriculture  at  the  experiment  sta- 
tion, a  department  of  the  state  university.  He 
held  this  position  until  September  i,  1893,  when 
he  was  appointed  stale  superintendent  of  public 
instruction.  His  work  in  connection  with  the 
schools  of  Minnesota  has  been  crowned  with 
great  success.  He  is  a  man  of  broad  s\mpathies, 
of  wide  reading  and  souml  judgment.  He  is 
thoroughly  devoted  to  the  interests  of  public  edu- 
cation and  profoundly  interested  in  all  that 
stands  for  the  intellectual  develoiimcnt  of  the 
masses  from  the  little  red  school  house    to    the 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


State  university.  Professor  l-'endergast  is  a  Re- 
publican, and  has  been  since  the  party  was  organ- 
ized, but  he  has  never  been  a  partisan  in  politics 
as  that  would  often  be  inconsistent  with  his  school 
work  to  which  he  is  thoroughly  devoted.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Masonic  order  and  was  the  first 
W.  M.  of  Temple  No.  49  in  Hutchinson,  in  1866. 
August  9,  1857,  he  married  Abbie  L.  Cogswell, 
of  Essex,  Massachusetts  and  has  had  nine  chil- 
dren, seven  of  whom  are  living,  Elizabeth  C, 
Edmond  K.,  Mary  A.,  Perley  P.,  Sophie  M., 
Warren  W.  and  Eilen  M. 


WILLARD  JAMES  Hll'Ll). 

Willard  James  Hield.  general  manager  of 
the  Twin  City  Rapid  Transit  Company,  has 
earned  the  desirable  position  which  he  holds  by 
the  faithful  and  efficient  discharge  of  his  duties 
in  the  less  responsible  positions  through  which 
he  has  passed  in  the  service  of  that  company. 
Mr.  Hield  is  a  native  of  Wisconsin.  He  was 
born  at  Janesville,  ]\Iay  ly,  1863,  the  son  of 
George  Hield  and  Mary  H.  Rhodes  (Hield).  His 
parents  were  both  of  English  descent  and  came 
to  America  in  1845.  Tliey  located  in  Wisconsin 
before  there  w-as  a  mile  of  railroad  within  the 
state.  George  Hield  settled  on  a  farm  in  Rock 
County,  from  which  he  afterward  removed  to 
Janesville,  where  he  engaged  in  business  as  a 
contractor  and  a  wholesale  dealer  in  grain  and 
other  agricultural  products.  More  recently  he  and 
his  wife,  both  of  whom  are  still  living,  have  moved 
to  Minneapolis,  where  Mr.  Hield  is  enjoying  a 
comfortable  old  age  without  the  burden  of  any 
business  cares.  Willard  James  was  given  a  high 
school  education  at  Janesville,  and  in  1887  came 
to  Minneapolis  and  entered  the  service  of  the 
street  railway  company  in  October  of  that  year. 
His  business  experience  prior  to  that  consisted  of 
four  years  in  the  employment  of  Bassett  &  Echlin, 
of  Janesville,  jobbers  in  saddlery  and  hardware. 
He  was  employed  in  various  capacities  by  the 
railway  company,  first  in  office  work,  and  then, 
during  the  strike  of  1889,  he  was  assigned  to 
outside  work,  assisting  somewhat  in  the  opening 
of  the  lines,  and  at  the  close  of  the  controversy 
was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  Minneapolis, 
Lyndale  &  INIinnetonka  Railway,  a  steam  road 
known  as  the  motor  line,  which  was  absorbed  by 


the  street  railway  company.  Eater,  when  this  line 
was  abandoned,  or  rather  when  it  was  changed 
from  a  steam  and  horse  car  line  to  an  electric 
road,  Mr.  Hield  was  put  in  charge  of  its  construc- 
tion and  for  two  years  acted  as  superintendent  of 
that  wiirk.  I'efore  this  undertaking  was  fully 
comjileted,  in  July,  1891  he  was  appointed  super- 
intendent of  the  entire  street  railway  system  in 
Minneapolis.  Six  months  later,  during  the  pro- 
longed absence  of  \'ice  President  and  General 
Alanager  Goodrich,  Mr.  Hield  was  elevated  to 
the  office  of  manager,  and  on  the  consolidation 
of  the  lines  in  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul  in  the 
spring  of  1892,  he  was  appointed  general  man- 
ager i)i  the  entire  consolidated  system.  This 
position  he  now  holds.  Mr.  Hield  was  married 
in  Minneapolis,  December  24,  1885.  to  Miss  Ena 
P.  I'"reenian.  They  have  two  children,  ClifTord 
Chase,  born  July  15,  1888,  and  Willard  Freeman, 
born  December  19,  1895.  Mr.  Hield's  highly 
successful  career  illustrates  the  fact  that  capability 
and  devotion  to  business  win  the  best  rewards  in 
commercial  and  industrial  life.  Such  success  as 
he  has  attained,  and  which  is  by  no  means  incon- 
siderable, he  owes  to  no  one  but  himself,  his 
advancement  to  his  present  responsible  position 
having  come  as  a  result  of  his  faithful  perform- 
ance of  his  duties  in  less  prominent  positions. 
JMr.  Hield  resides  in  Minneapolis. 


98 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES  d'AUTREAKJXT,  JR. 

The  story  of  the  origin  of  Charles  d'Autre- 
mont,  Jr.,  of  Diduth,  has  all  such  elements  of 
romance  and  tragedy  as  are  expected  in  the  lives 
of  descendants  of  participants  in  the  affairs  of 
Prance  at  the  time  of  the  revolution.  IJuluth  is 
indebted  to  the  Reign  of  Terror  for  one  of  her 
most  prominent  citizens.  Air.  d'Autreniont's 
great  grandmother  was  Alme.  Alarie  Jeane  d'Ohet 
d'Autremont.  She  was  the  widow  of  Hubert 
d'Autremont,  and  with  her  three  sons,  Louis 
Paul,  Alexander  Hubert  and  Auguste  Francois 
Cecile,  escaped  froiu  h" ranee  in  1702,  and  settled 
on  a  tract  of  land  previously  acijuired  on  the 
Chenango  River,  in  the  state  of  Xew  York.  They 
had  been  there  but  a  short  time  when  the\-  re- 
moved to  a  colony  called  Asylum,  established  by 
French  Royalists  in  Pennsylvania,  on  the  Sus(|ue- 
hanna  river,  near  the  present  town  (if  Tnwanda. 
A  few  years  later  the  oldest  son,  Louis,  returned 
to  France  with  Talleyrand  in  the  ca]xicitv  of  sec- 
retary to  that  great  statesman,  lie  afterwards 
visited  England  and  Portugal  as  a  representa- 
tive of  the  I'rench  government.  When  Xapoleon 
in  1800  granted  amnesty  to  the  emigrants  who 
left  France  during  the  "Reign  of  Terror."  the 
colony  of  Asylum  was  abandnned,  ucarK  all  its 
inhabitants  returning  to  f'nmce.  f'.ut  Mnie. 
d'Autremont.  with  her  two  remaining  sons,  went 


back  to  the  Chenango,  where  they  remained 
until  1806,  when,  having  purchased  a  tract  of 
land  on  the  Genesee  river,  they  moved  to  An- 
gelica,' New  York,  where  many  of  their  descend- 
ants have  since  lived.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  descended  from  Alexander  d'Autremont, 
whose  son  Charles  retired  from  business  at  an 
early  age  and  continued  to  reside  at  Angelica 
until  his  death  in  1891.  Air.  d'Autremont's 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  Judge  John  Collins,  of 
Angelica.  Judge  Collins  was  a  native  of  Con- 
necticut. His  wife  was  Ann  Gregory,  an  EngHsh 
woman.  He  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  army  in  the 
war  of  1 81 2.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he,  with 
others,  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Alle- 
gheny County  and  moved  there,  to  practice  his 
profession,  and  dispose  of  his  land.  Charles 
d'Autremont,  Jr.,  was  born  at  Angelica,  on  June 
2,  185 1.  He  commenced  his  education  at  An- 
gelica Academy,  and  in  1868  entered  the  fresh- 
man class  at  Cornell  LIniversity.  On  account  of 
ill  health  he  left  college  at  the  end  of  his  junior 
year  and  went  to  Lausanne,  Switzerland,  and 
entered  the  Academy  there.  Upon  his  return  to 
America  in  1872  he  conmienced  the  study  of  law 
in  the  office  of  his  uncle.  Judge  John  G.  Collins, 
at  Angelica.  After  reading  with  Judge  Collins 
for  a  year  Air.  d'Autremont  Avent  to  New  York 
and  entered  Columbia  Law  School,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1875.  After  a  sum- 
mer in  Europe  he  entered  the  law  oiifice  of  Hart 
&  AIcGuire,  at  Elmira,  New  York.  Two  years 
later  he  opened  an  office  of  his  own.  In  1879 
he  again  visited  Europe.  The  fall  of  1882  found 
Air.  d'Autremont  a  resident  of  Duluth.  It  came 
about  by  chance.  ( >n  his  way  east  from  a  hunt- 
ing trip  on  the  Little  Alissouri,  Air.  d'Autremont 
happened  to  miss  the  steamer  at  Duluth,  and 
was  compelled  to  wait  over  several  days.  This 
delay  afforded  an  opportunity  of  meeting  the 
I)eo])le  of  the  town,  and  he  was  so  ])leased  with 
them,  and  so  favorably  impressed  with  the  place 
that,  innnediateh'  upon  reaching  home,  he 
packed  up  his  belongings  and  returned  with  his 
family  to  Diduth.  In  ])olitics  Air.  trAutremont 
has  been  steadfastly  and  consistently  a  Demo- 
crat. While  at  Elmira  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Pionrd  of  Snpei"visors  of  Chemung  Count\.  In 
i88.|  he  was  elected  count\-  attorne\-  of  St.  Louis 
Countx',    Alimiesota.      I'our   vears    after   he    was. 


PKOGRBSSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


99 


the  Democratic  nominee  for  attorney  general  of 
Minnesota,  but  was  defeated  with  the  rest  of 
the  ticket.  He  was  elected  mayor  of  Uuluth 
in  1892,  and  in  i8y6  was  a  democratic  presi- 
dential elector  for  ^Minnesota.  He  participated 
actively  in  the  Greeley  campaign  of  1872,  the 
Tilden  campaign  of  1876  and  the  Hancock  cam- 
paign of  1880,  and  was  president  of  Tilden  and 
Hancock  clubs  at  Elmira.  In  the  Hancock 
campaign  he  spoke  in  both  New  York  and  Penn- 
sylvania, and  since  coming  to  Minnesota  has 
been  in  demand  as  a  political  speaker.  On  April 
21,  1880,  ]Mr.  d'Autremont  and  Miss  Hattie  H. 
Hart  were  married  at  Elmira,  where  J\Irs.  d'Autre- 
mont's  father,  E.  P.  Hart,  was  a  long  distin- 
guished member  of  the  bar.  They  have  five 
children,  Antoinette,  Louis  Paul,  Charles  Mau- 
rice, Hubert  Hart  and  Marie  Genevieve.  Mr. 
d'Autremont  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Kitchi 
Gammi  Club,  of  Duluth,  and  belongs  to  St. 
Omar's  Commandery  at  Elmira,  and  a  member 
of  the  Psi  Upsilon  Fraternity. 


J.  H.  THOMPSON. 

J.  H.  Thompson  is  one  of  the  pioneer  set- 
tlers of  Minneapolis,  having  been  engaged  in 
business  in  that  city  for  over  forty  years  as  a 
merchant  tailor  and  dealer  in  gents'  furnishing 
goods.  He  was  born  in  South  Berwick,  [Maine, 
August  17,  1834,  the  son  of  Daniel  G.  Thompson 
and  Dorca  Allen  Hayes  (Thompson.)  His  father 
was  a  well-to-do  farmer  in  the  state  of  Maine.  In 
September,  1843,  the  family  removed  from  South 
Berwick  to  a  farm  in  North  Yarmouth,  Maine, 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  worked  on  the 
farm  and  attended  the  country  school  until  he 
was  fifteen  years  of  age.  He  was  then  engaged 
as  a  clerk  in  George  S.  Farnsworth's  store  at 
North  Bridgton,  jNIaine.  A  year  later,  in  ^larch, 
1850,  he  commenced  to  learn  the  tailor's  trade 
with  Nathaniel  Osgood.  He  here  attended  the 
North  Bridgton  Academy  in  the  winter  of  185 1. 
In  July,  1853,  he  removed  to  Augusta,  Maine,  and 
was  employed  as  a  clerk  and  cutter  by  Richard 
Bosworth.  In  March,  1853,  he  was  employed  in 
the  same  capacity  by  J.  H.  and  F.  W.  Chisam,  of 
the  same  city.  In  the  winter  of  1856  he  came 
West,  looking  over  several  locations  in  order  to 
find  a  suitable  location  to  open  business,  finally 
deciding  to  try  what  was  then  St.  Anthony.     He 


started  in  the  tailoring  business  in  this  town  in 
the  winter  of  1856-57,  being  the  first  tailor  in 
Minneapolis.  He  has  continued  in  the  same  line 
of  business  ever  since  and  has  enjoyed  a  large 
and  profitable  trade.  In  connection  wdth  his 
tailoring  l)usincss  he  had  for  years  the  first  ex- 
press office  in  .Minneapolis,  and  also  sold  the 
first  railroad  tickets  to  the  East  via  steamboats 
and  by  rail  from  Prairie  du  Chien,  Wisconsin. 
In  August,  1862,  he  was  a  volunteer  in  Captain 
Anson  Northrup's  company  for  the  relief  of  the 
threatened  settlers  at  Fort  Ridgely.  He  is  a 
Republican  in  politics  and  takes  an  active  part 
in  party  affairs.  He  served  as  supervisor  of  the 
town  of  Minneapolis  for  several  years,  and  also 
as  alderman.  In  the  fall  of  1856,  when  only 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  took  considerable 
interest  in  the  election  of  John  C.  Fremont,  Re- 
publican candidate  for  president.  In  September 
of  the  same  year  he  was  elected  and  took  the 
three  degrees  in  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masonry,  in  Bethlehem  Lodge,  No.  35,  jurisdic- 
tion of  Maine.  In  November  of  the  same  year 
he  was  elected  Senior  Deacon  of  the  lodge. 
He  has  held  several  other  offices  in  the  ]\Iasonic 
fraternity,  more  especially  that  of  the  grand 
treasurers  office  consecutively  for  the  past  nine- 
teen vears.  On  September  18,  i860,  he  was 
married  to  ^liss  Ellen  M.  Gould,  at  Minneapolis, 
and  has  two  children  living. 


100 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


BEXJAAIIX  B.  SHEFFIELD. 

Mayor  B.  B.  Sheffield,  of  Faribault,  is  one  of 
the  younger  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  very 
successful  business  men  of  .Minnesota.  He  has 
lived  in  Faribault  since  he  was  a  boy,  and  has 
grown  up  among  its  people,  and  made  a  remark- 
able success  of  what  promised  at  the  outset  to  be 
a  losing  business.  He  is  very  popular  in  his 
home,  and  has  been  twice  elected  mayor,  the  sec- 
ond time  bv  a  combination  of  Ijoth  parties  and 
without  ojjposition.  Mr.  .Sheffield  comes  of  good 
stock.  His  father  .M.  !'>.  Sheffield,  a  well-known 
business  man,  was  of  a  family  which  has  always 
had  the  reputation  of  unimpeachaijle  integrit\- 
and  honesty.  His  wife  was  Aliss  Rachel  Tu])]>er, 
a  daughter  of  a  prominent  family  in  Xova  Scotia, 
a  first  cousin  to  Sir  Charles  Tupper.  now  secre- 
tary of  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  B.  11.  Sheffield 
was  born  at  Aylesford,  Xova  Scotia,  on  Decem- 
ber 23,  i860.  His  ])arents  moved  to  .Minnesota 
in  1865,  Mr.  Sheffield  becoming  a  retail  mer- 
chant at  I-'aribault.  iSenjamin  grew  np  at  i'ari- 
bault  and  attended  the  public  schools,  and  later 
spending  five  years  at  the  Shattuck  Military 
school,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1X80  with 
honors.  He  took  the  first  oratorical  prize,  a  gold 
medal,  in  1877.  "<■'  passed  the  examination  loi 
Yale  College  soon  after  his  graduation  from  Shat- 
tuck, but  for  financial  reasons  difl  not  enter  col- 


lege, Init  innnediately  went  into  business. 
Though  only  nineteen  years  of  age  he  assumed 
the  management  of  the  Walcott  Flour  Mills  for 
his  father.  These  mills  were  at  that  time  four 
miles  from  any  railroad,  and  had  been  a  losing 
business  for  all  previous  owners.  There  was  at 
that  time  an  indebtedness  of  $15,000  on  the  plant. 
In  spite  of  the  obstacles  young  Sheffield  made  the 
project  go.  For  two  years  he  actually  did  the 
Avork  and  took  the  place  of  three  men.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
the  property  on  a  sound  financial  basis, 
and  in  succeeding  years  developed  the  business, 
Ijrought  railroads  to  the  mill  doors,  and  increased 
the  capacity  of  the  plant  to  one  thousand  barrels 
a  day.  (..)n  Xovember  31,  1895,  the  Walcott 
mills  were  burned.  While  the  mills  were  still 
burning  Mr.  Sheffield  telegraphed  for  contract- 
ing agents  to  innnediately  plan  new  mills  of  one- 
thousand  barrels  capacity.  He  formed  the  Shef- 
field Milling  Company  with  a  paid  up  capital  of 
$200,000  had  the  new  mill  completed  and  in 
operation  in  about  si.K  months.  In  addition  to 
the  milling  interest  Mr.  Sheffield  is  president  of 
the  Crown  Elevator  Company,  owning  and  con- 
trolling a  line  of  thirty  elevators  in  Xorth  and 
South  Dakota  and  Minnesota.  Mr.  Sheffield  has 
been  identified  closeh'  with  the  progress  of  Fari- 
bault. He  has  always  been  ready  to  foster  any 
industry  which  might  advance  his  city,  and  he 
has  heliJed  public  enterprises  with  his  personal 
office  and  his  private  funds.  He  is  president  of 
the  Security  Bank  of  Faribault.  In  politics  he 
lias  been  consistently  a  Repultlican,  and  served 
as  vice  president  of  the  city  council  for  two  years. 
He  was  elected  mayor  for  the  first  term  by  the 
largest  majority  in  the  histon-  of  the  city,  and 
upon  his  second  candidacy  there  was  no  (.ijiposi- 
tion.  Mr.  Sheffiekl  was  married  on  July  18,  i88g, 
to  Miss  Carrie  A.  Crossette.  The\-  have  had  two 
children,  one  of  whom,  F)lanche  aged  five,  is  liv- 
ing. During  his  busy  business  life  Mr.  .Shef- 
field has  ac(|nirc(l  the  art  of  si)cech  making  and 
when  occasion  demands  can  deliver  a  graceful, 
schfilarly  address.  ."Xt  the  time  of  the  visit  of  the 
F-lMscopal  (onvcntion  to  I'arihaiilt  in  1805 
Mayor  .Shcflield  who  is  also  vestryman  in  Bishop 
\\'hip])le"s  I'nion  Cathedral  Parish,  made  the  ad- 
dress of  welcome  which  was  regarded  as  a  model 
of  its  kind. 


PKOGKKSSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


101 


JAAFES  J.  HILL. 

James  J.  Hill,  president  of  the  Great  Xorth- 
crii  Railroad,  was  a  fanner's  boy,  Ixjrn  September 
16,  1838,  near  Guelpli,  in  (  'ntario,  where  his 
grandfather  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  and 
made  his  home  on  the  Canada  Company's  land.s 
in  1826.  lames  attended  R(jekwot)d  Aeademy,  a 
Quaker  school,  near  his  home,  from  his  seventli 
to  his  fifteenth  year,  acc|uiring  a  s.:;oo(l  knowledge 
of  mathematics  and  a  fair  start  in  Latin,  .\boul 
this  time  his  father  died  and  he  left  home  to 
make  his  own  way  in  the  world,  h'or  two  years 
he  was  clerk  in  a  mercantile  hnuse  and  tlu-n,  in 
1856,  he  left  Canada  to  take  advantage  ot  the 
larger  opportunities  offered  to  young  men  in  the 
United  States.  In  July  he  arrived  in  St.  Paul, 
then  a  town  of  about  six  thousand  inhabitants. 
That  was  the  day  of  the  river  steamboat  and  the 
river  bank  was  the  center  of  activity.  He  secured 
employment  with  J.  \\'.  Bass  &  Co.  agents  of 
the  Dubuque  and  St.  Paul  Packet  Company  as 
a  shipping  clerk.  This  firm  was  succeeded  by 
Bronson.  Lewis  &  White,  for  whom  young  Hill 
served  as  shipping  clerk  for  three  years.  He  was 
subsequently  one  year  with  Temple  &  Beaupre, 
and  four  years  with  Pjorup  &  Champlin,  agents 
for  the  Galena  Packing  Company  and  the  David- 
son line.  At  the  outl)reak  of  the  rebellion  Mr. 
Hill  assisted  in  raising  a  cavalry  company  for  the 
war,  but  it  was  not  accejjted  and  Air.  Hill,  dis- 
appointed in  his  military  aspirations,  went  back 
to  his  river  position.  In  1865  he  took  the  agency 
of  the  Northwestern  Packet  Company  and  con- 
tinued in  that  capacity  until  1867.  1-Vom  1867 
to  1869  he  was  engaged  in  general  transportation 
and  fuel  business  and  was  the  agent  and  con- 
signee of  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific  Railroad.  In 
1869  he  formed  a  partnership,  known  as  Hill, 
Briggs  &  Co.,  for  the  carrying  on  of  the  fuel 
business  and  also  the  transportation  business.  It 
was  this  firm  which  brought  the  first  coal  to  St. 
Paul.  This  firm  for  the  first  time  opened  regular 
and  direct  communication  between  St.  Paul  and 
Fort  Gary,  now  Winnipeg.  In  1871  he  consoli- 
dated his  Red  River  interests  with  those  previous- 
ly organized  by  Norman  W.  Kittson,  agent  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  at  St.  Paul.  The  Hudson 
Bav  Company  was  operating  a  steamboat  line  be- 
tween jMoorhead  and  Winnipeg.  This  company, 
of  which   Donald   A.   .Smith   was  chief    commis- 


sioner, owned  some  stock  in  the  Kittson  Com- 
])any,  and  as  a  result  of  the  consolidation  of  the 
companies  .Mr.  Smith  became  associated  with  .Mr. 
Hill.  \n  1873  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific  Railroad 
became  embarrassed  and  defaulted  the  interest 
on  its  bonds.  Mr.  Hill  had  watched  the  develop- 
ment of  the  .Xorthwest  very  closely  and  foresaw 
the  time  when  a  dense  population  would  lie 
spread  over  the  Red  River  \'alley  which  should 
be  rendered  accessible  by  railroad.  When  the  St. 
Paul  &  Pacific  went  into  bankruptcy  in  1873.  Mr. 
Hill  had  not  lost  his  faith  in  the  value  of  the 
property  and  was  determined  to  obtain  control  of 
it.  It  was  a  splendid  dream.  InU  he  set  about  to 
make  it  a  realitv.  There  were  $33,000,000  of 
principal  and  interest  outstanding  of  the  default- 
ing bonds  of  the  company,  held  mostly  in  Am- 
sterdam, lliey  had  become  so  thoroughly  dis- 
credited that  it  was  possible  to  buy  them  at  a  low- 
figure.  Sir  Donald  A.  Smith,  who  is  now  High 
CommissifMier  from  Canada  to  Great  Britain, 
was  at  that  time  the  Chief  Executive  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  and  was  anxious  to  open 
up  the  Canadian  Northwest  by  a  railway  connect- 
ing with  the  rest  of  the  world.  In  1876  nego- 
tiations commenced  with  the  Dutch  bondholders 
and  in  the  following  year  George  Stephen,  presi- 
dent of  the  Bank  of  Montreal,  was  also  inter- 
ested in  the  enterprise.  The  negotiations  cul- 
minated in   February,   1878,  in  the  purchase    of 


102 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


nearly  all  the  bonds  outstanding.  The  road  was 
still  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  but  under  orders 
from  the  circuit  court  was  extended  from  Melrose 
to  Alexandria,  and  subsequently  to  St.  Mncent. 
In  May  and  June,  187Q,  the  mortgages  securing 
the  bonds  were  foreclosed.  The  property  was 
acquired  and  a  new  company,  the  St.  Paul,  Min- 
neapolis &  Manitoba,  was  organized  with  George- 
Stephen  as  president  and  Mr.  Hill  as  general 
manager.  He  served  in  this  capacity  till  1882. 
He  was  then  made  vice  president,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  was  elected  president,  which  office 
he  has  held  ever  since.  While  these  operations 
were  going  on  in  1875,  in  cotmection  with  K.  X. 
Saunders,  C.  W.  Griggs  and  William  Rhodes,  Mr. 
Hill  organized  the  Xorthwestern  Intel  Companw 
In  1878  when  he  had  come  into  virtual  possession 
of  the  railroad  property,  he  sold  his  interest.^ 
in  the  fuel  company  and  the  Red  River  Navi- 
gation Comjiany.  From  1880  to  1882,  in 
connection  with  his  associates,  George  Stephen 
and  Donald  A.  Smith,  and  also  with  R.  P..  Angus, 
Morton,  Rose  &  Co.,  of  London,  and  other  capi- 
talists, Mr.  Hill  engaged  in  the  organization  and 
construction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  but 
in  1883  he  sold  out  his  interests  in  the  Canadian 
Pacific  enterprise  and  since  that  time  has  devoted 
his  entire  attention  to  the  affairs  of  the  St.  Paul, 
?^Iinneapolis  &  Manitoba  Comjiany,  more  re- 
cently designated  as  the  Great  Northern.  The 
policv  he  has  pursued  has  been  an  aggressive  one, 
and  it  is  under  his  vigorous  management  that  this 
magnificent  property  has  been  brought  to  its 
present  pro])ortions,  comprising  about  4,500 
miles,  and  reaching  from  ^Minneapolis  and  St. 
Paul  to  Puget  Sound,  and  from  Dulutli  to  Yank- 
ton on  the  Missouri  River.  With  the  exception 
of  about  400  miles  of  the  original  line,  lying 
within  the  state  of  Minnesota,  it  has  been  built 
entirely  without  the  aid  of  land  grants,  and  with 
a  capitalization  in  stocks  and  bonds  not  to  ex- 
ceed $28,000  per  mile.  This  achievement  is  with- 
out a  parallel  in  the  history  of  other  great  rail- 
road enterprises  in  this  country.  Further  than 
that,  since  he  took  control  of  the  company  not 
a  dividend  lias  been  passed.  In  connection  with 
his  railroad  Mr.  Hill  has  established  a  line  of 
freight  and  ])assenger  steamers  on  the  lakes, 
which  include  among  their  number  the  magnifi- 
cent floating  palaces,  the  "Northwest"  and  the 
"Northland,"  two  of  the  finest  steamships    ever 


constructed  for  any  water.  These  vessels  ply  be- 
tween Duluth  and  Buffalo.  While  burdened  with 
the  responsibilities  of  these  great  enterprises,  1s.It. 
Hill  has  also  found  time  to  interest  himself  in 
other  enterprises.  One  of  these,  which  may  pos- 
sibly be  counted  as  one  of  his  recreations,  is  the 
p-urchase  and  improvement  of  his  large  stock 
farm.  North  Oaks,  eight  miles  north  of  St.  Paul, 
where  he  has  gone  extensively  into  the  breeding 
of  fine  stock.  It  was  from  this  farm  that  he  sup- 
plied a  large  number  of  choice  animals  free  to 
farmers  along  the  line  of  his  road  for  the  purpose 
of  encouraging  the  raising  of  live  stock 
of  the  best  kind.  He  has  also  contributed 
lil^erally  to  various  educational  and  other 
philanthropic  enterprises,  perhaps  the  most  nota- 
ble instance  of  his  liberality  in  this  respect  being 
his  donation  of  half  a  million  dollars  to  found  a 
Catholic  college  in  the  outskirts  of  St.  Paul.  Mr. 
Hill  married  early  and  has  a  family  of  nine  chil- 
dren, for  whom  he  has  provided  one  of  the  most 
stately  and  elegant  homes  in  the  country.  He  has 
always  been  a  student,  a  great  reader,  and  is  a 
man  of  surprising  breadth  of  culture  and  infor- 
mation for  one  who  has  been  so  actively  engaged 
in  business  from  his  boyhood.  His  home  con- 
tains one  of  the  finest  collections  of  works  of  art 
owned  by  any  private  indi\'i(lual  in  the  country. 


WILLIAM  BELL  ^MITCHELL. 

William  Bell  Mitchell  has.  until  re- 
centl}-,  been  identified  with  journalism  in  Minne- 
sota since  1858.  His  father,  Henry  Z.  iMitchell, 
came  to  Minnesota  from  Pennsylvania  and  by 
appointment  of  Governor  Ramsey  was  made 
commissary  general  of  Minnesota  during  the  time 
of  the  Indian  troubles.  He  located  in  St.  Cloud 
in  May,  1857,  was  appointed  postmaster  of  that 
town  by  President  Lincoln,  and  was  deputy  pro- 
vost marshal  for  a  time  during  the  war.  Hh 
wife  was  Elizabeth  A.  Canon,  whose  ancestors 
were  Scotch  Covenanters,  and  among  those  who 
suffered  manv  privations  and  persecutions  in 
Scotland  for  the  sake  of  their  faith.  Her  only 
sister  was  the  celebrated  ]\Irs.  Jane  Gray  Swiss- 
helm,  who  cut  a  large  figure  in  the  anti-slavery 
movement  and  in  Minnesota  journalism  in  the 
earlv  history  of  the  state.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born   May    14.   1S43.  at   Wilkinsbnrg, 


PROGRESSIVK  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


103 


now  a  part  of  the  city  of  Pittsburg.  He  attended 
a  local  academy  and  spent  a  year  in  the  mathe- 
matical department  of  Duff's  College,  I'ittsburg, 
before  moving  to  Minnesota.  After  his  arrival  in 
St.  Cloud  he  attended  an  academy  in  that  town 
for  a  siiort  time,  and  for  a  year  or  more  took 
private  lessons  in  such  time  as  his  work  in  a 
printing  office  would  permit,  but  by  the  time  he 
was  eighteen  his  srhnnl  davs  were  over.  .Mr. 
Mitchell  recalls  that  his  first  dollar,  which  he 
received  in  depreciated  county  orders,  was  earned 
in  the  spring  of  1858,  when  he  was  only  fifteen 
years  of  age.  He  was  a  member  of  a  surveying 
party  under  T.  H.  Barrett,  afterwards  Gen.  Bar- 
rett, to  locate  the  state  road  from  St.  Cloud  to 
Breckenridge,  through  a  country  then  unsettled. 
This  work  occupied  nearly  six  weeks.  The  fol- 
lowing winter  Mr.  Mitchell  obtained  employment 
in  the  office  of  the  St.  Cloud  Visiter,  a  paper 
published  by  Mrs.  Swisshelm,  intending  to  re- 
main at  first  but  a  short  time.  He  learned  to 
set  type,  was  afterwards  made  foreman  of  the 
office,  then  local  editor  and  news  editor  of  the 
paper,  did  a  little  general  editorial  work  and  so 
on,  with  the  result  that  the  engagement  which 
was  intended  to  be  but  temporary,  became  per- 
manent. The  Visiter  was  the  red-hot  anti- 
slavery  paper  -which  fought  the  battle  of  abolition 
so  vigorously  that  one  night  the  type,  and  part 
of  the  press,  was  thrown  into  the  Mississippi 
River.  After  the  war  broke  out  Mrs.  Swisshelm 
went  to  Washington  to  devote  herself  to  hospital 
work.  Mr.  Mitchell  continued  to  run  the  paper, 
and  in  1864  purchased  the  plant.  Mrs.  Swiss- 
helm  had  changed  the  name  of  it  to  the  Demo- 
crat. This  was  a  political  misnomer,  and  Mr. 
Mitchell  named  it  the  Journal.  In  1876  he  pur- 
chased the  Press,  which  had  been  started  four 
years  before,  and  consolidated  the  two  papers 
under  the  name  of  the  Journal-Press.  He  con- 
tinued the  publication  of  this  paper  as  a  straight- 
out  Republican  weekly,  and  made  it  one  of  the 
best  country  weeklies  in  the  whole  country.  In 
1892,  having  become  interested  in  a  pulp  mill 
and  other  manufacturing  enterprises,  Mr. 
Mitchell  sold  the  paper  on  September  i  to  Alvah 
Eastman,  of  Anoka,  still  retaining,  however,  a 
business  interest  in  and  having  editorial  connec- 
tion with  the  paper.    Mr.  Alitchell's  manufactur- 


d 

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i 

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IP 

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ing  business  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  August, 
1893,  and  since  that  time  he  has  been  engaged 
in  the  real  estate  and  loan  business.  He  has 
been  for  a  long  time  active  in  promoting  the 
best  interests  of  the  city  of  St.  Cloud,  and  was 
an  active  member  and  director  of  the  St.  Cloud 
Waterpower  Company  which  constructed  the 
dam  across  the  Mississippi  River  at  that  point. 
Mr.  Mitchell  has  always  been  a  Republican,  and 
while  he  was  never  a  candidate  for  any  elective 
office,  has  held  several  appointive  offices.  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  made  him  receiver  of  the  land 
office  of  St.  Cloud  in  1865.  He  was  removed 
for  political  reasons  by  President  Johnson,  was 
re-appointed  by  President  Hayes  in  1878  and  by 
President  Arthur  in  1882,  and  was  removed  by 
President  Cleveland  for  "offensive  partisan- 
ship" in  1885.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  state  lioard  oi  normal  school  direct- 
ors, and  has  been  resident  director  of 
the  Normal  School  of  St.  Cloud  since  1887. 
He  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  politics  and 
has  served  on  various  party  committees.  Mr. 
Mitchell  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
He  was  married  December  7,  1870,  in  Marietta, 
Ohio,  to  Miss  Emiiy  \M:ittlesey.  They  have 
eight  children.  Carrie  T..  Mildred  W.,  Eleanor, 
Leslie.  Jane  ^^'..  Henry  Z..  Ruth  H.  and  Dorothy. 


104 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WILLIAM   H.   IJUXWOCJDY. 

William  Hood  Dunuoody,  who  has  long 
been  identified  with  the  flour  milling  interests 
of  Minneapolis,  is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  born  in  Chester  County,  on  March  14, 
1841.  His  father  was  James  Dunw-oody,  whose 
father,  grandfather  and  great  grandfather  lived 
in  the  same  vicinity  in  Chester  County  and  were 
all  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  The  fam- 
ily is  of  Scotch  ancestry.  Mr.  Dunwoody's 
mother  was  Hannah  Hood,  the  daughter  of 
William  Hood,  of  Delaware  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, whose  ancestors  came  h>  this  country 
when  William  Penn  founded  the  LoJDuy  which 
took  his  name.  Mr.  l)unwoody's  early  life  was 
passed  upon  the  farm  where  he  wa-^  horn.  .Vfter 
a  period  of  schooling  in  Philadelphia,  he.  at  the 
age  of  eighteen,  entered  his  uncle's  store  in  I'hil- 
adelphia,  and  commenced  what  ])roved  to  lie 
the  business  of  his  lift-.  His  uncle  was  a  gniin 
and  flour  merchant.  After  a  few  years  .Mr.  Dun- 
woody  commenced  business  for  him.self  as  a 
senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Dunwoody  & 
Roberts"-)!!.  After  ten  years  of  jiractical  expe- 
rience in  Philadelphia  flour  markets,  Air.  Dun- 
woody  came  to  Minneapolis  in  1869,  and,  for  a 
time,  represented  several  eastern  liouses  as  flour 
buyer.  Milling  at  Minneapolis  was  tlun  in  a 
state  of  transition.  It  was  the  time  when  tln'  old- 


fashioned  mill  stones  were  giving  place  to  the 
modern  steel  rollers  and  the  middlings  purifier. 
With  keen  perception  Mr.  Dunwoody  saw  that 
a  great  advance  in  the  milling  business  was  at 
hand,  and  in  1871  he  embarked  in  milling  as  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Tiffany,  Dunwoody  & 
Co.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  firm  of  H. 
Darrow  &  Co.,  and  the  business  of  both  con- 
cerns was  under  his  personal  management. 
Early  in  his  career  as  a  Minneapolis  miller  Mr. 
Dunwoody  distinguished  himself  among  his  as- 
sociates by  devising  and  organizing  the  Minne- 
apolis Millers"  Association,  which  was  for  a 
long  time  a  most  important  organization,  its 
object  being  co-operation  in  the  purchase  of 
wheat  throughout  the  northwest  country.  It 
had  an  important  part  in  the  building  up  of  the 
Alinneapolis  milling  business.  Its  work  was 
discontinued  when  the  general  establishment  of 
elevators  and  the  development  of  the  Minneap- 
olis wheat  market  made  it  no  longer  necessary 
for  the  millers  to  work  in  co-operation  in  buy- 
ing their  wheat.  Another  important  work  which 
]Mr.  Dunwoody  early  attempted  was  that  of  ar- 
ranging for  the  direct  exportation  of  flour.  It 
had  been  the  custom  to  sell  through  brokers 
and  middle-men  of  the  .\tlantic  sea  ports.  In 
1877  Mr.  Dunwoody  went  to  England  and, 
though  he  met  with  a  most  determined  oppo- 
sition, succeeded  in  arranging  for  the  direct  ex- 
port of  flour  from  Minneapolis,  a  custom  which 
has  since  continued  without  interruption. 
Shortly  after  the  great  mill  explosion  of  1878 
Governor  C.  C.  Washburn  induced  Mr.  Dun- 
wood  v  to  join  him  in  a  milling  partnership  with 
the  late  John  Crosby,  and  Charles  J.  Martin. 
The  firm  thus  formed,  \\'ashburn,  Crosby  & 
Co.,  continued  for  many  years  and  was  suc- 
ceeded bv  the  \\'ash1)urn,  Crosby  Co.,  a  few 
\ears  since.  Since  .Mr.  Dunwoody's  connection 
with  the  Washburn  mills  in  1871)  he  has  been 
uninleiTiiptedlv  identified  with  the  conduct  of 
this  famous  group  of  mills.  It  was  natural  that 
Mr.  Dunwoody,  as  a  iirominent  miller,  should 
take  a  large  interest  in  the  manngenient  of  ele- 
vators. He  has  invested  largel\-  in  elevator 
properties,  and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  St.  Anthony  &  Dakota  Elevator  Company, 
the  St.  Anthony  Elevator  Company,  and  the 
Duluth  Elevator  Company.     In  addition  to  these 


PROGKESSIVK  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


105 


interests,  Mr.  Dunwoody  holds  other  important 
interests,  and  is  connected  with  a  number  of 
the  strongest  financial  institutions  of  Minneap- 
olis. He  is  a  director  of  the  Nortlnvestcrn. 
National  Bank  and  also  of  the  MinneapoHs 
Trust  Company.  Before  coming  to  Minneap- 
olis, Mr.  Dunwoody  married  Miss  Kate  L.  Pat- 
ten, the  daughter  of  Jolin  W.  Patten,  a  promi- 
nent merchant  of  Philadelphia.  Their  home  is 
a  handsome  dwelling  on  Tenth  Street  at  the 
corner  of  Mary  Place.  Mr.  Dunwoody's  refined 
tastes  have  been  gratified  in  late  years  by  ex- 
tensive travel. 


EDWARD  G.  ROGERS. 

In  the  veins  of  E.  G.  Rogers,  Ramsey  County's 
Clerk  of  the  District  Court,  runs  the  blood  of  the 
heroes  of  '76.  Mr.  Rogers  takes  a  just  pride  in 
the  fact  that  his  grandfather  was  an  officer  in  the 
Continental  Army  and  assisted  the  famous  Ethan 
Allan  in  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga.  i\Ir.  Rogers' 
father,  J.  N.  Rogers,  of  Berlin,  Wisconsin,  is  a 
lawyer  in  comfortable  circumstances.  His  wife 
was  Miss  Esther  E.  Hager,  who,  like  himself, 
was  from  a  prominent  Vermont  family.  Their 
son  Edward  was  born  at  St.  Joseph,  Michigan, 
on  December  8,  1842.  The  family  moved  to  Wis- 
consin, and  Edward  attended  the  Berlin  schools, 
graduating  finally  from  the  excellent  high  school 
of  that  town.  Subsequently  he  attended  the  law 
school  of  ^lichigan  University  at  Ann  Arbor, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Webster  Law  Class  at 
Ann  Arbor.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Green  Lake  County, 
Wisconsin,  and  he  practiced  law  at  Berlin  for  a 
time  after  being  admitted.  While  residing  at 
Berlin  he  became  a  candidate  for  County  Attor- 
ney on  the  Republican  ticket,  but  was  defeated 
by  the  narrow  margin  of  twelve  votes.  In  No- 
vember, 1866,  Mr.  Rogers  moved  to  St.  Paul, 
where  he  has  since  lived  and  practiced  his  profes- 
sion. At  the  time  he  came  to  St.  Paul  the  town 
was  still  dependent  upon  the  river  for  transporta- 
tion facilities.  Mr.  Rogers  recalls  the  fact  that 
he  came  up  from  La  Crosse  on  the  last  boat  of 
the  season.  In  1869  Mr.  Rogers  formed  a  part- 
nership with  his  brother,  J.  N.  Rogers,  as  Rogers 
&  Rogers.     This  partnership   was   dissolved   in 


1872,  Inil  Mr.  Rogers  continui-d  under  the  same 
firm  name  with  another  Ijrother — 1<".  L.  Rogers — 
until  1886.  After  a  short  period  of  practice  by 
himself  Mr.  Rogers  formed  a  partnership  with 
Emerson  Hadley,  as  Rogers  &  Hadley.  The 
firm  enjoyed  a  very  large  practice  and  engaged  in 
many  important  suits  in  the  federal  and  state 
courts.  The  firm  afterwards  became  Rogers, 
Hadley  &  Selmes.  Mr.  Rogers  is  a  life-long  Re- 
(niblican.  He  voted  for  Lincoln  for  his  second 
term,  and  has  since  supported  the  party  with  his 
voice  and  influence.  For  years  he  has  been  a 
prominent  stump  speaker  in  Ramsey  Count}^ 
and  throughout  the  state.  During  the  years  1878 
and  1879  his  services  were  remembered  by  elec- 
tion to  the  office  of  County  Attorney  of  Ramsey 
County,  and  to  the  lower  house  of  the  state  leg- 
islature as  a  representative  for  Ramsey  County 
for  the  year  1887.  In  1894  he  was  elected  Clerk 
of  the  Ramsey  County  District  Court  for  the 
four  years'  term,  which  has  not  yet  expired. 
Among  the  organizations  to  which  ]\Ir.  Rogers 
belongs  are  the  Minnesota  Club,  the  St.  Paul 
Commercial  Club,  the  St.  Paul  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows. He  is  identified  with  the  Presbyterian  de- 
nomination. On  November  12,  1878,  Mr.  Rogers 
was  married  at  New  Albany,  Indiana,  to  Miss 
]\Iary  E.  McCord.  of  that  city.  They  have  one 
daughter.  Miss  Tulia  McCord  Rogers. 


10« 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WILLIAM  SULLR'AN  PATTEE. 

Dean  W.  S.  Pattee,  of  the  College  of  Law  of 
the  L'niversity  of  ^^linnesota,  was  born  at  Jack- 
son, Waldo  County,  Elaine,  on  September  iQ, 
1846.  His  father,  Daniel  Pattee,  was  of  English 
descent.  The  first  representatives  of  the  family 
came  to  this  country  in  about  1660,  settling  in 
Massachusetts.  The  Pattees  were  among  the 
early  settlers  of  Maine,  as  were  also  the  IJixbys, 
from  w-hich  family  came  Mrs.  Pattee,  the  mother 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Daniel  Pattee  died 
at  the  age  of  thirty,  leaving  his  wife  the  care  of 
the  two  children,  Helen  and  William.  She  was 
a  woman  of  great  strength  of  character,  and  for 
five  years  supi)orted  herself  and  children.  She 
then  married  Isaac  Cates,  a  farmer,  living  in  the 
town  (jf  Jackson.  Ilei  son  William  grew  up  on 
the  farm,  remaining  at  home  until  he  was  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  1  )uring  his  boyhood  and  youth 
he  attended  the  coimnon  schools  of  the  vicinity 
somewhat  irregularly.  When  he  was  seventeen  he 
spent  one  term  at  the  llucksjjort  academy.  He 
then  taught  school  for  a  term,  and  afterwards,  in 
1865,  went  to  Kents  JHll,  where  he  attended  the 
Maine  Wesleyan  Seminary  for  |)arts  of  three  years, 
at  the  same  time  supjjorting  himself  by  teaching, 
working  on  the  farm,  and  <lning  whatever  he 
could  find  III  do.    While  ihere  he  decided  to  jire- 


pare  for  college,  and  he  entered  Bowdoin  in  the 
sophomore  year,  and  graduated  with  honor  in 
1 87 1.  ]Mr.  Pattee  attributes  his  first  impulse 
toward  a  college  education  to  the  influence  of 
Mr.  James  Crawford,  principal  of  the  Bucksport 
school,  who  lired  the  young  man  with  a  desire 
for  a  broader  education.  This  desire  was  in- 
creased by  the  influence  of  Henr\'  P.  Torsey,  the 
president  at  Kents  Hill.  In  Bowdoin  Mr.  Pattee 
was  under  the  influence  of  President  Samuel 
Harris,  wdio  did  much  to  awaken  his  mind  to  the 
benefits  of  philosophical  study,  and  to  stimulate 
him  to  research  in  that  direction.  W'hile  in  the 
preparatory  schools  and  in  college,  Mr.  Pattee 
excelled  in  debate,  and  he  took  several  prizes  for 
excellency  in  oratorical  work.  He  was  ora- 
tor of  his  class  in  1871,  and  delivered  the  oration 
on  class  day.  His  education  was  the  result  of 
steady  perseverance  and  continuous  hard  work, 
both  at  his  books  and  at  manual  labor,  and  other 
employments  which  were  "necessary  to  furnish 
the  means  for  his  education.  He  received  no 
financial  assistance  whatever,  but  on  the  contrary 
was  able,  by  strict  economy,  to  render  his  people 
much  assistance.  He  early  adopted  a  habit  of 
systematic  reading,  which  he  has  continued  dur- 
ing life  and  which  has  been,  in  a  large  measure, 
the  secret  of  his  success  in  self-education  and  in 
his  profession.  Immediately  upon  his  gradua- 
tion from  Bowdoin,  'S\r.  Pattee  became  the  prin- 
cipal of  the  public  schools  in  Brunswick,  Maine, 
and  held  the  position  until  r\ larch,  1872,  when  he 
became  professor  of  Greek  in  Lake  Eorest  Cni- 
versity,  Illinois.  At  Lake  Forest  he  also  lectured 
upon  botany  and  other  branches  of  natural  sci- 
ence. In  June,  1874,  he  accepted  the  superin- 
tendency  of  the  schools  of  Northfield,  Minneso- 
ta, where  he  organized  the  ven,'  excellent  system 
which  has  continued  ever  since.  During  all  these 
years  Mr.  Pattee  was  a  systematic  student  of  law, 
and  in  1878  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Rice 
County,  and  began  the  ])ractice  on  July  1,  of 
that  year.  He  entered  at  once  upon  a  successful 
and  lucrative  ])ractice.  For  ten  years  he  devoted 
him.-elt  untiringly  to  the  ]iractice  of  lii>  profes- 
sion, being  interniiiled  only  by  his  election  to- 
the  House  of  Re])resentatives  of  the  .'^tate  T^egis- 
lature,  in  llie  ;intnnin  nf  iSiS^,  While  in  the  leg- 
islature. .Ml'.  Pattee  was  recognized  as  an  able 
debater,  and  was  em])loyed  particularly  in   fash- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


107 


ioning  the  important  legislation  of  that  session 
regarding  the  railroad  and  warehouse  commis- 
sion, the  incorjDoration  of  villages,  and  various 
other  matters  of  importance.  In  1888  Mr.  I'attee 
was  chosen  by  the  Regents  of  the  University  of 
Minnesota,  as  Dean  of  the  faculty  of  the  new 
College  of  Law,  which  position  he  has  since 
held.  He  organized  the  law  department  and  it 
is  largely  due  to  his  efforts  and  wise  manage- 
ment that  the  law  schoul  of  the  L'niversity  of 
Minnesota  has  been  the  most  successful,  during 
its  brief  history,  of  any  of  tlie  law  schools  of  sim- 
ilar institutions  in  the  country.  Its  success  has, 
in  fact  been  phenomenal,  b'or  thoroughness  and 
general  excellence  it  is  now  quite  the  equal  of 
Yale,  or  any  other  Eastern  institution  of  the 
kind.  During  his  active  work  in  the  law  school, 
Dean  Pattee  has  found  time  to  write  and  com- 
pile, with  the  assistance  of  his  associates,  no  less 
than  a  dozen  text  books  in  law,  which  have  been 
widely  introduced  into  the  law  schools  of  the 
country.  Mr.  Pattee  has  always  been  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics.  He  cast  his  first  vote  for  Joshua 
L.  Chamberlain  for  governor  of  Maine,  and  at 
the  same  time  a  ballot  for  General  Grant  for 
President.  He  was  married  in  1871  to  Aliss  Julia 
E.  Tuttle,  of  Plymouth,  Maine.  They  have  three 
children.  Charles  Sumner,  Rowena  and  Richard. 
Mr.  Pattee  is  a  member  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional church  of  Minneapolis,  where  he  has  re- 
sided ever  since  he  became  Dean  of  the  Law 
School. 


J.   FRANK   CONKLIN. 

J.  Frank  Conklin  has  been  prominently 
identified  with  the  dramatic  stage  in  Minneapolis 
for  a  number  of  years,  his  chief  connection  with 
that  profession  having  been  as  manager  of  the 
Grand  Opera  House  during  nearly  the  entire  time 
of  its  existence  as  a  play  house.  Mr.  Conklin  was 
born  August  14,  1852,  at  Newburgh,  New  York. 
His  father  James  O.  Conklin,  was  a  well-to-do 
farmer  of  Orange  County.  His  mother's  maiden 
name  was  Rebecca  Purdy.  His  ancestry  on  his 
father's  side  were  well-to-do  farmers,  and  the 
line  is  traced  to  prominent  characters  in  the  war 
of  1812.  On  his  mother's  side  he  is  descended 
fiom  a  family  of  merchants  in  New  York  City. 
Mr.  Conklin  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  Orange  County,  and   at  Sigler's    Newburgh 


Institute.  In  1880  he  came  West,  locating  in 
Minneapolis,  where  he  became  assistant  manager 
of  the  old  Academy  of  i\Iusic.  On  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Syndicate  Block,  of  which  the 
Grand  Opera  was  a  part,  Mr.  Conklin  was 
appointed  manager  of  the  whole  property,  a  posi- 
tion which  he  still  holds,  although  recently  the 
Grand  Opera  House  has  been  closed  as  an 
amusement  house.  Mr.  Conklin's  .superior  busi- 
ness qualifications  have  placed  him  in  charge  of 
a  large  amount  of  property  in  Minneapolis  and 
St.  Paul,  including  besides  the  Syndicate  Block, 
the  Guaranty  Loan  building,  Temple  Court 
and  other  important  buildings  in  Minneapo- 
lis, and  the  Lowry  Arcade  and  Globe 
Building  in  St.  Paul.  Air.  Conklin  began  his 
business  career  at  the  age  of  twenty.  His  first 
year,  for  which  he  received  the  munificent  sum 
of  fifty  dollars  and  board,  was  spent  in  the  pro- 
duce business  in  New  York  City.  Later  he  opened 
a  store  in  New  York  on  his  tjwn  account,  and  also 
one  in  Jacksonville.  Florida.  He  had  disposed 
of  his  business  prior  to  his  removal  to  the  West 
In  politics  yir.  Conklin  is  a  Republican,  although 
he  has  never  sought  any  office  or  taken  a  very 
active  part  in  political  affairs.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Minneapolis  Club.  On  September  11, 
1878,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lizzie  Merritt.  of 
Marlborough.  New  York.  They  have  four  chil- 
dren, Margaretta  B..  Clara  Tlsamine,  J.  Frank,  Jr., 
and  Edwin  Herrick. 


los 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


RICHARD  \V.  JUHXSOX. 

General  R.  W.  Johnson  was  born  in  Livings- 
ton County,  Kentucky,  on  February  7,  1827. 
His  ancestry  on  his  father's  side  is  English.  The 
family  came  from  England  in  1645.  His  grand- 
father was  major  of  the  Mrginia  forces  in  the 
War  of  the  Revolution.  A  distinguished  mem- 
ber of  the  family  was  Richard  AI.  Johnson,  once 
Vice  President.  He  was  a  distinguished  soldier 
in  the  War  of  1812;  this  officer  was  a  cousin  of 
General  Johnson's  father,  James  Johnson,  who 
was  a  physician,  and  also  sei-ved  in  the  ^^'ar  of 
181 2  as  assistant  surgeon.  James  L.  Johnson, 
General  Johnson's  brother,  was  a  member  of 
Congress  from  1849  to  1851.  Two  uthcr  broth- 
ers were  prominent  in  the  ]M'ofession  of  law  and 
medicine.  General  Johnson  received  his  early 
education  at  tlie  connnon  schools  of  Livingston 
County,  Kentucky,  and  graduated  at  the  United 
States  Military  Academy,  and  was  at  once  ap- 
pointed brevet,  second  lieutenant  of  the  Second 
Regiment  of  Infantry,  and  a  few  months  later 
on  October  4,  184Q,  he  reported  for  duty  at  Fort 
Snelling,  Minnesota.  During  the  ne.xt  two  years 
he  commanded  several  expeditions  against  the 
Indians,  and  while  in  the  service,  cstalilishcd  the 
post  on  the  Dcs  Moines  river,  sul)sef|ucntly 
named  Fort  Dodge,  and  which  has  since  become 
a  fioiirisliing  citv  in  nurthcrn  Tfiwa,     '  )n  Tunc  in. 


1850,  he  was  promoted  to  be  second  lieutenant, 
and  assigned  to  the  First  Regiment  of  Infantry, 
then  stationed  at  Fort  Duncan,  Texas.  The  next 
ten  years  were  spent  in  the  army  service  in  the 
South.  During  this  time  he  was  promoted,  and 
in  1861  held  the  rank  of  captain.  Ke  was  in 
Texas  at  the  time  General  Twiggs  surrendered 
the  United  States  troops  to  the  Rebel  authori- 
ties. With  his  company  he  escaped  and  arrived 
at  Carlisle  Barracks  in  April,  1861.  In  August 
of  that  year  he  accepted  the  position  of  lieuten- 
ant colonel  of  the  Third  Kentucky  \'olunteer 
Cavalry,  l)ut  Ijefore  the  regiment  was  completely 
organized  he  was  appointed  Brigadier  General 
of  A'olunteers.  Reporting  to  General  Anderson 
he  was  put  in  command  of  a  brigade.  After  the 
capture  of  Xashville  he  was  stricken  with  fever 
and  ordered  to  the  hospital  at  Louisville,  l^ut  on 
hearing  of  the  battle  of  Shiloh  he  hastened  to  the- 
front,  joined  his  command  and  assisted  in  the 
siege  of  Corinth.  Lhider  the  command  of  Gen- 
eral Buell  he  participated  in  the  subsequent 
marches  in  Alabama  and  Tennessee.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1862,  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  a 
division  and  participated  in  the  battles  of  Stone 
River,  Liberty  Gap  and  in  the  marches  and  skir- 
mishes which  culminated  in  the  capture  of  Chat- 
tanooga. He  was  engaged  in  the  battles  of 
Chickamauga,  Mission  Ridge  and  all  the  bat- 
tles preceeding  Atlanta,  including  that  of  New 
Hope  Church,  in  which  he  was  wounded  on  May 
27,  1864.  This  wound  incapacitated  him  for  full 
service  for  the  time,  but  he  was  with  Tiiomas  in 
the  battle  of  Nashville,  where  he  took  an  im- 
portant part.  After  Hood  was  driven  from  Ten- 
nessee General  Johnson  was  put  in  command  of 
the  middle  district  of  that  state.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  he  was  mustered  out  of  the  volunteer 
service.  He  then  came  to  Minnesota  and  settled 
in  .'-It.  l^aul,  engaging  in  the  real  estate  business, 
which  he  has  since  continued.  Since  the  break- 
ing up  of  the  Whig  party  General  Johnson  has- 
bi'cn  a  Denidcrat.  He  was  iiominated  for  gov- 
ernor of  Minnesota  in  1881,  but  was  defeated  by 
L.  1'.  Hubbard.  He  was  one  of  the  first  niem- 
l)ers  of  the  .Minnesota  iiistdrical  Society,  and" 
has  taken  a  great  interest  in  historical  literature. 
He  has  written  and  published  two  books,  one  the 
"History  of  General  George  H.  Tlinmas,"  and 
the  I  idler,  "Reminiscences  of  a  Snldier  in  Peace- 


TKOGKESSIVH  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


109 


and  War."  He  has  made  contributions  to  the; 
newspapers  and  magazines.  General  Johnson 
has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Miss 
Rachel  E.  Steele,  a  sister  of  branklin  Steele. 
They  had  three  children,  Alfred  15.  Johnson,  cap- 
tain in  the  United  States  Army;  R.  W.  Johnson, 
Jr.,  assistant  surgeon  in  the  I  nited  States  Army, 
and  Henry  Sibley  Johnson,  who  is  treasurer  of 
the  Winona  &  Southwestern  railroad.  The  sec- 
ond marriage  was  to  Miss  Julia  M.  Corsan,  who 
is  mother  of  Jolin  Al.  Johnson,  Ceneral  John- 
son's youngest  son. 


jMILTON  DWIGHT  rURDY. 

Milton  Dwight  Purdy  is  assistant  city  attor- 
ney of  Minneapolis.  He  was  born  November  3, 
1866,  in  the  village  of  Mogadore,  Sunnnit  County, 
Ohio,  the  son  of  Milton  Gushing  Purdy  and 
Sarah  Jane  Hall  (Purdy).  Milton  Gushing  Purdy 
resides  at  Whitehall,  Illinois.  His  occupation 
during  his  whole  life  has  been  that  of  a  manu- 
facturer of  stone  ware,  except  a  few  years  in 
which  he  was  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
matches  at  Akron,  Ohio.  He  built  the  first 
match  factory  in  that  city,  but  subsequently  sold 
it  to  the  Barber  Alatch  Gompany,  which  is  now 
one  of  the  largest  concerns  in  the  I'nited  States. 
Milton  Dwight  removed  with  his  parents  to 
Illinois  in  1870  and  located  at  Whitehall.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  in  Whitehall, 
and  graduated  from  the  high  school  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  in  the  class  of  1884.  Two  years  after 
his  graduation  were  occupied  in  teaching  in 
Greene  Gounty,  the  first  year  at  the  town  of  Pat- 
terson, the  second  year  in  the  public  schools  of 
Whitehall,  as  principal  of  tlie  grammar  depart- 
ment. For  several  years  prior  to  this  time  Air. 
Purdy,  during  his  sunnner  vacations,  worked  at 
and  learned  the  potter's  trade  in  his  father's  fac- 
tory. This  work  at  first  brought  him  about 
forty  cents  a  day  until  he  became  old  enough  to 
have  a  wheel  of  his  own  when  he  made  all  the 
way  from  two  to  five  dollars  a  day.  In  this  man- 
ner and  by  teaching  school  for  two  years  he  ac- 
quired sufficient  funds  to  enable  him  to  go  to 
college.  In  the  fall  of  1886  Air.  Purdy  came  to 
Alinnesota  for  the  purpose  of  entering  the  State 
University.  He  remained  in  that  institution  for 
six  years,  in  which  time  he  completed  the  full 
classical  course  and  was  graduated  in  1891  from 


the  collegiate  department,  and  in  the  class  of 
1892  from  the  law  school.  In  the  second  year  at 
college  he  joined  the  Phi  Kappa  Psi  fraternit}'. 
He  took  an  active  part  in  two  oratorical  contests 
for  the  Pillsbury  prize  at  the  university.  In  the  first 
contest  he  received  third  place,  and  in  the  second 
contest  was  awarded  first  place.  During  his  last 
>  ear  in  college  he  received  an  invitation  from  the 
Union  League,  of  Ghicago,  to  represent  the  col- 
leges of  the  state  of  Minnesota  at  the  annual 
banquet  of  the  Union  League  given  on 
\\'ashington's  birthday.  This  was  in  the 
spring  of  1892.  Air.  Purdy  was  there  as 
the  guest  of  the  Union  League,  and  delivered 
an  address  in  the  L'nity  church  of  that  citv.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  of  ii<c)o  he  entered  the  law  office 
of  Judge  R.  D.  Russell  and  read  law  with  him 
until  after  graduating  from  the  law  school.  After 
graduation,  in  1892,  he  located  in  Alinneapolis, 
and  has  since  lieen  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
law.  The  first  part  of  1893  he  was  appointed 
assistant  city  attorney  by  David  F.  Simpson,  city 
attorney  of  Alinneapolis,  and  has  held  that  posi- 
tion for  two  terms.  He  has  always  been  a  Re- 
pulilican  and  voted  anil  acted  with  that  party.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  L'nion  League  and  has  mem- 
bership in  a  number  of  such  organizations.  On 
January  28.  1893.  he  was  married  to 
Belle  M.  Morin,  of  Albert  Lea,  who  was  a  mem- 
ber of  his  class  at  the  university,  and  graduated 
from  that  institution  in  1891. 


110 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


NATHAN  RICHARDSON. 

Nathan  Richardson  is  mayor  of  Little  Falls 
and  judge  of  probate  of  Morrison  County,  Alin- 
nesota.  His  father,  Martin  Richardson,  was  of 
English-German  origin,  and  his  mother,  who 
was  Miss  Candace  Comestock,  was  of  English, 
German  and  French  extraction.  They  both  re- 
sided in  Otsego  County,  New  York.  Nathan 
was  born  on  F  Ijruary  24,  1829,  near  the  village 
of  Clyde,  Wa^ne  County,  New  York.  He  was 
the  second  son  of  a  family  of  nine  children. 
When  he  was  about  five  years  old  his  parents 
removed  to  Michigan  and  lived  in  the  town  of 
Commerce,  Oakland  County.  Ffere  young  Na- 
than worked  on  the  farm  and  attended  district 
school  during  his  lioyhood.  When  eighteen  he, 
for  one  summer,  attended  an  academy  at  Milford, 
Michigan,  and  during  the  next  two  summers  he 
attended  a  branch  of  the  state  university  at 
Romeo.  In  1851  his  father  died.  Prior  to  1854 
he  taught  a  district  school  five  terms,  in  which 
year  with  four  other  young  men  he  set  out  for 
Minnesota,  intending  to  go  directly  to  Little 
Fall.s,  where  Nathan's  cousin,  Lewis  Richardson, 
was  employed.  T>ut  upon  arriving  in  St.  An- 
thony they  found  an  opportunity  to  secure  em- 
ployment with  Whipple  &  Tourtillotte,  who  were 
then  conducting  logging  operations  on  Bogus 
Brook,  a  branch  of  the  Rum  river,  and  they  went 


into  the  woods  for  the  winter.  Upon  returning 
in  the  spring  they  found  that  their  employers  had 
failed.  Mr.  Richardson  then  set  out  on  foot  for 
Little  Falls,  where  he  secured  work.  Soon  after 
his  arrival  he,  with  his  cousin,  commenced  the 
erection  of  a  hotel  in  that  place.  Richardson 
himself  went  into  the  woods  and  got  out  the  tim- 
bers for  the  structure.  After  getting  the  lumber 
on  the  ground  and  setting  the  carpenters  at 
W'Ork,  he  returned  to  Michigan  to  settle  up  his 
father's  estate,  and  purchased  furnishings  and 
supplies  for  the  hotel.  This  was  Air.  Richard- 
son's first  business  venture  in  Alinnesota.  He 
has  since  been  interested  in  many  more  exten- 
sive enterprises,  but  none,  probabl}-,  upon  which 
he  looks  back  with  so  much  pride  as  to  that  first 
frontier  hotel.  Almost  upon  his  arrival  at  Little 
Falls,  ]\Ir.  Richardson  became  identified  with 
public  affairs,  and  he  has  since  been  almost  con- 
stantly in  the  public  service  in  some  way  or 
other.  When  the  county  of  ^ilorrison  was  or- 
ganized in  1856  he  was  elected  register  of  deeds 
by  a  vote  of  eighty-six  to  his  opponent's  fifty. 
He  was  also  appointed  clerk  of  court  and  held 
the  office  until  the  state  legislature  met  and  made 
the  office  elective.  He  remained  register  of 
deeds  for  nine  years.  Since  then  Mr.  Richard- 
son has  held  the  following  offices:  Chairman 
of  town  supervisors,  town  assessor,  county  sur- 
veyor, county  attorne)-,  judge  of  probate,  city  at- 
torney, mayor  of  Little  Falls,  member  of  the 
state  legislature  for  three  terms,  those  of  1867, 
1872  and  1878,  postmaster  eleven  years,  and  a 
number  of  minor  offices.  During  the  war  he  was 
enrolling  officer,  and  traveled  all  over  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  state  finding  out  the  names  of 
persons  who  were  liable  to  draft.  In  December, 
1876  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  has  not 
practiced  much  outside  of  his  service  as  county 
attorney,  except  as  a  pension  attorney.  He  was 
first  elected  judge  of  probate  in  1884  and  held 
the  ofifice  for  eight  years.  He  was  defeated  for 
the  office  in  1892,  but  ran  again  in  1894  and  was 
elected :  and  he  expects  to  be  a  candidate  again 
in  i8</).  l^pon  the  incorporation  <if  Ihc  city  of 
TJttle  Falls  in  i88()  he  was  elected  mayor,  and 
was  re-elected  for  five  successive  years.  In  1S94 
I.  E.  Staples  defeated  him  by  thirty  votes,  but  in 
1896  ]\lr.  Richardson  went  in  again  by  a  jilural- 
itv  of  148  votes  over  two  Djiposition  canilidatcs. 


rKOGKHSSlVU  MEN   01"   MINNHSOTA. 


Ill 


At  each  election  as  mayor,  the  office  sought  him 
and  not  he  the  office.  While  in  the  legislature 
Mr.  Richardson  was  instrumental  in  securing 
the  passage  of  hills  for  the  building  of  the  Little 
Falls  &  Dakota  railroad,  and  for  the  enlargement 
of  Morrison  County  to  nearly  double  its  original 
area  by  the  actjuisition  of  territory  from  Todd 
County.  He  has  been  very  much  interested  in 
the  Mille  Lacs  Lidians  and  has  frequently  repre- 
sented them  as  their  attorney.  His  views  upon 
matters  pertaining  to  religion  are  decidedly 
agnostic.  Mr.  Richardson  was  married  on  June 
21,  1857,  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Roof.  They  have  four 
children  living,  Martin  M.,  Raymond  J.,  Francis 
A.,  and  Mary  A.  Richardson.  Mr.  Richardson 
is  the  author  of  a  historv  of  Morrison  Countv. 


EDWIX  (iRAHAM  POTTER. 

Edwin  Graham  Potter  is  a  successful  mer- 
chant, having  been  engaged  in  the  wholesale 
commission  business  in  Minneapolis  for  the  last 
fifteen  years.  Mr.  Potter  is  a  native  of  New 
York.  He  was  born  at  Adams,  (  )ctober  26,  1852. 
His  father  was  G.  N.  Potter,  a  successful  grain 
merchant  and  dealer  in  live  stock.  His  great 
grandfather  was  Maj.  John  Potter,  who  served  in 
the  Revolutionary  War,  and  his  grandfather, 
Edwin  Potter,  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  181 2. 
Edwin  Graham  attended  the  common  schools 
until  fifteen  years  of  age,  when  he  left  school 
and  went  into  business,  and  ever  since  he  was 
eighteen  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  wholesale 
produce  trade.  He  came  to  Minnesota  in 
1881,  and  located  in  Minneapolis,  where  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  H.  L.  Beeman.  Two 
years  later  he  bought  out  Mr.  Beeman,  and  his 
first  year's  business  thereafter  amounted  to  $60,- 
000.  He  has  since  handled  as  high  as  half  a  mil- 
lion flollars  worth  of  goods  in  a  single  year.  His 
business  brought  him  into  close  relations  with  the 
dairy  interests  of  the  state  and  he  has  taken  an 
active  interest  in  promoting  that  industry,  having 
served  as  president  of  the  State  Dairy  Association. 
He  prepared  and  procured  the  passage  by  the 
legislature  of  the  first  law  governing  the  sale  of 
bogus  butter  and  cheese,  the  same  law  which, 
with  a  few  amendments,  is  in  operation  now.  Mr. 
Potter  is  a  Republican  and  takes  an  active  interest 
in  politics.  He  has  served  the  Fourth  ward  as 
alderman  for  four  years,  and  during  two  years  of 


that  time  was  president  ui  the  city  council.  He 
declined  a  renomination  to  the  council,  but  was 
nominated  by  the  Republicans  for  mayor  in  1890, 
and  went  down  with  the  rest  of  his  ticket  in  the 
political  landslide  of  that  year.  He  served  as  the 
Hennepin  County  member  of  the  state  central 
committee  during  two  of  the  most  fiercely  con- 
tested campaigns  in  the  history  of  the  state. 
In  1894  he  was  elected  by  the  Repub- 
licans as  senator  from  the  Thirty-first  Dis- 
trict to  the  legislature,  defeating  J.  H.  Paris 
by  2,125  plurality.  He  introduced  a  num- 
l)er  of  important  lulls  during  the  session, 
among  which  the  following  became  laws:  A  bill 
for  a  constitutional  amendment,  providing  for  the 
loaning  of  the  permanent  school  fund  of  the 
state  to  cities,  counties,  towns  and  school  dis- 
tricts within  the  state.  A  bill  allowing  Minneap- 
lis  to  issue  and  sell  bonds  for  school  purposes.  A 
bill  for  the  inspection  of  milk  and  dairies  by  the 
health  departments  of  cities.  A  bill  prohibiting 
the  adulteration  of  candy.  A  bill  providing  for 
"struck"  juries  in  certain  cases,  and  a  bill  limiting 
the  time  for  beginning  action  in  personal  damage 
suits.  Mr.  Potter  is  a  member  of  the  Connnercial 
Club  of  Minneapolis,  of  the  Masonic  order  and 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  was  married  in 
1876  to  Lena  Xorthey  and  in  1894  to  Anna 
Keough.  He  has  two  children,  a  daughter  six, 
and  a  son  four  years  of  age. 


112 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


FRANK  HENRY  CARLETON. 

Frank  Henry  Carleton  is  a  lawyer  in 
Minneapolis,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Cross, 
Hicks,  Carleton  &  Cross.  He  was  born  Octo- 
ber 8,  1849,  at  Newport,  N.  H.  His  ancestry 
on  his  father's  side  was  English,  and  the  family 
line  is  traced  back  to  Sir  Gny  Carleton.  On  his 
mother's  side  his  descent  is  also  from  English 
stock,  going  back  to  Joseph  French,  a  leading 
citizen  of  Salisbury,  Mass.,  of  a  generation  prior 
to  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Frank  Henry 
is  the  son  of  Henry  G.  Carleton,  now  and  for 
many  years  president  of  the  Savings  Bank  at 
Newport,  N.  H.  For  forty  years  he  was  one  of 
the  editors  of  the  New  Hampshire  Argus  and 
Spectator.  He  was  for  many  years  one  of  the 
leading  Democratic  editors  of  New  Hampshire, 
and  a  personal  friend  of  John  P.  Hale  and  Frank- 
lin Pierce.  He  has  now  retired  from  active  busi- 
ness and  is  in  good  financial  circumstances.  He 
has  served  as  a  member  of  the  legislature  of 
the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  has  been  register 
of  probate,  and  has  filled  other  important  public 
positions.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  of  Newport,  and  pre- 
pared for  college  at  Kimball  Union  .'\cadcniy, 
at  Mcriden.  New  Hampshirr.  where  he 
graduated  in  June,  1868.  lie  tiu'n  en- 
tered   Dartmouth    College    and   completed     the 


course  there  with  the  class  of  1872.  He 
took  the  first  prize  for  English  composition 
during  the  senior  year  and  wrote  the  class  ode 
for  Commencement  Day.  During  his  academic 
and  college  days  he  w-as  obliged  to  absent  him- 
self at  different  times  while  he  was  engaged  as 
a  teacher,  and  in  1870  he  was  for  a  time  principal 
of  an  academy  for  white  pupils  in  Jslississippi. 
Mr.  Carleton  also  varied  his  experience  by  as- 
suming the  duties  of  city  editor  of  the  Man- 
chester Daily  Union,  after  his  graduation 
from  college,  which  position  he  held  for  several 
months.  He  then  decided  to  carry  out  an  early 
plan  to  seek  a  location  in  the  West  and  accord- 
ingly came  to  Minneapolis  where  he  was  en- 
gaged as  a  reporter  for  the  IMinneapolis  News, 
then  edited  by  George  K.  Shaw.  This  position 
he  held  for  several  months  at  the  same  time  serv- 
ing as  Minneapolis  correspondent  for  the  St. 
Paul  Press.  Subsequently  he  was  appointed  city 
editor  of  the  St.  Paul  Daily  Press  under  Mr. 
Wheelock.  After  a  year's  service  on  the  St.  Paul 
Press,  Mr.  Carleton  determined  to  carry  out  his 
original  plan  of  preparing  for  the  practice  of 
law  and  accordingly  commenced  his  study  for 
that  purpose  in  the  office  of  Cushman  K.  Davis 
and  C.  D.  O'Brien.  While  pursuing  his  studies 
he  served  as  clerk  of  the  municipal  court  of  St. 
Paul,  and  after  holding  this  position  for  five 
years  he  resigned  owing  to  ill-health  and  took  a 
six  months'  trip  to  Europe.  On  his  return  from 
Europe  he  was  appointed  secretary  of  Governor 
John  S.  Pillsbury,  and  rendered  important  ser- 
vices in  connection  with  the  settlement  of  the 
repudiated  Minnesota  railroad  bonds.  For  sev- 
eral years  he  was  the  Minnesota  correspondent  of 
the  Chicago  Inter-Ocean  and  the  New  York 
Times.  In  1882  he  removed  to  Minneapolis  and 
formed  a  legal  partnership  with  Judge  Henry  G. 
1  licks  and  Capt.  Judson  N.  Cross.  These  legal  re- 
lations still  exist,  the  only  change  being  the  addi- 
tion of  Norton  M.  Cross,  the  son  of  Capt.  Cross. 
From  1883  to  1887  Mr.  Carleton  was  assistant 
city  attorney  of  Minneapolis.  These  were  im- 
portant times  in  the  history  of  the  city,  bringing 
into  active  operation  the  principle  of  the  "patrol 
limits,"  and  witnessing  the  inauguration  of 
important  litigation  in  the  interests  of  the  city. 
Mr.  Carleton  and  the  firm  with  which  he  is  con- 
nected   has    a    large    and    varied    practice    in 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


1  13 


real  estate  law,  probate  law  and  fmaucial  ad- 
justments in  which  it  has  had  much  experience. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  although  not  an 
active  participator  in  party  affairs,  preferring  to 
devote  his  leisure  time  to  scientific  research  and 
literary  pursuits.  j\lr.  Carleton  is  a  Mason  and 
a  member  and  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  I'ark 
Avenue  Congregational  Church,  and  is  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  Minnesota  Home  Alission 
Society.  In  1881  he  was  married  to  Ellen  Jones, 
the  only  daughter  of  the  late  Judge  Edwin  S. 
Jones,  of  Miiuieapolis.  They  have  had  five  chil- 
dren, Edwin  Jones,  Henry  Guy,  George  Pills- 
bury,  Charles  Pillsbury,  who  died  in  infancy, 
and  Frank  H.  Mr.  Carleton  is  a  lover  of  nature, 
a  great  cultivator  of  flowers,  an  enthusiastic 
angler,  and  much  given  to  the  pursuit  of  this 
fascinating  sport  in  the  picturesque  regions  of 
this  generally  celebrated  fishing  ground  of 
northern  Minnesota. 


GEORGE  REINARD  KLEEBERGER. 

George  Reinard  Kleeberger,  of  St.  Cloud, 
was  born  at  Monticello,  Lafayette  County,  Wis- 
consin, February  25,  1849.  His  ancestry  was 
German  on  his  father's  side,  and  on  his  mother's, 
Scotch  and  Irish.  His  parents  were  farmers  and 
pioneers  of  Southern  Wisconsin.  Mr.  Kleeberger 
lived  on  the  farm  until  seventeen  years  of  age, 
attending  the  countrj'  schools  in  the  winter  and 
working  on  the  farm  in  the  summers,  as  farmers' 
boys  usually  did  at  that  time.  His  educational 
advantages  were  meager,  but  he  made  the  best 
of  those  w'hich  the  time  and  place  afiforded.  From 
the  time  he  was  twelve  until  he  was  seventeen  he 
attended  various  town  academies  during  the  win- 
ter and  imbibed  an  ambition  to  acquire  a  higher 
education.  He  began  teaching  school  in  his 
home  district  when  seventeen  years  of  age,  the 
salary  being  forty  dollars  a  month,  at  which  he 
earned  the  first  money  he  ever  acquired.  From 
seventeen  to  twenty-one  he  was  occupied  most 
of  the  time  teaching  in  the  country  schools, 
but  managed  to  complete  the  course  at  the 
normal  school  at  Platteville,  Wisconsin,  where 
he  graduated  in  1870  as  the  valedictorian  of  his 
class.  He  was  then  elected  principal  of  a  ward 
school  at  Manitowoc.  Wisconsin,  which  he  held 
for  a  year,  and  then  principal  of  the  high  school 


at  Green  Bay,  during  the  school  year  of  1871 
and  1872.  In  1872  he  entered  Yale  college 
and  took  three  years  in  the  Sheffield  Scientific 
School,  graduating  there  in  1875.  O'"'  ^'^ 
return  to  Wisconsin  he  was  elected  to  the 
chair  of  science  at  the  state  normal  school 
at  Whitewater,  and  occupied  that  position  from 
1875  to  1878.  Mr.  Kleeberger  then  went  to 
California,  where  he  continued  his  calling  as 
a  teacher;  the  first  year  as  principal  of  the 
schools  of  San  Diego;  the  next  year,  1879 
and  1880,  as  principal  of  the  schools  at  Weaver- 
ville;  the  following  years,  1880  and  1882,  as  prin- 
cipal of  the  high  school  at  ]\larysville,  and  from 
1882  to  1888  he  held  the  chair  of  science  in  the 
state  normal  school  at  San  Jose.  In  1888  he  was 
elected  vice-president  in  the  same  institution, 
and  was  also  a  teacher  of  pedagogy  and  psychol- 
ogy until  1895.  I"  the  latter  year  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  state  normal  school  at  St.  Cloud, 
Minnesota,  and  is  now  at  the  head  of  that  insti- 
tution. ]Mr.  Kleeberger  is  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics, and  believes  fully  in  the  principles  of  free 
trade  and  tarifif  for  revenue  only.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Congregational  church  and  occupies 
an  enviable  and  influential  position  in  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lives.  He  was  married  in 
1879  in  San  Francisco,  California,  to  Miss  Mary 
Allen,  of  IMinneapolis.  They  have  had  three  sons, 
onlv  one  of  whom  is  living,  Frank  Louis. 


114 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


»fK  m^. 


JUHN  SCHOCK  IlL'XTSIXGER. 

John  S.  Huntsiiiger,  register  of  deeds  of  Hub- 
bard County,  AJinnesota,  is  a  native  of  Indiana. 
His  father,  Joseph  Huntsinger,  was  a  farmer  of 
Wayne  County,  Indiana,  who  combined  with  his 
occupation  as  a  farmer,  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  carpenter's  and  joiner's  trade.  Jly  descent  a 
German,  he  inherited  the  thrifty  characteristics 
of  that  race,  and  with  the  aid  of  his  wife,  who  was 
also  of  German  origin,  though  lioni  in  T'ennsyl- 
vania,  he  became  independ.ent.  The  education!  of 
his  son  John  was  obtained,  as  was  that  of  manv 
of  the  bovs  of  the  early  times,  in  the  log  school 
house  and  from  books  borrowed  or  bought  and 
read  during  the  long  winter  evenings  before  the 
o])en  fire.  John  ne\er  wftit  to  college  l)ut,  fitting 
himself  as  well  as  he  could,  connnenced  at  last 
to  study  medicine  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  John 
I'lrich  l'"rietzsche.  He  connnenced  to  practice 
medicine  in  Xoblesville,  Indiana.  In  1856  he 
moved  to  Greenfield,  Indiana,  and  after  practicing 
there  for  four  years  he  set  np  again  in  I'anibridgc, 
\\'aync  Comity,  where  he  continued  to  ])ractice 
until  he  cntcrefl  tlic  army.  Enlisting  in  1862,  Mr. 
Huntsinger  rendered  valuable  aid  in  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Twenty-second  hxliana  l>attery. 
In  July,  1863.  he  assisted  in  organizing  the 
"Colvin's  F.attery,   Illinois   Light   .Xrlillery,"  and 


served  with  this  noted  battery  during  the 
remainder  of  the  war.  He  commenced  as  an 
orderly  sergeant.  In  December,  1863,  he  was 
promoted  to  the  post  of  second  lieutenant  and  a 
year  later  to  first  lieutenant.  When  the  battery 
went  into  ser\-ice  it  was  ordered  across  the  Cum- 
berland Mountains  to  join  Burnside's  Corps,  then 
investing  Knoxville.  They  had  the  honor  of 
assisting  in  the  capture  of  that  place  and  w^ere 
then  ordered  east  into  X'irginia.  On  this  raid 
through  the  mountains  of  East  Tennessee  the 
company  had  the  usual  experiences  of  soldiers 
on  a  raid  in  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country. 
Several  months  elapsed  before  the  division 
returned  to  Knoxville.  They  had  done  some 
hard  fighting  and  were  classed  as  veterans.  They 
rejoined  Burnside  in  January,  1864,  and  fought 
under  that  famous  general  and  Generals  Sturgis 
and  .Shackford  during  the  remainder  of  the  war, 
participating  in  the  lively  campaigns  of  the 
western  army.  Captain  Huntsinger  was  finally 
nnistered  out  in  July,  1865.  He  has,  of  course, 
retained  his  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  veterans, 
and  is  a  prominent  member  of  E.  S.  Frazier  Post, 
Xo.  147,  G.  A.  K.,  of  Park  Rapids,  Minnesota. 
Mr.  Huntsinger  settled  in  Park  Rapids  in  June, 
1882.  He  erected  the  Colvin  House,  which  he 
conducted  successfully  for  some  time.  He  took 
an  active  part  in  politics,  and  during  his  residence 
in  Park  Rapids  has  been  frequently  called  to 
serve  the  public  in  positions  of  trust.  He  was 
town  clerk  for  four  years,  was  tleputy  clerk  of 
court  from  1884  to  1887.  and  court  connnissioner 
from  1886  to  1894.  In  the  vear  1886  he  was 
elected  register  of  deeds  and  has  held  that  office 
ever  since,  being  again  re-elected  at  the  last  elec- 
tion. During  this  ])eriod  he  has  been  prominent 
in  the  local  councils  of  the  Democratic  party,  to 
which  he  belongs,  and  has  several  times  repre- 
sented the  count\-  in  state  conventions.  He  is 
also  a  prominent  ( )dd  I'ellow.  In  1852  Mr. 
riimlsingcr  was  married  to  Miss  Martha  I.  (ial- 
braith,  who  was  a  native  of  the  same  county  in 
Indiana  in  which  he  himself  was  born.  They 
have  four  children,  Josic  Xear,  who  lives  at  l^u^k 
Rapids;  X'^ancv  ^1.  .\ddison,  living  at  Greenfield, 
Indiana:  Bell  Downer,  living  at  Osage,  Mimie- 
sota,  and  .Mice  C.  Horton,  whose  husband  is  clerk 
of  the  district  court  at   P.-irk  Ka]>ids. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  01-    MINNESOTA. 


115 


ALEXANDER  T.  AN  KEN  Y. 

Alexander  Thompson  Aiikeny  is  of  German 
and  French  extraction  on  his  father's  side,  while 
his  maternal  ancestry  was  English  ami  Sc<jtcli. 
The  traditions  of  the  family  rnn  back  to  the  days 
of  the  massacre  of  St.  ilartholumew.  The  an- 
cestors on  his  father's  side  were  Huguenots,  and 
some  of  them  are  said  to  have  suffered  the  loss 
of  life  and  property.  The  name,  Ankeny,  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  derived  from  the  word 
Enghien,  the  name  of  what  was  originally  a  strip 
of  high-land  in  Flanders,  the  inhabitants  of  which 
were  known  as  sword-bearers  to  the  reigning 
Duke.  The  earliest  record  of  the  family  in  this 
country  begins  with  the  name  of  Dewalt  Ankeny, 
who,  about  1740,  tired  of  the  religious  wars  of 
the  old  world,  sought  refuge  in  the  new  settle- 
ment in  Maryland,  near  Clear  .Springs,  W'ashing- 
ton  County.  He  became  the  owner  there  of 
some  eight  hundred  acres  of  land,  portions  of 
which  are  still  occupied  by  members  of  the  fam- 
ily. Among  his  seven  sons,  Peter  Ankeny,  the 
second,  was  married  in  1773  to  Rosina  Bonnet, 
daughter  of  John  Bonnet,  who  settled  in  Mary- 
land about  the  same  time.  This  young  couple 
set  out  with  pack  horses  to  explore  the  new 
country,  to  the  West,  crossed  the  Allegheny 
]\ Fountains  and  located  at  what  afterwards  came 
to  be  known  as  the  Glades  of  Somerset,"  Penn- 
sylvania, December  27,  1837.  His  early  educa- 
mostly  upon  their  land,  some  of  which  is  still 
owned  by  their  descendants.  Isaac  Ankeny,  the 
fourth  son  of  Peter,  was  married  in  1820  to 
Eleanor  Parker,  daughter  of  John  Parker.  He 
lived  continuously  at  Somerset,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  years  in  Ohio,  until  his  death  in 
1853.  He  was  a  man  of  influence  anil  an  active 
spirit  in  the  early  development  of  western  Penn- 
sylvania. His  wife  died  in  i87<).  Thev  had  four 
boys  and  six  girls,  six  of  whom  are  still  living. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  youngest  son 
in  that  family.  He  was  born  at  Somerset,  Penn- 
sylvania, December  27,  1837.  His  early  educa- 
tion was  obtained  at  his  native  town,  and  on 
the  death  of  his  father,  in  1853,  he  was  sent  to 
the  Disciples'  College  at  Hiram,  Ohio,  where 
President  Garfield  was  then  a  tutor.  In  1856 
he  attended  the  IMonongalia  Acadeniv  at  Mor- 
gantown,  West  Mrginia,  then  under  the  direction 
of  Rev.  J.  R.  i\Ioore.    Judge  William  Mitchell,  of 


Minnesota,  was  then  one  of  the  instructors.  From 
1857  to  1858  he  attended  Jefferson  College,  Can- 
nonsburg,  Pennsylvama,  when  he  was  offered  a 
position  in  the  department  of  justice  at  Washing- 
ton by  Hon.  Jeremiah  S.  Black,  the  attorney 
general  of  the  United  States.  He  remained  until 
the  close  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  administration  hav- 
ing in  the  meantime  prepared  himself  for  the 
practice  of  law.  In  April,  1861,  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  his  native  town  and  on  the  day 
Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon  tried  and  won  his 
first  case.  On  July  4th,  1861,  Mr.  Ankeny  delivered 
an  address  at  Somerset  which  attracted  no  little  at- 
tention, foreshadowing  the  severity  of  the  strug- 
gle and  its  ultimate  outcome.  \\'hen  in  the  de- 
partment of  justice,  Edwin  Al.  Stanton  was  con- 
nected with  that  department,  and  in  February, 
1862,  Mr.  Stanton  invited  him  to  a  position  in 
the  war  department  which  he  filled  with  honor 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  sustained  a  con- 
fidential relation  to  "the  great  war  secretary,''  and 
had  knowledge  of  most  of  the  important  move- 
ments in  advance  of  their  execution.  In  April, 
1865,  he  returned  to  the  practice  of  law  at 
Somerset,  where  he  was  also  connected  with  a 
private  bank.  He  was  one  of  the  promoters  and 
treasurer  of  the  first  railroad  to  Somerset.  In 
1872  he  became  ambitious  to  enjoy  the  greater 
opportunities  afforded  in  the  West  and  removed 
with   his  family  to  Minneapolis,  where,  in  part- 


116 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


nership  with  his  brother,  Wilham  P.  Ankeny,  he 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business.  Tliis  firm  built 
the  Galaxy  flouring  mill  in  1874.  On  the  death 
of  his  brother  in  1877  he  closed  up  the  business 
of  his  firm  and  returned  to  his  law  practice.  Mr. 
Ankeny  has  been  an  active  and  public-spirited 
citizen  of  Minneapolis,  interested  in  ever}'  under- 
taking for  the  moral,  intellectual  and  material 
betterment  of  the  city.  In  1877  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  education  for  the  western 
division  of  the  city,  and  in  the  following  year 
was  one  of  the  committee  of  ten  who  formu- 
lated the  plan  for  the  complete  union  of  the  two 
divisions.  He  ser\'ed  from  1878  to  1882  on  the 
state  board  of  equalization  of  taxes.  In  1886  he 
was  again  elected  member  of  the  Minneapolis 
board  of  education,  re-elected  on  Ijoth  tickets  in 
1889  and  in  1890  was  made  president  of  the 
board  and  e.x-officio  member  of  the  library  board, 
which  positions  he  held  until  January  i,  1895. 
]\[r.  Ankeny  is  a  Democrat  and  exerts  a  large 
influence  in  the  councils  of  his  party.  In  1886 
and  1887  he  was  president  of  the  Algonquin 
Democratic  Club,  of  Minneapolis,  and  in  1886 
to  1888  was  a  member  of  the  state  Democratic 
central  committee.  In  1888  he  was  appointed 
on  the  executive  committee  of  the  National 
Association  of  Democratic  Clubs,  and  still 
retains  that  position.  In  1886  he  incorporated  in 
the  state  Democratic  platform  a  recommendation 
for  the  adoption  of  the  Australian  svstem  of 
voting,  being  the  first  public  recognition  of  the 
system  in  this  country,  and  which  is  now  used  in 
nearly  all  the  states.  Pro])ably  in  no  part  of 
his  public  services,  however,  has  he  taken  more 
satisfaction  than  in  his  work  on  the  school  board, 
where  he  has  proved  a  faithful  and  invaluable 
officer.  He  was  active  in  the  passage  of  the  free 
text  book  law  of  Minnesota,  and  in  placing  the 
system  in  successful  operation  in  Minncapiilis 
Some  of  Mr.  Ankeny's  addresses  on  |)ublic  edu- 
cation are  among  the  liest  contributions  to  the 
literature  of  tliat  subject.  He  was  one  of  the  in- 
corporators of  the  Masonic  Temple  Association, 
and  a  mcml:)er  of  the  building  committee  which 
erected  the  Masonic  Temple.  I'or  several  years 
he  was  vice-president  of  its  Ijoard  of  directors,  ami 
on  the  death  of  R.  T'>.  Langdon  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  board.  This  temple,  the  .South  .Side 
High    School    building,    the     \'an    Cieve     and 


Douglass  school  buildings,  as  well  as  the  North 
Side  Public  Library  building,  will  long  remain 
to  testify  to  his  high  conception  of  what  such 
public  structures  should  be,  whilst  the  economy 
practiced  in  construction  will  be  a  witness  to 
his  integrity  and  fidelity.  He  is  a  lawyer  of 
high  standing,  and  was  made  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  municipal  judge  in  1885  and  for 
district  judge  in  1890,  but  was  not  elected.  In 
1896  he  received  the  fusion  nomination  for 
mayor  on  the  Democratic-Populist  ticket.  His 
family  are  active  supporters  of  the  Portland  Ave- 
nue Church  of  Christ,  of  ]Minneapolis.  On  May  i, 
1861,  he  was  married  to  ]\Iiss  INlartha  V.  Moore, 
daughter  of  John  ]\Ioore,  of  Wheeling,  West 
Virginia.  They  have  a  family  of  five  children, 
all  now  grown,  three  daughters  being  married. 


PHILIP  BICKERTOX  WINSTON. 

Mr.  Winston  is  the  eldest  son  of  William 
Overton  Winston  and  Sarah  Anne  Gregory 
(Winston),  both  of  \\'hom  were  natives  of  \'ir- 
ginia  and  descendants  of  the  early  colonists  who 
came  over  from  England  in  the  Seventeenth 
century.  His  great-grandfather  was  a  patriot  in 
the  War  of  the  Revolution,  while  his  grandfather 
was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812.  William  O. 
Winston  held  the  office  of  County  Clerk  of  Han- 
over County,  Virginia,  which  his  father  had  also 
held  before  him,  for  many  years.  The  Gregory 
family  were  also  prominent  in  the  histor\-  of  the 
state  of  \"irginia.  Philip  B.  was  bom  at  the 
family  home,  known  as  Courtland  (which  he  now 
owns),  near  Hanover  Court  House,  Hanover 
County,  \irginia,  August  12,  1845.  His  early 
education  he  received  at  home  under  ])rivatc 
tutelage,  up  to  his  sixteenth  year.  He  then  at- 
tended an  acatlemy  in  Caroline  County  for  one 
year.  The  death  of  his  father  occurred  at  this 
time,  and  I'hili])  returned  home  and  assisted  on 
the  farm  until  tlie  fall  of  1862,  when  he  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  the  Confederate  army,  in  Company 
E,  Fifth  \'irginia  Cavalry,  though  at  this  time 
only  a  lad  of  seventeen.  .After  about  a  year  of 
hard  service  lie  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
first  lieutenant  and  assigned  to  the  stafif  of  Gen- 
eral Thomas  L.  Ros.ser,  who  commanded  a  divis- 
ion under  General  Lee,  as  an  aide-de-camp.    He- 


PROGRHSSIVK  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


1X7 


served  in  this  ])ost  until  the  last  sun  was  fired 
at  Ap|)oniattox,  ha\in.t;-  experienced  a  hard  ser- 
vice and  ])articipated  in  a  great  many  Ijattles. 
The  list  of  engagenu'nts  in  wliich  he  fMn,L;hi  is  as 
follows:  Kelley's  i'Drd,  l!rand\  Station,  Aldee, 
Middlesborough,  Hagerstown,  Carlisle,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Gettysburg,  cavalry  engagement  near  Alen- 
assas.  Mine  Run,  Sanxter's  Station,  Wilderness, 
Spottsylvania  Court  House,  Tryvillian's  Station, 
Haw's  Shop,  I  lanover  Court  House,  Ream's  Sta- 
tion, Mt.  Jackson,  Back  Road,  Tom's  Brook,  Win- 
chester (the  latter  four  in  the  valley  of  X'irginia); 
Amelia  Springs,  liossoux  Cross  Roads,  hive 
Forks,  High  liridge,  Appomattox.  After  the 
close  of  the  war  Air.  Winston  returned  to  his  old 
homestead  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  remained 
here  until  A  fay,  1872,  when  he  started  West,  arriv- 
ing in  Alinneapolis  with  but  little  money  in  his 
possession.  He  secured  a  position  in  the  engin- 
eering department  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail- 
road, in  whose  employment  he  remained  for  a 
little  over  a  year.  During  the  winters  of  1873, 
1874  and  1875  li*^  engaged  in  government  sur- 
veying in  northern  Alinnesota  with  his  brother, 
F.  G.  Winston.  In  the  s])ring  of  the  latter  year 
he  returned  to  Alinneapolis  and  associated  with 
his  brother,  V.  G.  Winston,  under  the  firm  name 
of  \\'inston  Brothers,  for  the  Inisiness  of  railroad 
contracting.  The  next  year  W.  ( ).  W^inston,  an- 
other brother,  was  taken  into  partnership.  The 
firm  of  Winston  Brothers  started  out  in  a  small 
way,  but  in  a  short  time  was  able  to  establish 
quite  a  reputation,  and  is  now  one  of  the  largest 
railroad  contracting  firms  in  the  country.  One 
thousand  miles  of  track  for  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  was  the  first  large  contract  received  by 
them.  Alost  of  the  track  and  bridge  work  of 
this  road,  west  of  Bismarck,  was  built  by  this 
firm.  The  Winston  Brothers  have  also  com- 
pleted a  great  many  other  large  contracts  for 
railroad  corporations  in  the  Northwest.  Air.  Win- 
ston has  always  been  a  Democrat.  He  was  nomi- 
nated for  mayor  of  Alinneapolis  in  1888,  l.iut  was 
defeated,  though  he  ran  3,000  votes  ahead  of  his 
ticket.  Two  years  later  he  was  renominated  by 
acclamation  and  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  over 
6,000.  The  business  interests  of  the  city  warmly 
supported  him,  and  his  administration  from  a 
business  standpoint  was  a  commendable  one.    He 


ser^-ed  in  the  legislature  during  the  session  of 
1893,  S"*^'  was  renominated  in  1894,  but  failed  of 
election.  Since  that  time  Air.  Winston  has  with- 
drawn from  an  active  participation  in  politics, 
although  he  attended  the  last  Democratic  Na- 
tional Convention  in  Chicago  as  a  delegate-at- 
large,  and  was  chairman  of  the  ^Minnesota  dele- 
gation. In  1892  he  was  also  chairman  of  the 
Alinnesota  delegation  to  the  National  Conven- 
tion in  .St.  Louis.  Mr.  Winston  has  extensive 
business  interests  in  this  citv  aside  from  that  of 
the  firm  of  \^'inston  Brothers.  He  is  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Security  Bank,  the  Syndicate  Build- 
ing Company,  and  a  stockholder  and  director  in 
the  Alinneapolis  Trust  Company,  all  of  Alinneap- 
olis. He  is  a  member  of  the  Alinneapolis  Club 
and  the  Conmiercial  Club:  the  Alinnesota  Club, 
of  .St.  Paul,  and  the  West  Aloreland  Club,  of 
Richmond,  Alrginia.  Each  year  he  enjoys  a  few 
months  on  the  old  homestead  in  A'irginia,  on 
which  he  has  made  extensive  improvements.  On 
A  larch  30,  1876,  Air.  W'inston  was  married  to 
Katharine  D.  Stevens,  a  daughter  of  Colonel  John 
-A..  .Stevens,  the  first  pioneer  of  what  is  now^  the 
city  of  Alinneapolis.  Airs.  Winston  is  prominent 
in  all  church  and  charitable  work,  and  represented 
this  state  at  the  W'orld's  Fair  as  an  alternate  on 
the  board  of  lad}-  managers.  Air.  and  Airs.  Win- 
ston have  two  children,  now  nearly  grown. 


118 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


GEORGE  DUL'GLAS  BLACK. 

George  Douglas  Black  is  a  minister  of 
the  gospel  and  pastor  of  the  Park  Avenue  Con- 
gregational church,  in  Minneapolis.  He  was 
bom  in  Knox  County,  Ohio,  February  12,  185S. 
His  ancestry  was  German  on  his  father's  side,  and 
on  his  mother's  Scotch  and  French.  His  home 
was  in  ^Ft.  ^'ernon,  the  county  seat  of  Knox 
county,  until  Ik-  was  thirteen  years  old.  There  he 
attended  the  public  schools,  but  at  the  age  of 
thirteen,  went  with  his  parents  to  live  on  a  farm  in 
the  same  county.  Having  decided  to  make  the 
Christian  ministry  his  calling,  he  studied  litera- 
ture and  theology  from  1876  to  1880  with  Rev. 
J.  W.  Marvin,  of  Knox  County,  a  man  of  great 
ability  and  of  unique  magnetic  influence  over 
young  men.  Mr.  Black  says  of  this  incident  in  his 
life:  "I  have  never  ceased  to  be  grateful  for  the 
years  of  inspiration  and  intimacy  spent  with  Air. 
Marvin.  After  the  blessing  of  a  devout  father  and 
mother,  no  good  has  come  to  me  in  this  world 
equal  to  the  friendship  and  instruction  of  this 
man.  I  can  say  of  him  what  Garfield  said  of 
Mark  Hopkins,  my  conception  of  a  university  is 
a  log  with  a  student  at  one  end  of  it  and  Marvin 
at  the  other.  To  feed  on  such  a  life  is  an  unspeak- 
able good  to  any  young  man."  Flaving  prepared 
for  the  ministry,  Mr.  Black's  first  important 
charge  was  at  the  college  town  of  Yellow  Springs, 


Ohio.  He  had  two  pastorates  there,  and  im- 
pressed himself  with  special  force  upon  the  young 
men  of  the  college.  One  of  them  published  a 
sketch  in  which  he  said  of  Air.  Black:  "He  was 
only  twenty-six.  He  came  to  talk  Sunday  after 
Sunday  to  college  men  and  women,  and  before 
hearing  him  I  wondered  at  his  presumption.  1 
felt  then  as  I  feel  now,  that  a  preacher  should 
also  be  a  teacher,  rounded  out  on  all  sides;  a 
spiritual  and  intellectual  leader.  Among  the  stu- 
dents he  should  be  able  not  only  to  deepen  their 
faith,  but  to  solve  their  doubts.  There  was  a  dig- 
nity in  this  man's  bearing,  in  the  richness  of  his 
tone  that  charmed  me  from  the  first.  As  the  Sun- 
days went  by  the  charm  deepened.  I  felt  sure 
that  God  meant  him  for  a  preacher.  Somewhere 
he  had  learned  the  best  and  highest  things  a  col- 
lege can  teach — he  had  learned  to  be  a  student. 
Somewhere,  too,  he  had  learned  that  deeper  les- 
son, what  it  is  to  live  with  God.  Although  he  had 
spent  most  of  his  time  on  a  farm,  began  preaching 
at  eighteen  and  prepared  for  his  life  work  while 
doing  it,  he  came  among  us  familiar  with  the  best 
authors  and  able  to  interpret  them  to  us  in  the 
choicest  language.  This  farm  lad  under  the  sun 
and  stars  had  felt  the  immensity  of  the  universe 
and  the  greatness  of  the  soul  through  which  it 
speaks.  This  young  man  was  George  Douglas 
Black."  jNIr.  Black  resigned  his  pulpit  in  Yellow 
Springs  in  1892,  to  accept  the  editorship  of  the 
Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty,  the  organ  of  the 
Christian  denomination,  published  at  Dayton, 
Ohio.  It  was  while  he  was  thus  engaged  that  Dr. 
Washington  Gladden  visited  Minneapolis  in  Jan- 
uary, 1893,  and  was  asked  by  the  connnittee  of 
Park  Aventie  Congregational  church  to  recom- 
mend some  one  for  their  vacant  pulpit.  Dr.  Glad- 
den recommended  Mr.  Black.  He  came  by  invi- 
tation, preached  one  Sunday,  was  called  to  the 
pastorate  and  entered  upon  his  work  w-ithin  a  few- 
weeks.  Since  coming  to  Alinneapolis  he  has 
been  associated  for  nearly  two  years  with  B.  h'ay 
Mills,  President  George  A.  Gates,  Prof.  George  D. 
Herron,  Thomas  C.  Hall,  Prof.  John  Bascom  and 
others  in  the  editorship  of  The  Kingdom,  a 
weekly  religious  new.spaper,  published  in  Minne- 
apolis. Mr.  Black  has  contributed  to  the  Golden 
Rule,  the  ( )utlook,  the  New  England  Magazine 
and  other  publications,  and  is  in  demand  as  a  lec- 
turer before   college   societies  and   other  literary 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


119 


bodies.  He  was  married  in  1879  to  Miss  l'"lora 
Bell  Hanger,  daughter  of  Rev.  .'\ndre\v  C. 
Hanger,  minister  of  the  Christian  church  in  (  )hic). 
They  have  three  children,  Georgia  Eva,  Wendell 
Marvin  and  Russell  Collins. 


ANSON  BAILEY  CUTTS. 

Anson  Bailey  Cutts,  General  Ticket  and 
Passenger  Agent  of  the  Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis 
Railroad,  is  a  Soutlu-rn  man  l)y  l)irUi,  his  father 
Addison.  D.  Cutts,  being  a  ])hysician  by  profes- 
sion, a  graduate  of  the  L'niversity  of  X'irginia,  and 
Wake  Forest  college,  North  Carolina.  He  gave 
up  the  practice  of  medicine,  however,  soon  after 
graduation,  to  engage  in  conmiercial  pursuits.  He 
was  engaged  chieflv  in  the  manufacture  uf  naval 
stores  in  North  Carolina  and  Georgia.  On  the 
outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he  entered  the  Confeder- 
ate Aryiy  and  served  three  years,  attaining  the 
rank  of  senior  captain.  His  wife  was  Deborah 
A.  Bailey.  The  family  is  of  Scotch-American 
stock.  The  sul^ject  of  this  sketch  was  Ijorn  at 
Lillington,  N.  C,  October  23,  1866.  His  early 
education  was  under  the  direction  of  a  compe- 
tent governess  whose  unusual  and  peculiar  capa- 
bility for  developing  the  mind  and  character  of 
children  left  a  deep  impression  upon  her  pupil. 
Afterwards  he  attended  the  academy  in  .Savannah, 
where  he  prepared  for  the  Middle  Georgia  mili- 
tar\-  college  at  Milledgeville.  He  left  c<jllege, 
however,  at  the  end  of  his  sophomore  year  to 
accompany  his  family  to  Chicago,  where  business 
changes  required  his  father  to  locate.  Anson  was 
a  brilliant  student  and  maintained  a  high  stand- 
ing in  all  his  classes,  and  during  his  two  years  in 
college  he  held  the  first  place.  His  first  business 
engagement  was  in  the  capacity  of  messenger  in 
the  large  printing  and  publishing  house  of  Rand, 
McNally  &  Co.,  in  Chicago,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed from  June  I  to  September  i,  1883.  He 
then  entered  the  service  of  the  Chicago  &  Alton 
railroad  as  a  clerk  in  the  auditor's  office.  He  re- 
mained in  that  office  in  different  positions  until 
December  12,  1887,  when  an  offer  from  the 
auditor  of  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis 
&  Omaha  Railway,  in  St.  Paul,  induced  him  to  re- 
move to  that  city.  He  remained  in  the  employ 
of  that  company  until  September  i,  1890,  when  a 


better  position  was  offered  him  as  chief  rate  clerk 
in  the  passenger  department  of  the  Great  North- 
ern Railway.  He  continued  in  that  position  until 
March  4,  1892,  when  he  resigned  to  ac- 
cept the  offer  of  the  chief  clerkship  in 
the  general  ticket  and  passenger  depart- 
ment of  the  Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis  Rail- 
road in  Minneapolis.  January  I,  1894,  the  gen- 
eral ticket  and  passenger  agent  of  that  road  re- 
signed, and  Mr.  Cutts  was  appointed  to  fill  the 
vacancy  with  the  title  of  acting  general  ticket  antl 
passenger  agent,  and  has  since  been  given  the  full 
title  of  his  office  .  Mr.  Cutts  has  been  given  re- 
sponsibilities beyond  what  are  usually  imposed 
upon  men  of  his  years,  but  he  has  demonstrated 
the  possession  of  unusual  business  capacity  and 
has  won  the  confidence  of  his  employers  and  the 
respect  of  the  business  pul)lic  for  his  abilities  in 
an  unusual  degree.  His  ]Jolitical  opinions  may 
be  said  to  be  inherited.  Born  in  the  South,  and  a 
son  of  a  Confederate  soldier,  he  regards  himself 
as  a  Democrat,  but  has  never  taken  any  active 
part  in  politics.  He  always  votes,  as  every  good 
citizen  should,  and,  also,  as  good  citizens  fre- 
quently do,  casts  his  vote  independently,  with  a 
preference  rather  for  the  man  than  the  ticket. 
He  became  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
in  1886.  June  5,  1895,  he  married  Edna  Brown- 
ing Stokes,  of  Grand  Forks,  N.  D. 


120 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HARRY  \\".  JUNES. 

Harry  \\'ild  Jones  is  an  Architect  in  Mm- 
neapolis.  Air.  Jones  is  the  son  of  Rev.  Howard 
M.  Jones,  at  present  retired  and  living  at  Cedar 
Falls,  Iowa.  Rev.  Howard  M.  Jones  was  the  son  oi 
the  late  Dr.  John  Taylor  Jones,  who  was  for 
many  years  a  missionary  at  iJangkok,  Siani. 
where  Howard  M.  was  born,  and  from  which 
place  he  was  sent  to  this  country  when  four  years 
old  to  be  educated.  He  graduated  from  Brown 
University  in  the  class  of  1853,  and  from  the 
Newton  Theological  Seminary  in  1857,  after 
which  he  traveled  in  Europe  and  Palestine  for 
several  months.  He  then  entered  the  ministry 
and  served  parishes  in  New  York,  New  Eng- 
land, Iowa  and  ^Michigan.  His  wife,  the  mother 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  Mary  White, 
the  eldest  daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel 
Francis  Smith,  the  venerated  author  of  the  na- 
tional hymn  ".\mcrica."  and  many  other  well- 
known  sacred  hymns.  Dr.  Smith  was  also  a  lin- 
guist of  some  note.  Harrv  \V.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  in  Michigan  in  1859,  and 
educated  at  the  University  grammar  school  at 
Providence,  R.  I.,  and  Brown  University.  Leav- 
ing there  in  1880  he  spent  two  years  at  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Institute  of  Technology  in  Boston  in 
the  study  of  architecture.  At  the  completion  of 
his  course  in  the  institute  he  entered  tlic  office 


of  the  late  H.  H.  Richardson  as  a  student  and 
draughtsman.  Here  he  remained  for  a  year,  and 
he  regards  the  time  spent  under  the  tutelage 
of  this  man,  one  of  the  greatest  of  modern 
architects,  as  of  the  highest  value  to  him,  and 
feels  that  the  influence  attending  the  association 
with  so  great  a  master  had  much  to  do  with 
moulding  his  tastes  in  his  chosen  art  and  pro- 
fession. In  1883  he  married  Miss  Bertha  J. 
Tucker,  of  Boston,  and  in  July  of  the  same  year 
came  to  Minneapolis  to  establish  himself  in  his 
profession.  The  first  year  in  Alinneapolis  was 
spent  in  the  office  of  Plant  &  Whitney,  archi- 
tects. He  then  went  to  Europe,  where  he  spent 
several  months  in  travel  and  study,  returning  in 
1885  and  opening  an  office  on  his  own  account  as 
an  Architect.  During  the  past  eleven  years  in 
which  he  has  practiced  his  profession  in  Minne- 
apolis he  has  made  plans  for  several  hundred 
Ijuildings  of  both  a  public  and  a  private  nature, 
and  has  counted  among  his  clients  the  Bank  of 
Conunerce,  the  University  of  ^Minnesota,  the 
Minnesota  Land  and  Investment  Company,  of 
Minneapolis;  George  A.  Pillsbury,  H.  E.  Ladd 
and  S.  G.  Cook,  of  Minneapolis,  and  the  Minne- 
apolis Street  Railway  Company.  His  work  has 
not  been  confined  to  Minneapolis,  however,  but 
may  be  found  in  New  Y^ork,  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Ohio,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Iowa, 
Missouri,  Kansas,  the  Dakotas  and  the  District 
of  Columbia.  For  two  years  he  filled  the  posi- 
tion of  professor  of  architecture  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  ]\Iinnesota,  at  the  same  time. carrying  on 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  1892  he  was 
elected  by  the  Republicans  to  membership  on 
the  Park  Board  of  ^Minneapolis  for  a  period  of 
six  years.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Board  of 
Trade,  and  also  of  the  Young  ]\Ien's  Christian 
Association,  and  holds  membership  in  the  Com- 
mercial Club.  He  is  also  President  of  the 
Minnesota  Chapter  of  the  American  In- 
stitute of  Architects.  In  a  recent  compe- 
tition for  plans  for  the  new  Miimesota 
state  capitol,  Air.  Jones  was  awarded  the  fifth 
prize  of  $500,  among  forty-two  competing  archi- 
tects. Mr.  Jones'  religious  affiliations  are  with  , 
tiie  Baptist  .Society  and  includes  membership  in 
the  Calvary  Church  of  Minneapolis.  lie  has 
three  children  living.  Harry,  Malcolm.  Mary 
W'iiite  and  .\rthur  Leo. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEX  f)F   MINNESOTA. 


121 


CHARLES  EUGENE  FLANDIMU. 

Charles  ]•"..  Flaiulrau  was  born  in  New  York 
City  on  July  15,  1828.  His  ancestors  on  his 
father's  side  were  Huguenots,  who  settled  in 
West  Chester  County,  New  York,  and  founded 
the  town  of  New  Rochelle.  Thomas  H.  Flan- 
drau,  father  of  Charles  E.,  was  born  at  New 
Rochelle.  His  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Elizabeth  Macomb,  was  a  half  sister  of  General 
Alexander  Macomb,  who  was  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  United  States  Army  from  1828  to 
184 1.  Thomas  H.  Flandrau  was  a  law  partner 
of  the  famous  Aaron  Burr,  and  for  many  years 
practiced  with  Colonel  lUirr  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  Charles  E.  Flandrau  commenced  his  edu- 
cation at  Georgetown,  D.  C,  and  when  thirteen 
years  old  decided  to  enter  the  I'nited  States 
Navy,  and  applied  for  the  position  of  mid- 
shipman. He  was,  however,  too  young  and  the 
appointment  could  not  be  made.  He  was  bent 
on  following  the  sea,  and  inmiediately  upon  dis- 
covering that  his  youth  rendered  him  ineligible 
for  a  commission  as  mid-shipman,  he  shipped 
on  the  United  States  Revenue  Cutter  Forward, 
as  a  common  seaman.  After  several  voyages 
in  various  vessels,  he  gave  up  the  idea  of  being 
a  sailor  and  returned  to  school  at  Georgetown, 
but  shortly  afterwards  went  to  New  York  and 
learned  the  trade  of  veneer-sawing  in  the  ma- 
hogany mills  of  Afahlon  Bunnell.  Three  years 
later  he  went  to  Whitesboro,  New  York,  and 
commenced  studying  law  with  his  father.  After 
several  years  of  close  study  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  and  formed  a  partnersh.ip  with  his  father. 
Flowever,  within  two  }'ears  he  determined  to 
remove  to  Minnesota,  and  in  November,  1853, 
in  company  with  Horace  R.  Bigelow,  Judge 
Flandrau  landed  in  St.  Paul.  The  young  lawyers 
at  once  formed  a  partnership  under  the  firm 
name  of  Bigelow  &  Flandrau.  In  those  early 
days  there  was  little  business  in  the  legal  line, 
and  Judge  Flandrau  had  many  opportunities  of 
exploring  the  territory.  During  one  of  his  trips 
he  was  so  impressed  with  the  possibilities  of  the 
^linnesota  \^alley  that  he  determined  to  settle 
at  the  village  of  Traverse  des  .Sioux.  \\'hile 
living  at  Traverse  des  Sioux,  Judge  Flandrau 
held  a  number  of  local  offices,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Territorial  Council,  and  of  the  Con- 
stitutional Convention  of  1857.     In   1856  Judge 


I'dandrau  was  ap[)ointed  b\-  I 'resident  Pierce 
agent  of  the  Siou.x  Indians.  While  in  this  posi- 
tion he  took  an  active  part  in  the  punishment  of 
the  Indians  who  participated  in  the  Spirit  Lake 
and  Springfield  massacres,  and  was  instrumental 
in  the  rescue  and  return  of  the  captive  women 
taken  by  them  on  this  occasion.  On  July  17, 
1857,  President  Buchanan  appointed  him  Asso- 
ciate Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Terri- 
tory of  Minnesota.  At  the  convention  of  the 
Democrats  during  the  same  year  for  the  nomina- 
tion of  state  officers,  under  the  new  constitu- 
tion, Judge  Flandrau  was  nominated  for  Asso- 
ciate Justice  of  the  .Supreme  Court.  His  elec- 
tion to  this  imjiortant  office  gave  him  an  oppor- 
tunity to  impress  his  personality  and  his  rare 
ability  as  a  jurist  upon  the  legal  history  of  the 
state.  His  record  as  a  jurist  is  chiefly  to  be 
found  in  the  first  nine  volumes  of  Minnesota 
reports.  The  first  Supreme  Court  of  Minnesota 
had  much  important  work  in  formulating  a  sys- 
tem of  practice  for  the  state,  and  the  construction 
of  a  large  number  of  statutes  was  also  to  be  judi- 
cially determined  for  the  first  time,  and  the  labors 
of  Judge  Flandrau  were  necessarily  heavy. 
Judge  b'landrau's  decisions  are  described  as 
being  always  "plain,  simple  and  uniformly  terse, 
vigorous  and  decided."  While  a  justice  on  the 
supreme  bench,  there  came  to  Judge  Flandrau 
the   opp oitunitv    which    has    made    him      most 


122 


PROGRESSIVE   MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


famous  in  the  history  of  the  state.  Un  the  morn- 
ing of  August  i8,  1862,  Judge  Flandrau  was 
notified  at  his  home  at  Traverse  des  Sioux,  that 
the  Sioux  had  risen  and  that  a  terrible  massacre 
was  in  progress.  Before  noon  the  Judge  had 
armed  and  equipped  a  company  of  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  voUmteers  and  was  on  his  way  to  the 
rehef  of  Xew  Uhn,  the  largest  and  most  exposed 
town  in  the  region  of  the  depredations  of  the 
Indians.  On  Iiis  arrival  at  Xew  Ulm  he  was 
made  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  assembled 
forces.  The  heroic  relief  and  defense  of  Xew 
Ulm  under  his  command  is  now  a  matter  of 
familiar  Minnesota  history.  This  episode  in  the 
life  of  an  active  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
is  probably  without  precedent.  For  some  time 
after  the  relief  of  Xew  Ulm,  Judge  Flandrau 
continued  in  the  service.  Fie  was  authorized  by 
Governor  Ramsey  to  raise  troops  and  take  gen- 
eral charge  of  the  defense  of  the  southwest 
frontier  of  the  state.  In  the  spring  of  1864 
Judge  Flandrau  resigned  his  position  on  the 
supreme  bench,  and  commenced  the  practice  of 
law  in  Nevada.  Shortly  after  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  Col.  R.  H.  ]\Iusser,  of  St.  Louis, 
but  in  less  than  a  twelve  month  he  had  returned 
to  ]\Iinnesota  and  formed  a  partnership  with 
Judge  Atwater,  at  ^linneapolis.  During  the 
same  year  he  was  elected  city  attorney  of  Minne- 
apolis, and  in  1868  was  chosen  president  of  the 
board  of  trade  of  that  city.  In  1S70  he  moved 
to  St.  Paul  and  formed  a  partnership  with 
Messrs.  Bigelow  and  Clark.  This  firm  with 
various  changes  has  continued  until  the  present 
time.  Judge  Flandrau  is,  in  politics,  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  old  Jeffersonian  Democracy.  In 
1867  he  was  Democratic  candidate  for  governrir. 
but  was  defeated  by  William  R.  Marshall.  In 
1869  he  was  Democratic  candidate  for  chief  jus- 
tice of  the  supreme  court,  but  was  again  de- 
feated, the  Republican  majority  in  Miimcsota 
being  very  large.  Xone  of  these  nominations 
were  sought,  and  were  only  accepted  on  ac- 
count of  his  loyalty  to  the  Democratic  i)arty. 
He  is  still  an  ardent  Democrat,  but  an  equally 
zealous  opponent  to  the  free  silver  coinage 
movement.  Judge  Flandrau  has  been  twice 
married.  His  first  wife  was  Miss  Isabella  R. 
Dinsmore,  of  Kentucky,  to  whom  he  was  mar- 
ried on   August   70,    1850.     Mrs.    Mandrnu   died 


June  30,  1867,  leaving  two  daughters,  Mrs.  Til- 
den  R.  Selmes  and  Mrs.  F.  W.  M.  Cutcheon. 
( )n  February  28,  1871,  Judge  Flandrau  married 
Mrs.  Rebecca  B.  Riddle,  daughter  of  Judge 
William  IMcCluer,  of  Pittsburg.  They  have  two 
sons,  Charles  M.  Flandrau  and  William  Blair 
McC.  Flandrau. 


HENRY  GEORGE  HICKS. 

Henr\'  George  Hicks,  recently  a  judge  of 
the  district  court  of  Hennepin  County,  is  one  of 
the  self-made  men  of  the  Northwest,  who  has 
impressed  himself  strongly  upon  the  community 
in  which  he  lives.  He  was  born  at  Varysburgh, 
Genesee  (now  Wyoming)  County,  New  York, 
January  26,  1838.  Flis  father,  George  A.  Hicks, 
was  a  saddler  and  harness  maker  by  trade  at 
Castleton,  New  York,  a  man  in  moderate  cir- 
cumstances and  with  no  capital  but  his  skill  as 
a  workman  and  his  honorable  reputation  as  a 
man.  He  died  at  Freeport.  111.,  in  1881.  George  A. 
Hicks'  wife  was  Sophia  Hall,  a  native  of  Rutland, 
Vermont,  who  died  at  the  home  of  her  son, 
Henry,  in  Minneapolis,  in  1885,  at  the  age  of 
seventy.  Her  father  was  Asa  Hall,  who  was 
wounded  in  the  battle  of  Fake  Champlain  in  the 
War  of  1812.  George  A.  Hicks'  mother,  Hannah 
Edwards,  was  a  cousin  of  the  elder  Jonathan 
Edwards.  Henry  G.  Hicks,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  also  enjoyed 
one  winter  term  at  the  academy  at  Arcade,  New 
York.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  began  teaching 
school.  Five  years  later  he  entered  the  prepara- 
tory dejiartment  of  Oberlin  College,  where  by  in- 
tervals of  teaching  and  by  employment  in  a 
printing  office  he  supported  himself  until  i8(« 
when  he  entered  the  freshman  class.  He  then 
taught  the  first  wanl  grammar  school  at  Free- 
port,  Illinois,  for  a  year,  and  at  the  close  of  his 
engagement  enlisted,  July  24.  1 861,  as  a  private  in 
Co.  A.  of  the  Second  Illinois  Cavalry.  He  was 
appointed  corporal  ;uid  sergeant  of  his  company 
and  then  sergeant-major  of  the  regiment,  August 
12.  October  15  he  was  commissioned  adjutant, 
was  at  the  battle  of  Fort  Donelson,  and  mustered 
out  June  I,  1862.  He  was  then  appointed  ad- 
jutant nf  the  Seventv-first     Tllin(^is     Tnfantrv,  a- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


123 


three  moiitlis'  regiment,  and  mustered  out  Octo- 
ber I,  1862,  and  on  the  6th  of  the  following 
November  was  appointed  adjutant  of  the 
Ninety-third  Infantry  Volunteers,  which  took 
part  in  the  battles  of  Raymond,  Jackson,  Cham- 
pion's Hill,  at  the  siege  of  \ickshurg,  and  the 
battle  of  Mission  Ridge,  where  he  was  severely 
wounded  in  the  left  cheek  and  nose  by  a  nuisket 
ball,  and  was  honorably  nuistered  out  of  the  ser- 
vice February  28,  1864.  .Mr.  Hicks  first  visited 
Minnesota  in  August,  1857,  as  an  agent  for  D.  C. 
Feeley,  of  Freeport,  Illinois,  dealer  in  lightning 
rods,  and  remained  here  three  months  and  until 
after  the  panic  of  October.  He  then  started  home 
with  about  si.x  hundred  dollars  in  bills  issued  by 
the  Citizens'  Bank,  of  Gosport,  Indiana,  and 
Bank  of  Tekama,  Nebraska.  At  St.  Paul 
he  could  not  use  it.  but  secured  an  exchange 
of  twenty  dollars  for  Eastern  money  and 
proceeded  to  Lake  City,  where  he  made  other 
collections  in  good  money  and  was  able  to  con- 
tinue his  homeward  trip.  In  April,  1865,  after 
leaving  the  army,  Mr.  Hicks  returned  to  Minne- 
sota, settled  in  Minneapolis,  engaged  in  the  light- 
ning rod  business  in  the  summer,  operated 
threshing  machines  and  sold  farm  machinery  in 
the  autumn  and  taught  school  for  two  winters 
at  a  school  house  still  standing  at  Hopkins,  in 
Hennepin  County.  December,  1867,  he  w-as  ap- 
pointed sheriff  of  Hennepin  County,  was  elected  to 
that  office  ini868,and  in  1871  and  1872  waselected 
city  justice  of  Minneapolis.  In  1874  he  began  the 
practice  of  law  with  E.  A.  Gove,  which  partner- 
ship continued  until  October  15,  1875,  when  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Capt.  J.  X.  Cross,  to 
which  Frank  H.  Carleton  was  admitted  in  1881. 
This  partnership  was  continued  until  1887  when 
Mr.  Hicks  was  appointed  judge  of  the  district 
court  in  Hennepin  County,  where  he  served  until 
January,  1895.  -He  then,  accompanied  by  his  wife, 
traveled  for  nine  months  in  Europe,  and  on  the 
fourteenth  day  of  October,  1895,  just  twenty 
years  after  forming  a  partnership  with  Capt. 
Cross,  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Cross,  Hicks,  Carleton  &  Cross.  Judge  Hicks 
has  held  a  number  of  other  important  positions, 
having  been  appointed  by  Gov.  IMarshall  trustee 
of  the  Soldiers'  Orphans,  in  1869.  to  which 
office  he  was  three  times  re-appointed.  In  1872 
he  was  elected  president  of  the  board  and    was 


annually  re-elected  until  the  b(jard  closed  the 
Soldiers'  Orphans  Home,  and  voluntarily  re- 
tired, having  discharged  all  orphans  committed 
to  their  care.  He  was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of 
the  state  legislature  in  1877,  and  returned  to  that 
body  three  times  afterwards,  serving  in  his  last 
two  terms  as  chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee. 
He  was  elected  to  the  legislature  for  the  fifth  time 
in  1896.  He  was  president  of  the  board  of 
managers  on  the  part  of  the  house  in 
the  impeachment  of  E.  St.  Julien  Cox, 
judge  of  the  Ninth  judicial  district  who 
was  convicted  by  the  senate  and  removed 
from  office.  Judge  Hicks  was  a  Repub- 
lican before  he  was  a  voter,  and  has  always  ad- 
hered to  that  party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club,  of  Ivhurum  Lodge  A.  F.  &  A.  M , 
John  A.  Rawlins  Post  G.  A.  R.,  and  was  de- 
partment commander  of  the  Grand  Army  in  1868, 
by  virtue  of  which  he  is  a  life  member  of  the 
National  Encampment.  He  is  also  a  member  and 
at  present  .Senior  Vice  Commander  of  the  Minne- 
sota Commandery  of  the  Loyal  Legion.  He  was 
married  May  3,  1864,  to  ]\Iary  Adelaide  Beede,  of 
Freeport,  Illinois,  who  died  July  24,  1870,  leaving 
four  children,  all  of  whom  have  since  died.  No- 
vember 5.  1873,  he  married  Susannah  R.  Fox. 
Judge  Hicks  resides  at  720  Third  Avenue  South. 
^Minneapolis,  which  has  been  his  home  for  the 
past  twent\--five  years. 


*i 


124 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


TRAl-FORD  ^"E^^■T()^■  jayxk. 

The  success  achieved  in  Inisiness  and  pro- 
fessional Hfe  by  tl-.e  subject  of  tliis  sketch,  while 
vet  a  voung  man,  is  a  splendid  example  of  what 
a  man  of  perseverance  and  industrious  habits 
can  make  of  himself  in  the  North  Star  State. 
TrafTord  Newton  Jayne  was  bom  near  Lewiston, 
Winona  County,  .Minnesota,  November  3,  1868. 
Havens  Brewster  Jayne,  his  father,  was  by  occu- 
pation a  carpenter,  in  straightened  financial  cir- 
cumstances. His  mother's  maiden  name  was 
Nellie  Victoria  Pike.  On  his  father's  side  .Mr. 
Jayne  is  directly  descended  from  William  lirews- 
ter,  who  came  over  in  the  .Mayflower.  William 
Jayne  came  from  England  to  Tawtncket,  Long 
Island,  earlv  in  tlie  Seventeenth  century,  and  soon 
after  connected  himself  with  tin-  I'.rcwster  family 
by  marriage.  The  name  was  originallv  "ne 
Jayne,"  and  an  officer  of  that  name  held  high 
rank  in  the  army  of  William  the  ( 'unciueror. 
During  the  reign  of  Cromwell  the  De  Jaynes 
were  found  with  him.  but  after  the  ascension  of 
Charles  H.  to  the  throne,  in  order  to  hide  to 
some  extent  their  identity,  they  dropiu-d  tlic  "do" 
from  the  family  name,  and  that  has  since  l)een 
Jayne.  Trafford  Newton  received  his  earlv  edu- 
cation in  tile  district  schools  of  .Southern  >'iiuie- 
sota.  He  lived  on  the  farm  near  .'>t.  (  liarles 
tmtil    the  age   of  tlireo,   when    he    was   taKen    to 


IMankato.  In  his  fifth  year  he  was  again  taken 
back  to  St.  Charles,  returning  two  years  later  to 
Winona.  He  attended  the  graded  schools  of 
\\'inona  for  three  years,  when  he  was  again  taken 
back  to  the  farm.  After  two  more  years  of  farm 
life  he  again  returned  to  Winona,  finishing  the 
preparatory  school  work  in  the  freshman  class 
in  the  high  school  proper  when  only  thirteen 
vears  of  age.  He  then  left  school  and  studied 
telegraphy  and  the  railroad  business  at  Lewiston, 
Minnesota.  In  a  little  less  than  five  months  he 
was  given  a  position  as  telegraph  operator  and 
worked  for  about  eight  months  in  that  way.  He 
was  then  aiipointed  cashier  of  the  Chicago,  Mil- 
waukee &  St.  Paul  Railroad  at  Winona,  when  only 
fourteen  years  of  age,  at  a  salary  of  si.<cty  five  dol- 
lars a  month.  He  remained  in  this  position  only 
a  short  time  when  he  was  offered  a  better  position 
as  telegraph  operator  and  ticket  clerk  for  the 
same  road  there.  He  retained  this  position  for 
about  ten  months,  and  was  then  appointed  as 
the  assistant  city  ticket  agent  of  the  Chicago  & 
.North-Western  Railway  at  Winona.  After  being 
in  this  position  about  eight  months  he  was  given 
the  appointment  of  cashier  for  the  same  road  at 
Mankato.  Seeing  the  importance  at  this  time  of 
further  education  he  commencetl  preparation  for 
a  college  course,  entering  the  L'niversity  of  Mich- 
igan in  the  fall  of  1886  and  finishing  in  1889, 
taking  the  four  years'  course  in  three  years'  time. 
While  at  college  he  took  an  active  interest  in 
athletics  and  in  1889  took  the  university  cham- 
jiionship  at  tennis,  and  shortly  after,  in  the  same 
year,  defeated  the  champion  of  ( )hio  in  a  match 
game.  He  was  on  the  university  baseball  team, 
was  vice  jireskknt  of  the  liicycle  club,  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  tennis  association,  and  also> 
was  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  dramatic  club, 
editor-in-chief  of  the  Conmiencement  .\nnual, 
and  a  nieniber  <if  the  Peta  Theta  Pi.  On  leaving 
college  he  retitrned  to  Minnesota  and  accepted  a 
position  as  chii'f  clerk  in  the  office  of  Williams 
i<:  (iooihiiiw,  at  .'>t.  Paul,  and  in  January.  1890, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  Mr.  ja^ne  reniaineil  in 
the  same  position  for  a  short  time  after  admission 
to  tlu'  bar,  but  cnmmenccd  active  practice  for 
himself  on  Ma\'  1,  tSgo.  In  November  of  th;it 
year  he  went  into  |)arlnt'rship  with  C.  P>.  Palmer, 
under  the  firm  name  of  P;dnu'r  i.*v  la\ue.  1  his 
partnership  continued   mitil   the   first   of  J;uniary, 


PROORESSTVr,  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


125 


1892,  when  Air.  Ja\ne  was  offered  tlie  attunic)- 
ship  of  the  Wilbur  Mercantile  Af^ency  in  .Minne- 
apolis and  accepted  it.  ( )n  .'\pril  1,  of  the  same 
year,  he  entered  into  ]»artnershi])  with  l\.(i.  .Mor- 
rison, under  the  firm  name  of  jayne  &  .Morrison, 
which  i)artnership  contiiuied  until  il^')/.  when 
the  firm  was  dissolved.  .\lr.  jayne  tlieii  I'ormed 
a  partnership  with  A.  L.  llelliwell,  under  the 
name  of  Jayne  &  llelliwell.  The)'  enjoy  an 
extensive  practice,  corporation  and  conunercial 
law  being  their  sjjecialties.  In  politics,  Mr. 
Jayne  is  a  Republican.  At  college  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  l'niversit\-  Republiean  (  lub.  num- 
bering si.x  hundred  members,  and  tine  of  the  vice 
])residents  of  the  Michigan  State  League  of  Re- 
])nblican  Clubs,  at  the  age  of  twenty.  He  is  at 
present  a  court  commissioner  of  Hennepin 
County.  Mr.  Tavne  is  a  member  of  the  Conuner- 
cial Clul),  and  his  church  affiliations  are  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,     lie  is  not  married. 


OLIN  R.  LEWLS. 

Among  the  descendants  of  the  little  band  of 
pilgrims  which  came  (jver  in  the  Mayflower  must 
be  counted  O.  B.  Lewis,  of  St.  Paul.  His  father, 
Z.  1).  Lewis,  his  grandfather.  Miner  Lewis,  and 
others  of  the  family  belonged  to  the  former  class 
— the  loyal  sturdy  yeomanry  on  which  the  nation 
depends  for  its  foremost  foundations.  Several  of 
Mr.  Lewis'  forefathers  were  in  the  war  of  1812. 
His  mother  came  of  German  blood.  Her  name 
was  Rebecka  Horning,  and  she  was  a  member  of 
one  of  the  old  families  of  Penns\lvania.  ^Ir.  Z. 
1).  Lewis  came  West  and  settled  in  Wisconsin, 
where  his  son  Olin  was  born,  in  the  town  of 
W'eyauwega,  Waupaca  Countw  on  .March  12, 
1861.  The  boy  was  brought  up  on  the  farm 
and  was  accustomed  to  hard  work  and  out-door 
exercise.  The  foundations  of  his  education  were 
laid  in  tlie  pulilic  schools  in  his  native  cnunt}-. 
He  prepared  for  college  in  the  high  sch(5ols  at 
Omro,  near  which  place  his  father  had  by  that 
time  located  on  a  farm.  In  the  fall  of  1870  he 
entered  the  Universitv  of  Wisconsin,  and  during 
his  four  years'  course  largely  supported  himself. 
During  the  last  \ear  he  received  an  appointment 
as  instructor  in  chemistry,  a  position  which  he 
held  for  a  year  after  graduation.  Mr.  Lewis  re- 
ceived his  diploma  in  June.  1884.  graduating  with 
honor.  For  the  next  few  years  he  divided  his 
time   between    "earning  a   living"    and    studying 


law.  Part  of  this  time  he  taught  school:  at  an- 
other time  he  was  in  the  collection  department 
of  the  Walter  .'\.  Wood  Harvester  Company.  In 
1889  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  came  to  St. 
Paul  to  i)ractice  his  chosen  profession.  He  at 
once  formed  a  partnership  with  Oscar  Hallam 
under  the  firm  name  of  Lewis  &  Plallam.  The 
young  lawyers  have  been  ver\'  successful  and 
have  built  u])  a  large  practice  during  their  seven 
years'  partnershi]).  At  the  same  time  the  senior 
member  of  the  firm  has  mixed  somewhat  ui  local 
politics.  A  Republican  of  the  most  uncompro- 
mising type  he  received  the  honor  of  an  election 
to  the  city  assembly  in  a  distinctly  Democratic 
cit\'.  He  was  first  elected  in  i8i>4  and  was  re- 
elected in  1896,  both  times  without  any  .solicita- 
tion upon  his  part.  P.eing  a  man  of  strong  con- 
victions and  much  imlividualitv  he  has  naturally 
become  a  leader  in  the  assembly  and  has  taken 
a  prominent  ]jart  in  shaping  the  actions  of  that 
body  during  his  membership  in  it.  His  course 
has  won  him  the  approval  of  manv  practical  citi- 
zens irrespective  of  party,  and  in  1896  he  was 
elected  a  judge  of  the  .Second  Judicial  district. 
In  1885  .Mr.  Lewis  and  Miss  Delia  Barnett,  of 
(  )shkosh,  were  married.  In  matter  of  religious 
faith  Mr.  Lewis  is  a  member  of  the  Central 
Methodist  F^piscojjal  Church,  of  St.  Paul.  He 
was  brought  up  in  that  denomination.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  body,  of  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America,  and  of  the  A.  O.  L'.  W., 
of  which  organization  he  is  a  past  master. 


126 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


AMBROSE  NEWELL  AIERRICK. 

Ambrose  X.  Merrick  was  born  in  Brimfiekl, 
Hampden  County,  Massachusetts,  February  9, 
1827.  He  comes  of  Puritan  stock.  Thomas  Mer- 
rick, the  first  of  the  family  to  come  to  America, 
settled  in  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  in  1630,  and 
afterwards  became  one  of  the  founders  of  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts.  The  family  name  originated 
in  Wales.  I\Ir.  ^Merrick  is  a  son  of  Ruel  Mer- 
rick and  Marcia  Fenton,  both  of  Erimfield,  ]\Ias- 
sachusetts,  and  was  the  youngest  of  seven  chil- 
dren. His  father  died  when  he  was  about  three 
years  old.  After  attending  the  district  school  un- 
til about  sixteen  years  of  age,  Mr.  Merrick  spent 
a  few  terms  at  the  Westfield  Academy  and  Wil- 
liston  Seminary,  where  he  completed  preparation 
for  college.  He  entered  Williams  College  in 
the  sophomore  year  and  graduated  in  1850.  From 
1850  to  1854  Mr.  Merrick  managed  the  farm  for 
his  mother,  studying  law  as  he  had  the  time.  In 
1855  he  entered  the  office  of  the  Hon.  George 
Ashmun,  of  Springfield,  then  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  New  England  bar,  and  remained  under 
Mr.  Ashmun's  tutelage  until  his  admission  to  the 
bar  in  1857.  For  ten  years  after  his  admission 
to  the  bar  Mr.  Merrick  was  actively  engaged  in 
practice  in  Springfield,  devoting  some  time  to 
politics,  and  being  for  a  long  time  a  member  of 
the  executive  committee  of  the  republican  state 


central  committee  of  JNIassachusetts.  While  in 
Springfield  he  was  for  some  time  president  of 
the  City  Council  and  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
County  Commissioners,  and  later  served  for 
some  time  as  City  Solicitor.  In  1867  Mr.  Mer- 
rick went  to  California  and  for  two  years  prac- 
ticed at  Los  Angeles.  After  a  winter  in  San 
Francisco  he  went  to  Seattle,  Washington,  and 
with  his  associates  opened  the  first  coal  mine  on 
Puget  Sound.  But  the  frontier  life  of  Washing- 
ton was  not  an  agreeable  one,  and  Air.  Merrick, 
in  1871,  moved  to  jMinneapolis.  In  the  spring 
of  1872  St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis  were  con- 
solidated, and  Mr.  Merrick  became  the  first  City  ■ 
Attorney.  He  held  that  office  for  three  consecu- 
tive terms.  He  was  one  of  the  originators  of 
the  present  municipal  court.  From  1873  to  1875 
Mr.  Merrick,  in  addition  to  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  City  Attorney,  was  engaged  with  the 
late  H.  G.  O.  Morrison,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Merrick  &  Morrison,  in  a  large  general  practice. 
In  1876  Mr.  ]\Ierrick,  owing  to  the  ill-health  of 
his  wife,  was  compelled  to  seek  a  different  cli- 
mate, and  went  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he 
resided  from  1876  to  1880.  On  leaving  St.  Louis 
to  return  to  Minneapolis,  he  was  the  recognized 
leader  of  the  bar  of  the  Criminal  Court  of  that 
city.  L'pon  his  return  to  Minneapolis  Mr.  Mer- 
rick immediately  entered  upon  a  large  practice 
which  he  has  actively  continued  since.  During 
his  long  term  at  the  bar  Mr.  Merrick's  practice 
has  covered  every  branch  of  the  law.  \Vhile  in 
Washington  Territory,  as  attorney  of  the  Indian 
department,  he  was  charged  with  the  care  of  the 
legal  relations  of  the  Indians  in  that  territory, 
and  in  an  action  brought  by  a  Chinaman  against 
an  Indian  for  services  rendered  him,  took  for  the 
first  time  the  position  that  an  Indian  sustaining 
full  tribunal  relations  was  not  capable  of  contract- 
ing or  being  contracted  w'ith.  The  case  excited 
great  interest  on  account  of  the  principles  in- 
volved. Mr.  Merrick  during  his  nearly  forty 
years'  practice  at  the  par  has  particiiiatcd  in  the 
trial  of  a  very  large  number  of  importruU  and 
interesting  civil  causes,  among  them  being  one 
involving  the  constitutionality  of  the  insolvent 
law  of  1 881  of  this  state,  which  was  carried 
through  the  state  courts  successfully  by  him  and 
on  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Ihiited 
States,   Mr.   IMerrick's  contention   was   sustained 


PKOC.RIiSSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


127 


and  the  act  declared  constitutional;  another  call- 
ing on  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  state  for  the 
first  time  to  determine  the  relative  rights  of  the 
Street  Railway  Coiupany  and  travelers  upon  the 
public  streets  after  the  company  had  e(|uipped  its 
lines  with  electrically-propelled  cars.  In  politics 
Mr.  Merrick  was  by  education  and  surroundings 
naturally  a  Whig,  casting  his  first  vote  for  Taylor 
and  Fillmore,  and  after  that  time  continuing  an 
active  worker  in  the  Whig  party  until  its  disso- 
lution as  a  national  i)arty,  after  which  Mr.  Mer- 
rick went  with  the  free  soil  wing  of  the  Whig 
party,  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the 
Republican  party  of  to-day,  in  the  formation  of 
which  he  was  an  active  particiiiant  and  member 
of  the  executive  conunittee  of  the  State  Central 
Connuittee  of  Massachusetts  for  eight  years,  and 
with  the  exception  of  the  support  which  he 
gave  to  Horace  Greelev  in  1872,  and  Sanuiel  J. 
Tilden  in  1876,  his  connection  with  the  Repub- 
lican party  has  remained  unbniken,  having  been 
a  desired  speaker  in  every  national  campaign 
until  the  campaign  of  1896,  when  he  was  com- 
pelled by  his  convictions  to  support  bimetallism. 
In  1858  Mr.  ^lerrick  was  married  to  Sarali  ?>. 
Warriner,  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  and  this 
union  resulted  eight  children ;  two  sons,  Louis 
A.  and  Harry  H.,  now  being  associated  with  3.1r. 
Merrick  in  the  active  practice  of  the  law. 


WILLIAM  A.  FLEMING. 

W.  A.  Fleming  is  a  lawyer  and  lives  at 
Brainerd,  Minnesota.  His  father,  Patrick  Flem- 
ing, was  a  prosperous  countr\-  merchant  all  his 
life.  He  came  from  Scotland  with  his  pareiUs  in 
7819.  When  a  young  man  he  settled  in  h'ranklin 
County,  New  York,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of 
si.xty-three.  He  married  Miss  Rachel  .Shaw, 
a  member  of  an  old  New  England  family. 
W.  A.  Fleming  was  born  December  28,  1848, 
at  Dickinson  Center,  Franklin  County,  New 
York.  His  boyhood  was  spent  at  home  attend- 
mg  the  village  school.  He  attended  Lawrence- 
ville  Academy  several  terms.  He  began  teaching 
when  only  seventeen,  and  taught  school  ten  vears, 
most  of  the  time  at  home.  By  economv  he  had 
saved,  when  he  became  of  age.  three  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  was  then  taken  into  partnership  bv  his 
father.  For  a  while  he  served  as  postmaster  at 
his  village,  being  appointed  to  this  po.sition  by 


President  tJrant.  But  having  no  taste  for  mer- 
cantile life,  he  determined  to  become  a  lawver, 
and  in  1878  he  graduated  from  the  Albany  Law 
School.  Seeing  better  opportunities  for  a  voung 
lawyer  in  the  west  than  existed  in  his  native  state, 
he  came  to  Minnesota  in  1882  and  established 
himself  at  Brainerd.  During  his  fourteen  years' 
residence  in  that  city  he  has  built  up  a  large 
practice  and  has  been  elected  to  a  number  of 
positions  of  trust.  His  early  experience  in 
school  teaching  was  recognized  by  his  choice  as 
Superintendent  of  Schools  of  Crow  Wing 
County.  This  position  he  held  five  years. 
He  was  numicipal  judge  of  Brainerd  four  years, 
and  later  was  city  attorney  and  county  attorney. 
In  1889  and  again  1893,  he  was  elected  to  the 
State  Legislature  from  Crow  Wing  County.  In 
the  legislature  he  took  an  active  part  in  further- 
ing the  best  measures  before  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. He  has  always  been  a  Republican 
and  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  principles  of  protect- 
tion,  sound  finance  and  reciprocity.  Mr.  Fleming 
is  a  member  of  the  order  of  Knights  of  Pythias 
and  of  the  Red  Men.  He  has  no  church 
connections,  though  he  is  believer  in  the 
essentials  of  the  Christian  religion.  In  188S 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Florence  O.  Fos- 
ter, a  daughter  of  Judge  George  B.  Foster,  of 
Peoria,  Illinois.  At  that  time  Mrs.  Fleming  was 
a  teacher  in  the  high  school  at  Brainerd.  Thev 
have  one  daughter  named  Geraldine. 


128 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HENRY  J.  GjERTSEX. 

Henry  J.  Gjertsen  is  a  native  of  Iruni- 
soe,  Norway.  His  father  was  born  in  L'.ergen, 
Norway,  and  comes  from  the  well-known  Gjert- 
sen family  of  that  cit\-.  At  an  early  age  he  re- 
moved to  the  northern  part  of  Norway,  Tronisoe 
County,  where  he  married  Albertina,  daughter 
of  the  Wulf  family,  and  engaged  in  agriculture 
and  shipping  until  about  twenty-eight  years  ago, 
when  he  brought  his  family  to  this  country  and 
settled  in  Hennepin  County.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born  October  8,  1861,  and  was 
six  years  of  age  when  his  parents  came  to  this 
country.  ]\lr.  Gjertsen's  early  education  was  ob- 
tained in  the  district  school  in  the  town  of  Rich- 
field, Hennepin  County,  Minnesota,  where  his 
father  was  engaged  in  farming.  He  grew  uji  nn 
the  farm  until  he  was  twenty  years  of  age,  work- 
ing on  the  farm  during  the  summer  season  ami 
attending  school  in  the  winter.  In  this  way  he 
prepared  for  the  Minneapolis  high  school  which 
he  also  attended  for  a  time.  .^ul)se<|uently  he 
took  a  six  years'  term  in  the  collegiate  de|>art- 
ment  of  the  Red  Wing  seminary,  a  theological 
institution.  His  parents  had  destined  him  for  the 
ministry,  but  after  completing  his  collegiate 
course  he  took-  up  the  studv  of  law  in  Minne- 
apolis, and  at  the  age  of  twenty-three   was  ad- 


mitted to  practice  by  the  district  court  of  Hen- 
nepin County.  While  yet  a  student  of  law  he 
became  interested  in  some  important  and  fiercely 
contested  litigation  which  finally  landed  in  the 
supreme  court  and  almost  before  he  was  regu- 
larly admitted  to  practice  he  was  recognized  as 
an  attorney  of  record  in  the  supreme  court  of 
Mimiesota.  He  has  also  been  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 
Mr.  Gjertsen  has  always  been  a  student  and 
speaks  fluently  the  Scandinavian  and  German 
languages.  While  very  successful  in  his  pro- 
fessional work  he  retains  a  love  for  agriculture 
and  prides  himself  on  being  a  practical  and  thor- 
ough farmer.  He  has  made  no  specialty  of  any 
particular  branch  of  law  but  has  been  engaged  in 
general  ]3ractice  and  enjoys  a  reputation  of  a  suc- 
cessful practitioner,  in  both  lower  and  higher 
courts.  During  the  last  two  years  he  has  been 
engaged  a  greater  part  of  the  time  in  prosecuting 
insolvency  cases  growing  out  of  the  failures  of  the 
local  banks.  Mr.  Gjertsen  is  a  Republican  and 
takes  an  active  interest  in  local  and  national 
politics.  He  has  ser\'ed  at  different  times  on 
county  and  congressional  committees,  and  takes 
an  active  part  in  the  work  of  the  Republican 
League :  w  as  a  delegate  to  the  last  national  con- 
vention of  the  Republican  League;  has  stumped 
the  state  in  every  direction  for  the  last  ten  years 
in  the  interest  of  the  Republican  ticket;  has  been 
a  delegate  to  several  state  conventions,  but  has 
never  held  any  political  office,  tie  is  recognized 
as  one  of  the  leading  Scandinavians  of  the  state, 
and.  his  name  has  been  frequentlv  mentioned 
for  judicial  honors.  He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F. 
and  A.  M.,  and  several  other  fraternal  societies, 
local  clubs  and  organizations.  He  has  taken  an 
active  interest  in  the  ]iromotion  of  everv  enter- 
prise inaugurated  for  the  henetit  of  the  city.  Tn 
his  church  connections  he  is  an  Episcopalian  and 
an  active  member  of  that  denomination.  .Mr. 
Gjertsen  was  married  January  4,  1883,  to  Gretchen 
Goebel,  daughter  of  a  prominent  German  family 
from  Hanau,  near  Frankfort-on-the-Main.  He 
has  one  daughter  living  and  is  thoroughly  de- 
voted to  his  family.  He  has  resided  in  Minne- 
apolis ever  since  he  was  married,  and  is  in  every 
way  loyally  identified  with  the  interests  of  the 
citv. 


PROr.RRSSIVE  MKN   OF   MINNESOTA. 


129 


EDWARD  MORRILL  JOHNSON. 

Edward  M.  Johnson  was  born  in  Fisherville, 
Merriniac  County,  New  Hampshire,  November 
24,  1850.  In  1854  his  parents  moved  to  St.  An- 
thony, now  a  part  of  JMinncapolis,  where  they 
have  since  continuously  resided.  His  father, 
Luther  G.  Johnson  is  well  known  to  pioneer  set- 
tlers of  this  section,  having  been  engaged  actively 
as  a  manufacturer  and  merchant  until  recent 
years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Kimball, 
Johnson  &  Co.,  and  of  L.  G.  Johnson  &  Co., 
two  of  the  earliest  mercantile  and  manufacturing 
concerns  of  the  city,  the  last  named  firm  having 
established  the  first  furniture  factory  in  Minneap- 
olis. Mr.  Johnson's  ancestors  upon  both  his 
father's  and  mother's  side  were  among  the  earli- 
est settlers  of  New  England.  Among  the  former 
were  a  number  of  prominent  founders  of  An- 
dover,  Massachusetts,  and  Concord,  New  Hamp- 
shire, as  well  as  members  of  the  Committee  of 
Safety  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  first 
attended  the  pioneer  school,  which  was  kept  in  a 
small  frame  building  in  St.  Anthony,  on  what  is 
now  University  avenue,  between  Second  and 
Third  avenue  S.  E.  a  building  well  remembered 
by  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  city.  Later  he 
entered  the  first  high  school  in  the  city,  which 
was  organized  at  St.  Anthony  about  1863.  The 
school  year  1866-67  was  spent  at  the  Pennsyl- 
vania ]\Iilitary  Academy,  at  Chester.  He  then 
attended  for  four  years  the  JNIinnesota  State  Uni- 
versity, which  had  been  reopened  in  1867,  but 
left  there  before  any  class  graduated,  and  was 
for  some  time  in  his  father's  employment.  In 
January,  1873,  Mr.  Johnson  went  to  Europe, 
where  he  remained  nearly  three  years.  While 
there  he  visited  nearly  all  of  Central  Europe,  but 
spent  the  most  of  his  time  at  the  universities  of 
Heidelberg  and  Berlin,  where  he  studied  law, 
including  Roman  and  international  law,  under 
Professors  Windschied,  Bluntschli,  Gneist  and 
Bruns.  He  also  attended  courses  of  lec- 
tures by  ]\Iommsen,  Curtius,  Grimm,  Treit- 
schke,  Wagner  and  other  celebrated  Ger- 
man professors.  At  the  end  of  the  year  1875 
Mr.  Johnson  returned  to  Minneapolis  and  early 
the  following  year  entered  the  law  offices  of 
Judge  J.  M.  Shaw  &  A.  L.  Levi ;  later  he  attended 
the  law  school  of  the  Iowa  State  University  at 
Iowa  City,  where  he  graduated  in   1877.      Soon 


afterward  he  opened  a  law  office  in  Minneapolis 
in  partnership  with  Mr.  E.  C.  Chatfield.  Later 
this  partnership  was  dissolved  and  for  four  years 
he  was  alone.  In  January,  1882,  Mr.  C.  B.  Leon- 
ard entered  into  partnership  with  Mr.  Johnson. 
This  firm,  with  the  addition  of  Mr.  Alexander 
McCune,  still  continues.  Mr.  Johnson  has  made 
a  specialty  of  the  law  of  corporations,  real  estate 
and  municipal  bonds.  He  has  been  the  attorney 
and  counsellor  of  the  Farmers  and  ^Mechanics" 
Savings  Bank  of  Minneapolis  since  1883.  For 
ten  years  he  was  clerk  and  attorney  for  the  Board 
of  Education.  In  1883  he  was  elected  to  the  city 
council  from  the  Second  ward,  and  served  in  that 
body  until  1890,  when  he  resigned,  being  at  that 
time  its  president.  It  is  generally  conceded,  that, 
during  Mr.  Johnson's  term  in  the  city  council, 
his  views  were  most  frequently  the  controlling 
ones  of  that  body.  His  career  during  that  time 
was  marked  with  the  same  steadfastness  and  fear- 
lessness that  has  constituted  him  a  leader  among 
men.  One  of  the  most  important  innovations  of 
recent  years  in  municipal  taxation  originated 
with  Mr.  Johnson,  and  by  his  unceasing  efTorts 
was  brought  to  a  successful  trial.  It  is  what  is 
known  as  the  Permanent  Improvement  Fund, 
by  means  of  which  a  city  is  enabled  to  improve 
and  beautfy  its  streets  while  the  tax  upon  prop- 
erty owners  for  payment  of  the  expense  is  divided 
into  five  equal  annual  assessments.      Since  the 


130 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


successful  operation  of  this  measure  in  Minneap- 
olis the  principle  has  been  incorporated  into  the 
laws  of  some  of  our  surrounding  states.  By  Mr. 
Johnson's  tact  the  system  of  street  railway  trans- 
fers was  brought  about.  That  Mr.  Lowry  real- 
ized this  fact  and  gave  him  the  credit  of  forcing 
the  measure  upon  his  company  is  manifest  in  a 
reminder  Mr.  Lowry  presented  Mr.  Johnson  in 
the  form  of  a  transfer  check  ])rinted  upon  satin 
and  handsomely  framed  in  mahogany.  A  few 
years  ago  a  suspension  bridge  stood  on  the  site 
of  the  present  Steel  Arch  IJridge.  The  roadway 
was  narrow  and  was  fast  becoming  inadequate 
to  the  demands  made  upon  it.  and  the  strain  of 
projected  electric  cars  would  have  provcil  more 
than  the  bridge  could  sustain.  W'hh  remarkable 
firnmess  Mr.  Johnson  undertook  to  replace  the 
suspension  bridge  with  one  of  steel.  The  cause 
he  so  championed  created  great  pulilic  opposition, 
but  he  fought  it  through  to  a  successful  termina- 
tion, and  to-tla\'  no  one  of  Mr.  Johnson's  efforts 
is  more  appreciated  by  the  public  than  that  of 
securing  the  fine  steel  arch  britlge  in  place  of  the 
old  suspension  one.  (.)ne  of  Mr.  Johnson's  most 
valuable  serv'ices  to  the  public  was  in  connection 
with  the  Minneapolis  Public  Library.  Through 
his  efiforts  the  plan  finally  adopted  siirang  into 
vital  action.  As  chairman  of  the  council  com- 
mittee which  had  that  matter  under  considera- 
tion, as  well  as  chairman  of  the  council  connnittee 
on  legislation,  he  drafted  the  Librar}-  Board 
charter  and  urged  it  through  the  legislature. 
Poole,  the  recognized  autliority  on  library  mat- 
ters, said  it  was  one  of  the  best  laws  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  libraries  he  had  ever  examined.  After 
securing  the  passage  of  the  library  act  he  was 
made  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Library  Board, 
and  has  been  and  is  now  one  of  its  most  efficient 
members.  As  a  director  of  the  Society  of  Fine 
Arts  Mr.  Johnson  has  given  it  enthusiastic  sup- 
port. In  1887  he  was  ap])ointcd  one  of  the  com- 
missioners having  in  charge  the  erection  of  the 
new  courthouse  and  city  hall,  and  was  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  its  vice-president,  chairman  of  its 
financial  connnittee,  a  member  of  its  building 
committee,  and  for  the  past  two  years  its  presi- 
dent. Tn  all  these  positions  of  responsibility  Mr. 
Johnson  has  given  his  time  and  labor  without 
one  thought  of  pecuniary  reward.  Through  his 
efforts  tlie  Xorthwestcm  Casket  Companv  and 
the   Minneapolis   Office  and    I^icliodl    i'nrnisliing 


Company  were  established;  and  of  both  concerns 
he  has  long  been  president.  In  politics  Mr. 
Johnson  has  always  been  a  Republican  and  act- 
ively interested  in  the  success  of  his  party.  In 
1892  he  was  chairman  of  the  city  committee,  and 
by  virtue  of  such  office  was  a  member  of  the  Re- 
publican Campaign  Connnittee  of  that  year.  In 
1894  he  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  County 
Committee,  which  made  him  chairman  of  the  Re- 
pul)lican  Campaign  Committee.  In  1896  he  was 
appointed  member  at  large  and  secretary  of  the 
State  Central  Committee.  In  1890  jMr.  Johnson 
married  Effie  S.  Richards,  daughter  of  Mr.  W.  O. 
Richards,  of  Waterloo,  Iowa.  He  has  a  pleasant 
home  on  Fourth  street  and  Tenth  avenue  SE., 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  where  his  parents 
located  in  1854,  and  still  reside. 


CLEMENT  S.  EDWARDS. 

The  early  history  of  Clement  Stanislaus 
Edwards  contains  a  mystery,  which  thus  far  he 
has  never  been  able  to  solve.  When  about 
fifteen  months  old  he  was  left  b\'  a  lady  who 
claimed  to  be  his  mother  with  a  family  consist- 
ing of  a  widow  and  three  children  in  Chatham, 
New  Brunswick,  Dominion  of  Canada.  The  lady 
who  left  him  there  stated  that  she  was  his 
mother:  that  this  family  had  been  recommended 
by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese;  that  she  wished 
good  care  taken  of  him  until  her  return,  and  that 
she  was  about  to  start  to  India  where  her  hus- 
band had  gone  as  an  officer  in  the  British  army. 
She  stated  that  her  child  was  Ijurn  March  4, 
1869.  She  never  returned  and  Mr.  Edwards  has 
never  been  able  to  secure  anv  further  informa- 
tion regarding  his  parents.  He  learned  to  look 
upon  the  humble  people  with  whom  he  had 
Iieen  left  as  his  kinsfolk,  and  this  delusion  on  his 
part  was  encouraged.  .\t  tla-  ciul  of  si.K  years- 
he  was  placed  at  a  private  school  for  three  years, 
and  later  at  a  da\-  school  conducted  by  the  Chris- 
tian Brothers.  The  first  year  Clement  won  a 
]5rize  proNJih'ng  for  a  year's  tuition  and  boarding, 
and  all  tlic  |iri\-ilcges  of  the  aca.lemy  on  .St. 
Michael's  .Mount.  lie  s])ent  tlie  next  year  in 
that  boarding  school,  where  lu'  made  such  i)rog- 
ress  tliat  he  was  allowed  to  remain  a  second  year. 
He  was  now  about  twelve  years  of  age,  and,  being 
of  an  adventurous  disposition,  he  \\ent    to    New 


PRnr.RRSSIVB  MEN  OF   MIN'XESOTA. 


i:!l 


York   City   whither   the   chilih-cii    nf   the    widow 
with  whom  he  hat!  grown  up,  had  preceded  liini. 
He  found  their  circumstances  such  that   it   was 
necessary   for  him   to   rely   up(jn    his    own    re- 
sources, and  about  tiiis  time  he  learned  also  of 
the  death  of  their  mother,  who  had  always  been 
the  personification  of  kindness  and  love  towards 
him.      This   sad  blow  took   from   him   his  only 
friend.      Alone  in  the  great  city,  without  money 
or  friends,  he  secured  employment  as  a  cash  boy 
in    a   large   dry   goods   store,   his    com])ensation 
being  two  dollars  a  week,  upon  which  he  was 
obliged  to  live.      After  a  slujrt   time   he   found 
employment  as  a  clerk  for  a  real  estate  broker 
with  the  more  liberal  compensation  of  three  dol- 
lars a  week,  and  correspondingly  greater  luxury 
in  his  mode  of  living.     He  remained    in     this 
position  for  about  a  year,  when  through  a  dis- 
agreement with  his  employer  he  left  his  service, 
and  finding   himself   without    food     or     shelter 
he  acted  upon  the  advice  given  on  a  street  sign, 
upon  which   he  read,   "Children's  Aid   Society," 
and  applied  for  assistance.    He  was  informed  that 
this  assistance  consisted    in    transportation     out 
West,  and  a  chance  to  find  a  home.      He,  along 
with  a  considerable  assignment  of  stranded  hu- 
manity, accepted  this  aid,  and  on  the  following 
day  started  with  an   officer  of    the    society   for 
Albert  Lea,   where   they  arrived   November    17, 
1881.      The   children   were   taken    to    the   court 
house  where  was  assembled  a  large  company  of 
farmers,  some  having  come  a  hundred  miles  to 
make  a  selection  of  a  son  or  a  daughter  among 
these  waifs.     Clement  was  selected  by     a     man 
from  Caledonia,  but  he  was  weary  of  travel  and 
preferred  rather  to  remain  with  G.  O.  Slocum,  of 
Albert  Lea,  who  proposed  to  take  him  into  his 
home  to  work  for  his  board  and  schooling.     Afr. 
Slocum's  house  was  his  home  for  a  number  of 
years,  where  he  was   encouragetl   in   his   studies 
and  permitted  to  make  the  most  of  every  op])or- 
tunity.    He  was  an  apt  scholar,  and  after  passing 
through  the  various  grades,  including  one  year's 
attendance  at  the  high  school,  he  secured    em- 
ployment in  the  office  of  the  Freeborn    County 
Standard,  where  he  learned  the  art  of  printing. 
Later  he  served  an  apprenticeship  in  ^linneapolis 
on  the  Daily  ]\Iarket  Record,  being  employed 
by  Col.  Rogers,  the  publisher  of  that  paper,  for 
about  three  years.     Clement  had  practiced  care- 


^^^^^ 

fi4fl|H^^^^^H 

^^E/ 

»^^^^H 

■f^ 

^1 

I^H 

Jt  ,J 

ful  economy  with  a  view  to  taking  a  college 
course,  and  in  1888  entered  Parker  College,  at 
^^'innebago  City,  where  he  remained  two  years, 
preparing  for  the  ministry.  While  there  he  regu- 
larly filled  the  piripit  in  the  Free  Will  Baptist 
church  at  Janesville.  Li  1890  he  entered  Hills- 
dale College,  Michigan,  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
tinuing his  preparation  for  the  ministrj^  but,  hav- 
ing in  the  meantime  concluded  to  adopt  the  legal 
profession,  and  an  opportunity  presenting  itself 
to  take  up  his  legal  studies,  he  returned  to  Albert 
Lea  and  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of 
Lovely  &  Morgan,  in  Januan,-,  1891.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  April  3,  1894,  and  at  once 
entered  into  partnership  with  Hon.  John  A. 
Lovely.  In  the  spring  of  1895  ^^  ^^'^s  elected 
city  attorney  of  Albert  Lea,  which  position  he 
now  holds.  A  few  months  later  the  partnership 
of  Lovely  &  Edwards  was  dissolved  by  mutual 
consent.  Mr.  Edwards  is  an  active  and  loyal  Re- 
publican, was  a  member  of  the  Phi  Delta  Theta 
fraternity  in  college;  also  occupied  the  chair  of 
Chancellor  Commander,  and  is  at  present  District 
Deputy  Grand  Chancellor  of  the  Knights  of 
P\i:hias.  He  is  first  lieutenant  of  Companv  I, 
National  Guards,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Albert 
Lea  Presbyterian  church.  He  was  married  Sep- 
tember 12.  1804,  t'^  Harriet,  daughter  of  Victor 
Gillrup,  may.ir  fif  Albert  Lea. 


132 


PKOGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


.^«S!!> 


WILLIAM  J.  BURNETT. 

\\'illiam  J.  Burnett,  manager  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  Northwestern  Hide  and  Fur  Com- 
pany, of  Minneapolis,  was  born  at  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1843,  the  son  of  Virgil  Justice 
Burnett  and  Harriet  .S.  Burnett.  His  ancestry 
on  both  sides  of  the  family  were  Scotch-English 
people,  his  father's  family  presumed  to  have  been 
of  the  .same  as  that  of  Bishop  Burnett.  In  1837 
they  were  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  in 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  when  their  business  was 
ruined  by  the  great  panic  which  wrecked  so  many 
fortunes.  Unable  to  realize  upon  their  accounts 
they  turned  over  all  their  goods  to  their  creditors 
and  started  for  the  far  West.  It  was  while  they 
were  en  route  that  William  J.  was  born  at  Pitts- 
burg, then  a  small  but  thrifty  city.  Here  the 
Burnett  family  halted  for  a  time  and  the  father, 
who  was  a  carriage  blacksmith  by  trade,  engaged 
in  his  handicraft  in  order  to  earn  money  to  pur- 
sue the  Western  journey  to  Terre  Haute,  Indiana. 
They  went  by  boat  from  Pittsburg  In  \inccnncs 
and  by  canal  to  Terre  Haute.  Wlien  tlu-y  ar- 
rived there  the  father  had  just  fifty  cents  left, 
but  having  friends,  and,  more  important,  having 
industr\'  and  skill  he  was  .soon  in  comfortable  cir- 
cumstances. He  was  a  man  of  studious  tastes, 
and,  like  Elihu  Burritt.  1)ccamc  known  as  the 
"learned  blacksmith."  He  was  elected  to  the  legis- 


lature in  1856,  and  was  one  of  the  prime  movers 
in  the  passage  of  the  famous  Indiana  liquor  law. 
He  died  in  1859,  honored  by  all  who  knew  him 
and  survived  by  his  wife,  six  boys  and  two  girls. 
The  mother  is  still  living  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-eight,  and  is  in  the  enjoyment  of  re- 
markable health  and  vigor.  On  November  22, 
iSrjo,  William  J.  Burnett  commenced  business  in 
Minneapolis  under  the  name  of  the  Northwestern 
Hide  and  Fur  Company  31417  Main  street  South- 
east. In  the  fall  of  1895  he  purchased  the 
property  at  409  Main  Street  Southeast,  where 
he  provided  himself  with  all  modem  conveniences 
for  the  transaction  of  his  business.  His  great 
success  is  largely  due  to  his  progressive  methods 
and  to  a  number  of  valuable  devices  of  his  own 
invention  pertaining  to  the  hide  and  fur  trade, 
which  have  proved  a  source  of  profit  to  him. 
Mr.  Burnett  has  displayed  unusual  enterprise  in 
the  conduct  of  his  business,  one  exhibition  of  it 
being  the  employment  of  two  men,  hired  within 
the  past  year,  to  explore  on  foot  from  the  Deer 
River  to  Rainy  River,  through  the  great  forests 
of  that  wild  region,  the  chief  purpose  of  this 
venture  being  to  find  what  its  resources  are  for 
agriculture,  hunting,  fishing  and  trapping.  This 
information  he  has  given  to  the  public  in 
various  contributions  to  the  nev.'spapers.  This 
section  of  the  country,  he  believes,  needs 
only  transportation  facilities  to  attract  immigra- 
tion, and  which  he  thinks  will  soon  add  greatly 
to  the  wealth  of  the  state  and  the  growth  of  the 
Twin  Cities.  He  has  been  strongly  impressed 
with  the  fact  that  such  a  vast  area  of  rich  coun- 
try, almost  one-third  of  this  great  state,  should  not 
still  lie  idle  right  at  the  doors,  as  it  were,  of  the 
great  cities  of  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul  and  Duluth. 
He  thinks  that  all  that  is  needed  is  railroad  facili- 
ties to  create  an  interest  in  that  section  equal 
to  that  of  the  Dakotas  in  1880,  although  the 
region  he  regards  as  superior  in  resources,  as 
its  numerous  lakes  and  .streams  are  abundantly 
stocked  with  the  choicest  fish,  and  the  forests  are 
the  home  <jf  the  finest  of  game  and  fur-bearing 
animals,  while  in  the  summer  it  is  the  home  of 
millions  of  waterfowl.  Mr.  Burnett  was  married 
to  Miss  Alida  .Suits,  of  Huron,  .'^outh  Dakota, 
in  June,  1888.  They  have  one  daughter,  Harriet 
Alida,  age  six.  Thcv  reside  in  Sci'.itheast  IMinne- 
apolis  and  are  members  of  the  .\ndrew  Prcsliy- 
terian  church. 


PKOORESSIVE  MEN  OE   MINNESOTA. 


133 


FRANK  A.  MARON. 

Frank  A.  Maron  is  the  propricttjr  and 
princij)al  of  the  Globe  Business  College  in  St. 
I'aul.  Mr.  .\iaron  is  a  German  l)y  birth  and 
was  born  in  Koschmieder,  Prussia,  March  25, 
1863.  His  father  was  the  village  grocer  and  a 
man  of  influence  in  the  connnunity,  having 
served  in  the  capacity  of  alderman,  connnissioner 
of  schools,  and  in  other  places  of  trust.  His  wife, 
Sophia  Krawietz  (Maron)  was  the  daughter  of  a 
wealthy  miller.  Frank  Maron  began  his  school 
life  when  but  si.x  years  of  age.  He  first  displayed 
a  strange  repugnance  to  study,  but  within  a  short 
time  began  to  love  his  books,  and  at  the  age  of 
thirteen  was  sufficiently  advanced  to  assist  his 
teachers  in  instructing  a  class  which  contained 
nearly  one  hundred  pupils.  Soon  after  he  reached 
the  age  of  fourteen  he  graduated  with  high 
honors.  He  at  once  entered  his  father's  store  as 
clerk,  and  his  father's  health  failing  within  a  year 
and  the  family  store  being  sold,  it  was  necessary 
for  Frank  to  seek  other  employment.  Young 
Maron  was  not  afraid  of  work,  and  his  first  en- 
gagement was  as  a  helper  to  a  blacksmith.  But 
the  lime  came  when  he  reached  the  age  at  which 
under  the  German  law  he  was  required  to  enlist 
for  military  duty,  to  escape  which  he  fled  with  a 
friend,  February  11,  18S2,  to  America.  The  two 
boys  arrived  in  St.  Paul,  March  2,  with  tickets  to 
Delano,  Minnesota,  and  with  anything  but  a 
clear  idea  where  they  were  going.  While  Frank 
was  passing  the  night  in  the  railroad  depot  at 
St.  Paul,  a  negro  entered  the  room.  This  was 
the  first  colored  person  he  had  ever  seen  and  the 
sight  alarmed  him  not  a  little.  Arriving  at  Delano 
young  Maron  obtained  employment  from  the 
agent  of  the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  &  Manitoba 
Railroad,  and  remained  for  several  weeks  in  that 
service,  receiving  at  first  onlv  $1.25  a  dav.  Later 
he  secured  a  position  as  blacksmith,  and  shortly 
afterwards  joined  his  friend  on  the  Minneapolis  & 
St.  Louis  Railroad,  and  was  employed  for  con- 
siderable time  in  the  shops  of  that  company. 
Having  been  advised  to  study  telegraphy,  he  gave 
up  his  position  with  the  railroad  companv  and 
devoted  his  time  to  its  study  in  June,  1884,  at 
the  school  of  O.  M.  Stone,  in  St.  Paul.  He  sup- 
ported himself  by  carrying  newspapers  and  doing 
other  odd  jobs,  slept  in  a  garret  and  battled  with 
adversity  in  almost  every  form  in  which  it  could 
be  encountered  bv  a  voung  and  friendless  man. 


When  he  was  graduated  and  about  to  seek  a 
position  as  an  operator  he  was  asked  to  purchase 
a  half  interest  in  the  school.  This  he  did,  and 
in  May,  1885,  secured  full  ownership  by  trans- 
ferring to  Mr.  Stone  some  property  in  Minne- 
apolis which  he  had  bought  with  his  earnings. 
Thus  three  years  after  his  arrival  in  this  country 
he  fountl  himself  at  the  head  of  a  'commercial 
school.  Times  were  prosperous  and  the  demand 
for  typewriters  and  stenographers  was  active.  Mr. 
Maron  prepared  himself  to  instruct  pupils  in 
these  lines,  and  also  continued  his  operations  in 
real  estate  with  considerable  success.  He  also 
mastered  bookkeeping  and  had  a  department  of 
that  kind  in  1888.  Mr.  Alaron's  school  is  now 
located  in  the  Endicott  building  in  St.  Paul, 
where  all  the  <le])artnients  of  a  business  college 
are  conducted,  including  also  instruction  in  En- 
glish and  German.  The  graduates  of  this  school 
include  hundreds  of  young  men  an<l  wi>men  who 
liave  gone  out  into  active  business  life.  Mr. 
Maron  is  a  menilier  of  the  St.  Paul  Chamber  of 
Connnerce,  of  the  .St.  Paul  Commercial  Club,  of 
St.  Clement's  Society,  and  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  He  is  assistant  recorder 
of  the  German  Life  Insurance  Company,  and 
treasurer  of  St.  Paul  Council,  No.  2,  Ancient 
Order  of  Aztecs.  He  was  married  April  25,  1882, 
to  Miss  Emma  M.  Persons,  who  died  March  13, 
1804.    They  have  no  children. 


134 


PROGRESSIVE  MEX  OF  MINNESOTA. 


H 


CASS  GlLi'.ERT. 

Cass  Gilbert,  an  architect  of  St.  Paul,  was 
the  son  of  Samuel  Augustus  Gilbert,  soldier  and 
topographical  engineer,  and  for  many  }'ears  a 
distinguished  officer  of  the  United  States  Coast 
Survey,  and  who  was  awarded  a  medal  by  congress 
for  distinguished  bravery  in  rescuing  shipwrecked 
sailors  on  the  coast  of  Texas.  At  the  opening 
of  the  Civil  War  he  was  commissioned  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Ohio,  was  later 
transferred  and  promoted  to  colonel  of  the 
Forty-fourth  Ohio,  and  received  a  special  letter 
of  thanks  from  the  president  for  gallant  and 
brilliant  conduct  in  the  march  on  Cumberland 
Gap  whereby  3,000  Confederates  were  captured. 
By  dispersing  a  rebel  convention  at  Frankfort, 
Kentucky,  Februarj'  18,  1863,  he  broke  up  a  con- 
spiracy to  pass  an  act  of  secession  and  by  so  do- 
ing he  saved  the  state  to  the  I'liion.  In  .March, 
1865,  he  received  the  rank  of  l)rcvet  lirigadicr 
general.  After  executing  a  commission  to  South 
America  for  the  govcrnnu'iit  lie  resumed  his 
service  on  the  coast  survey,  continuing  it  until  iiis 
death,  which  occurred  in  St.  I'aul,  June  <).  iHGH. 
His  wife,  Elizaljeth  Indton  Wheeler  (Gilbert),  a 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Wheeler,  of  Zancsvillc, 
Ohio,  is  a  woman  of  great  strength  of  character 
and  courage,  wliich  was  e-\iiiliilcd  during  tiie  war 


when  she  made  a  perilous  ride  through  the  moun- 
tains to  meet  her  husband,  who  was  reported  dan- 
gerousl}-  wounded.  Gen.  Gilbert  was  descended 
from  Hon.  Samuel  Gilbert,  of  Gilead,  Connecti- 
cut, an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  Army,  whose 
father  was  also  an  officer  of  the  Colonial  troops. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  at  Zanesville, 
Ohio,  November  24,  1859.  He  attended  the 
country  schools  near  Zanesville,  but  at  the  age  of 
eight  years  removed  with  his  parents  to  St.  Paul, 
where  his  education  in  the  public  schools  was 
continued.  Later  he  attended  JMacalester  College 
at  the  old  \\'inslow  house  in  JNIinneapolis,  vmder 
the  direction  of  Dr.  E.  D.  Neill.  In  September, 
1876.  he  entered  the  office  of  A.  M.  Radclifife,  an 
architect  in  .St.  Paul,  where  he  remained  for  eight- 
een months  as  a  student.  He  then  joined  a  sur- 
\-eying  party  locating  the  Hudson  &  River  Falls 
Railroad  line,  in  \Msconsin.  In  the  fall  of  1878 
he  began  the  special  course  in  architecture  at  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology-,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1879  received  one  of  the  two  prizes 
given  by  the  Boston  Chapter  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Architects.  He  served  on  the  United 
States  Coast  Survey  under  Prof.  Henry  L.  Whit- 
ing, in  the  topographical  survey  of  the  Hudson 
River  from  Peekskill  to  Newburg,  and  in  1880 
went  to  Europe  to  pursue  the  study  of  architec- 
ture. He  returned  to  New  York  after  a  year  and 
entered  the  office  of  the  eminent  architects, 
^Messrs.  ]McKim,  Mead  &  White.  In  1881  he  was 
sent  by  them  to  take  charge  of  their  branch  of- 
fice in  Baltimore,  resigning  that  position  in  De- 
cember, 1882,  to  come  to  St.  Paul.  The  following 
January  he  opened  an  office  in  St.  Paul  and  has 
remained  there  in  business  ever  since.  It  was 
while  in  New  York  in  1881  that  Mr.  Gilbert  sug- 
gested the  founding  oi  the  Architectural  League. 
In  January  1886,  Mr.  Gilbert  formed  a  partner- 
ship witli  James  Knox  Taylor,  whicli  \\as  dis- 
solved in  June,  t8i)I.  The  firm  of  Cjilbert  & 
Taylor  were  consulting  architects  and  superin- 
tendents of  the  construction  of  the  New  York- 
Life  building  and  designed  and  superintended  the 
construction  of  the  I'jidicott  building  in  St.  Paul. 
Afr.  Gilbert  -.wis  the  architect  of  the  Dayton  Ave- 
nue Presbyterian  Church,  the  Bethlehem  Presby- 
terian Church,  and  other  clnu'chcs  in  the  city, 
also  a  number  of  mercantile  buildings  and  resi- 


rRooKEssivi-;  mf,n  of  minnusota. 


135 


dences,    and    among    otlier    structures    the 


IJil 


Theological  Seminary.  In  i8iji  lie  was  ap- 
pointed superintendent  of  construction  of  the 
new  government  Iniilding  in  St.  rani,  ancl 
held  that  position  until  June,  1893.  Un  the 
31st  of  October,  1895,  Mr.  Gilbert  was  de- 
clared the  successful  competitor  among  a  large 
number  of  architects  for  designing  the  new 
Capitol  building  of  the  state  of  Minnesota,  and 
was  appointed  the  architect  in  charge.  Mr.  Gilbert 
was  elected  a  director  of  the  American  Insti- 
tute of  Architects  in  October,  1893,  at  the  annual 
convention  in  Chicago.  In  l-'ebruary,  1893,  he 
was  appointed  a  member  of  the  National  Jury  of 
Selection  for  architecture  at  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition.  In  the  fall  of  1893  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  Minnesota  Chapter  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Architects,  and  in  the  same 
year  was  a  member  of  the  jury  of  award  for  the 
Rotch  Traveling  Scholarship  in  Boston.  Mr.  Gil  - 
bert  was  married  November  29,  1888,  at  Milwau- 
kee, Wisconsin,  to  Julia  Tappen  Finch,  daughter 
of  Henry  Martin  Finch,  of  that  city.  They  have 
four  children,  Emily  Finch,  Elizabeth  Wheeler, 
Julia  Swift  and  Cass,  Tr. 


WILLIS   EDWARD   DODGE. 

Willis  Edward  Dodge  is  of  English  de- 
scent, his  ancestors  having  come  over  to  this 
country  from  England  in  1670.  Three  brothers 
came  together,  and  their  descendants  took  an  act- 
ive part  in  the  Revolution,  in  which  thev  were 
known  as  "the  Manchester  men."  .'\ndrew  Jack- 
son Dodge,  grandfather  of  Willis  Edward,  settleil 
in  Montpelier,  \  ermont,  in  1812.  The  su!)ject  oi 
this  sketch  was  born  at  Lowell,  \'ermont.  May  11, 
1857,  the  son  of  William  liaxter  Dodge  and 
Harriett  Baldwin  (Dodge).  William  B.  Dodge 
was  a  farmer  in  ordinary  circumstances.  Willis 
Edward  began  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  \'ermont,  and  continued  it  in  .St. 
Johnsbury  Academy,  where  he  took  the  classical 
course  preparatory  for  Dartmouth  College.  He 
did  not,  however,  take  a  college  course,  but  began 
the  study  of  law  with  Hon.  W.  W.  Grout,  a  mem- 
ber of  congress  from  the  Second  Vermont  dis- 
trict, and  also  read  law  with  Hon.  F.  W.  Baldwin, 
of  Barton,  Vermont,  in  1879  and  1880.  He  was 
admitted  tn  the  Orleans  Coimtv,  \'ermont.  bar  in 


September,  1880.  In  October  of  that  year  he 
came  West  in  search  of  better  opportunities  for 
a  young  man  of  his  ambitions  and  capacity,  and 
settled  at  Fargo,  North  Dakota.  Subsequently 
he  removed  to  Jamestown,  North  Dakota,  where 
he  was  appointed  attorney  for  the  Northern  Pa- 
cific Railroad,  and  held  that  office  until  July,  1887. 
He  was  then  appcjinted  attorney  for  the  St.  Paul, 
Minneapolis  &  Manitolja  Railway  Company  for 
Dakota,  and  returned  to  kargo,  where  he  lived 
until  August,  1892.  At  that  time  he  removed  to 
Minneapolis,  where  he  continued  to  act  as  attor- 
ney for  the  Great  Northern  Railway  Companv, 
formerly  the  St.  Paul,  Alinneapolis  &  .Manitoba 
Railway  Company.  He  is  also  at  the  present 
time  attorney  for  the  Minneapolis  Trust  Com- 
pany, and  other  corporations.  He  has  made  a 
specialty  of  corporation  law,  and  has  obtained 
distinction  in  that  department  of  legal  practice. 
Mr.  Dodge  has  always  been  a  Republican,  and 
while  a  resident  of  Dakota  was  made  a  member  of 
the  state  senate  in  1886  and  1887.  During  his 
residence  in  Jamestown  he  served  that  city  as  its 
corporation  counsel  for  eight  years.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross  and  the 
Minneapolis  Club.  He  claims  no  church  mem- 
bership. On  March  27.  1882.  he  married  Hattie 
M.  Crist  of  \'inton,  Iowa.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren. Dora  Mae,  age  twelve,  and  William  E.,  age 
ten. 


r.\c, 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JOHN  BACHOP  GILFILLAN. 

John  Bachop  Gilfillan  is  a  lawyer  in  Minne- 
apolis. His  grand  parents  on  his  father's  side 
emigrated  from  Balfron,  Sterling,  Scotland,  in 
1794,  and  of  his  mother  from  Glasgow  in  1795, 
and  settled  in  Caledonia  County,  Vermont.  As 
the  name  indicates  the  neighborhood  was  popu- 
lated by  emigrants  from  Scotland,  and  here  in 
the  town  of  Barnet  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  born  February  11,  1835.  His  father,  Robert 
Gilfillan,  was  a  farmer,  and  the  early  years  of  his 
boyhood  were  spent  on  the  farm,  with  attendance 
at  the  district  school  in  the  winter.  When  he  was 
twelve  years  old  his  parents  moved  to  the  town 
of  Peacham,  and  he  prepared  himself  for  Dart- 
mouth College  at  the  Caledonia  Academy,  located 
in  that  town.  In  order  to  contribute  to  his  own 
support  he  began  teaching  in  the  district  schools 
at  the  age  of  seventeen.  His  brother-in-law.  Cap- 
tain John  Martin,  had  settled  in  St.  Anthony, 
Minnesota,  and  Mr.  Gilfillan  came  to  visit  him 
in  October,  1855,  hoping  to  obtain  a  position  as 
teacher,  but  expecting  to  return  later  and  enter 
college.  The  position  as  teacher  was  obtained, 
and  the  attractions  of  the  West  proved  to  be  so 
strong  that  he  never  returned  to  college.  He 
began  the  study  of  law  with  Xourse  &  Winthri)]:), 
afterwards  with  Lawrence  &  Lochrcn.  and  in 
i860  was  admitted  to  the  bar.    He  formed  a  part- 


nership with  J.  R.  Lawrence,  which  continued 
until  his  partner  entered  the  army.  ^Ir.  Gilfillan 
then  practiced  law  alone  until  1871,  when  the 
firm  of  Lochren,  McNair  &  Gilfillan  was  formed. 
Judge  Lochren  was  subsequently  appointed  to 
the  district  bench,  and  Islr.  jNIcXair  died  in  1885. 
In  1885,  tlie  present  firm  of  Gilfillan,  Belden  & 
\Villiard  was  formed.  Mr.  Gilfillan,  and  the  firms 
with  which  he  has  been  connected  have  enjoyed 
a  large  share  of  the  most  lucrative  and  important 
law  practice  in  the  state.  Among  the  important 
cases  in  which  he  was  engaged  were  the  contested 
will  cases  of  Stephen  Emerson,  Ovid  Pinney  and 
Governor  C.  C.  Washburn.  He  has  also  been 
engaged  as  an  attorney  of  the  Chicago,  Milwau- 
kee &  St.  Paul  Railroad ;  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  ^lin- 
neapolis  &  Omaha  Railroad,  and  the  Minneapolis 
Eastern  Railroad.  Mr.  Gilfillan  has  always  taken 
an  active  interest  in  educational  matters.  As 
early  as  1859  he  helped  to  organize  the  Mechanics' 
Institute  for  Literary  Culture,  in  St.  Anthony. 
He  drew  up  the  bill  for  the  organization  of  the 
St.  Anthony  school  board,  under  which  the  sys- 
tem of  graded  schools  was  introduced,  and  served 
as  a  director  for  nearly  ten  years.  In  1880  he 
was  appointed  regent  of  the  state  university,  and 
served  in  that  position  for  eight  years.  'Sir.  Gil- 
fillan has  always  been  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  has  held  several  offices,  beginning  with  that 
of  city  attorne>'  of  St.  Anthony  soon  after  his 
admission  to  the  bar.  He  was  elected  county 
attorney  of  Hennepin  County  in  1863,  and 
served  until  1867;  again  from  1869  to  1871,  and 
from  1873  to  1875.  In  1875  he  was  elected  to 
the  upper  house  of  the  state  legislature,  and 
served  in  that  capacity  for  ten  consecutive  years. 
In  the  earlier  years  of  his  ser\-ice  in  the  senate 
he  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  taxes  and 
tax  laws,  and  raised  these  laws  into  a  code  which 
constitute  the  chief  body  of  the  revenue  system 
of  the  state.  Perhaps  the  most  imj^ortant  piece 
of  legislation  in  which  he  performed  a  leading 
part  was  that  providing  for  the  adjustment  of  the 
state  railroad  bonds.  lie  in  fact  dictated  the 
terms  of  the  compromise  bill  which  became  the 
law  upon  which  the  adjustment  was  made. 
In  1884  ]\rr.  Gilfillan  was  elected  to  con- 
gress from  the  district  then  including  both 
Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul.  M  the  expiration 
of    his    term    of    office    Mr.    Gilfillan    took    his 


r'ROGRRSSlVR  MKN  OF  MINXESOTA. 


137 


family  to  Europe  and  having''  ])lacc'cl  his  chil- 
droii  in  school  in  Dresden,  spent  nearly  two 
years  and  a  half  in  travel,  visitinj^  every  country 
of  Europe  except  i'ortuj;al,  and  extending  his 
travels  into  Egypt  and  the  Holy  Land.  He  then 
returned  to  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Min- 
neapolis, in  which  he  is  now  actively  engaged. 
He  is  a  member  and  an  officer  of  Westminster 
Presbyterian  Church.  Mr.  Gilfillan  was  married 
in  1870  to  Miss  Rebecca  C.  Oliphant,  of  Eay- 
ette  County,  Pennsylvania.  He  has  four  children 
living.  The  mother  died  March  25,  1884.  In 
June,  1893,  Mr.  Gilfillan  was  married  to  Miss 
Lavinia  Coppock,  of  New  Lisbon,  Ohio,  but  more 
recently  of  W^ashington,  D.  C. 


DANIEL  SINCLAIR. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  been  engaged 
in  journalism  in  Minnesota  since  1856,  and  dur- 
ing all  that  time  has  been  the  editor  of  the  same 
paper,  the  Winona  Republican.  Daniel  Sin- 
clair is  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  was  born  at 
Thurso,  Carthnessshire,  January  2,  1833.  His 
father,  George  Sinclair,  was  a  merchant  and  a 
revenue  officer  under  the  British  government. 
He  died  when  Daniel  was  but  five  years  old. 
The  family  line  is  traced  directly  to  the  brothers 
St.  Clair,  who  went  over  to  England  from  Nor- 
mandy with  William  the  Conquerer.  From 
them  was  descended  General  Arthur  St.  Clair,  a 
famous  soldier  of  the  American  Revolutionary 
War.  Daniel's  education  was  limited  to  the 
common  and  grammar  schools  of  his  native 
town  in  Scotland,  and  to  a  few  months  in  a  com- 
mon school  in  Crawford  County,  Pennsylvania, 
after  he  came  to  this  country,  at  the  close  of 
wliich  term  he  was  elected  teacher  of  the  school 
for  six  months.  Mr.  Sinclair  came  to  America 
in  1849  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  He  located  at 
Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  learned  the 
printer's  trade,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  was  made 
editor  of  the  Courier  at  Conneautville,  Pennsyl- 
vania, which  paper  he  conducted  for  about  fif- 
teen months.  He  then  resigned  his  position 
there  and  started  for  the  West  to  find  a  more 
promising  opening.  He  arrived  in  Minnesota 
June  I,  1856,  and  took  up  his  residence  at  Wi- 
nona. Shortly  after  settling  there  he  purchased 
a  half  interest  in  the  Republican,  then  a  weekly 
paper,  and   has  been   its   editor  ever  since   that 


time.  Mr.  Sinclair  has  been  affiliated  with  the 
Republican  party  ever  since  its  organization,  and 
through  his  paper  has  been  an  active  promoter 
of  the  interests  of  that  party.  He  was  appointed 
jjostmaster  of  Winona  by  President  Grant  in 
1869,  and  held  the  office  continuously  for  over 
sixteen  years.  He  was  reappointed  by  President 
Harrison  in  1889,  and  held  office  for  four  years 
and  two  months,  thus  holding  the  office  for 
twenty  years  and  four  months  altogether.  He 
was  chairman  of  the  Alinnesota  delegation  to  the 
national  convention  at  Chicago  in  1880  and  sup- 
ported \\^indom  until  his  name  was  withdrawn, 
and  then  changed  his  vote  to  General  Grant. 
Mr.  Sinclair  has  never  been  an  aspirant  for  po- . 
litical  honors,  and  has  regarded  his  position  on 
his  paper  as  a  superior  political  office,  so  to 
speak,  than  any  which  the  state  could  ofifer  him. 
He  is  a  member  of  no  society  organizations,  ex- 
cept a  social  club,  the  Arlington,  of  Winona. 
He  is  an  active  member  of  the  W  inona  Board  of 
Trade,  and  an  active  promoter  of  the  interests 
of  that  city.  He  is  not  connected  bv  member- 
ship with  any  church,  but  is  an  attendant  of  the 
Congregational.  He  was  married  August  26, 
1855,  to  Miss  Melis.sa  J.  Briggs.  They  have 
three  children  living — Mrs.  \\'illiam  E.  Smith, 
and  ]\Iisses  Jessie  and  Fanny  Sinclair.  Mr.  Sin- 
clair publishes  a  paper  of  large  influence  in  its 
field  and  its  editorial  columns  are  conducted 
with  recosfnized  abilitv. 


138 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WESLEY  .M.  LAW'REX'CE. 

yiv.  Lawrence  was  born  July  8,  1840,  in 
Eaton,  Conipton  County,  Quebec.  His  father's 
name  was  Robert,  and  his  mother's  maiden 
name,  Jemima  Ashmund.  They  came  from 
England  about  the  year  1830,  and  began  farm  life 
in  the  forests  a  few  miles  north  of  the  boundary 
line  of  Vermont.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
began  his  education  at  a  school  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  his  father's  home,  which  he  attended 
more  or  less  until  about  ten  years  old,  when  his 
ser\'ices  were  in  such  demand  on  the  farm  that  he 
received  ver\'  little  further  education  until  he 
was  eighteen  years  of  age.  During  this  time, 
however,  he  read  such  books  and  papers  as  he 
could  procure  and  pursued  his  studies  with  little 
or  no  assistance.  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  dis- 
satisfied with  farm  life,  he  obtained  his  parents' 
permission  to  leave  home  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  an  education.  In  November,  1858,  he 
started  for  Massaclnisettts,  and  after  tramping  for 
a  week  through  thctownsof  Bridgewater,  Stough- 
ton  and  Randol])h,  he  secured  a  place  in  East 
Randolph,  now  Holbrook,  where  he  was  per- 
mitted to  board  in  consideration  of  such  services 
as  he  could  render,  and  entered  the  academy  in 
that  town.  Here  he  continued  his  studies  fur 
six  years,  and  graduated  in  1865.  During  a  sea- 
son  of  special   religious   interest,   he,   with    forty 


other  students,  made  a  profession  of  religion. 
When  he  had  concluded  his  course  at  the  acad- 
emy his  health  was  much  impaired  and,  abandon- 
ing his  long-cherished  plan  of  going  to  college,  he 
decided  to  go  West,  and  in  August,  1866,  arrived 
at  Red  Wing.  This  was  really  his  wedding  trip, 
as  shortly  prior  to  this  he  was  married  to  Aliss 
Elvira  N.  Potter,  a  cousin  of  Hon.  Luke  Potter 
Poland,  for  twenty  years  United  States  senator 
from  \'ermont.  His  health  improved  in  Minne- 
sota, and  in  the  winter  of  1867  he  began  the 
profession  of  a  school  teacher,  in  the  country 
near  Red  Wing.  During  the  following  ten 
years  he  was  engaged  as  superintendent  of  the 
public  schools  at  Cannon  Falls,  Dundas  and 
C)watonna.  ^^'hile  engaged  in  school  work  at 
Dundas,  he  prepared  and  published  a  number 
of  county  and  township  maps.  Feeling  the  need 
of  a  more  remunerative  occupation,  he  removed, 
in  1877,  to  ^Minneapolis,  and  engaged  in  the 
laundry  business.  At  that  time  the  modern  steam 
laundry  was  a  new  thing  in  the  \\'est,  and  he  was 
fortunate  in  engaging  in  it  during  the  early 
stages  of  its  growth.  Beginning  in  a  small  way 
at  318  Hennepin  Avenue,  and  using  the  name 
of  the  street,  he  called  it  the  Flennepin  Steam 
Laundry.  In  1884  he  moved  to  the  large  block 
known  as  numbers  120-122  First  Averiue  North, 
and  fitted  up  on  a  much  larger  scale.  Success 
attended  his  venture  from  the  first,  until  now 
he  is  the  owner  of  two  large  establishments  in 
this  city  and  one  in  St.  Paul.  ^Mr.  Lawrence  has 
done  much  to  develop  the  industry  in  which  he 
is  engaged.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
organization  of  the  Laundrymen's  National  As- 
sociation in  1883,  and  has  held  various  offices 
in  the  organization,  including  that  of  president. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Republican  until  1872,  when 
the  course  of  the  party  with  regard  to  the  liquor 
interests  met  with  his  unqualified  disapproval  and 
led  to  his  association  with  the  Prohibition  party. 
He  has  been  an  earnest  worker  in  the  party,  has 
held  such  positions  of  ofificial  trust  as  the  party 
had  to  give,  and  headed  the  city  ticket  in  Minne- 
apolis in  1885.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Sons  of 
Ternperancc,  the  I.  O.  ( ).  F.  and  Good  Templars. 
\Miile  in  Red  Wing  he  assisted  in  reorganizing 
the  F.aptist  Church  there  and  became  a  member; 
when  he  came  tn  Minneapolis  he  transferred  his 
nu-nibi'rship  to  the  I'irst  luiptist  Church,  and  be- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


139 


came  an  active  participant  in  tlu-  work  of  tliat 
cliurcli.  He  is  a  liberal  snpporter  of  his  own 
church  and  denomination,  I'illsbury  Academy, 
the  temperance  cause,  all  benevolent  objects,  and 
has  done  much  to  lielj)  the  needy  and  unfortunate 
everywhere.  Mr.  Lawrence  earned  his  first  dollar 
threshingf  clover  .seed  with  an  old-fashioned 
wooden  flail,  for  a  neighbor,  when  about  fourteen 
years  of  age.  It  was  in  the  month  of  January  and 
very  cold.  The  son  of  this  farmer  worked  with 
him  and  they  pounded  clover  seed  from  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  until  ten  at  night,  for  six 
days,  for  which  he  received  the  princely  sum  of 
two  dollars.  His  family  consists  of  five  children. 
Irving  Weslev,  Mildred  Elvira,  Lewis  Bradford, 
Earl  Russell  and  Winthrop  Hale.  The  sixth  child 
bom,  a  boy,  died  when  thirteen  months  old. 


ALBERT  L.  WARD. 

A.  L.  Ward  is  a  banker  and  prominent  citizen 
of  Fairmont,  Minnesota.  Mr.  Ward  has  lived 
in  Fairmont  since  1864.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
settlers  in  jMartin  County,  and  a  pioneer  of  that 
section  of  the  state  in  every  sense  of  the  word. 
When  he  located  at  Fairmont  it  was  an  army 
station,  and  the  presence  of  troops  was  regarded 
as  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  settlers. 
During  the  thirty-two  years  of  Mr.  Ward's  resi- 
dence there  he  has  seen  all  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  state  brought  under  cultivation,  the  pioneer 
region  carried  hundreds  of  miles  westward  and 
the  Indians,  which  were  the  terror  of  the  early 
settlers,  relegated  to  the  mountains  of  Wyoming 
and  Montana.  Mr.  W'ard  was  born  in  Cattaraugus 
County,  New  York,  on  January  14,  1844.  His 
father,  Luke  W^ard,  was  a  farmer  and  a  distant  de- 
scendant of  John  Ward  of  Revolutionary  fame. 
His  wife.  Miss  Charlotte  ^ilorgan,  was  a  descend- 
and  of  General  jMorgan.  Young  Ward  grew  up  on 
the  farm  in  Cattaraugus  County,  experiencing  the 
life  of  a  farmer's  boy,  with  all  its  privations  and 
at  the  same  time  its  excellent  training  for  life. 
He  attended  the  common  schools  in  the  vicinity 
of  his  father's  home  during  the  winter  months, 
his  summers  being  thoroughly  occupied  in  the 
farm  work.  This  common  school  education 
was  supplemented  by  a  course  at  the  Randolph 
Academy.  \Miilc  obtaining  his  education  he 
taught  school  during  the  winters  and  eked  out 
his   income   by   such   other  employment   during 


\acations  as  he  could  find.  As  he  approached 
manhood  he  determined  to  become  a  lawyer,  and 
at  different  times  studied  law  with  the  Hon.  W. 
H.  Henderson  of  Randolph,  New  York,  and 
Hon.  C.  B.  Green  of  Ellington,  New  York. 
When  twenty  years  of  age  Mr.  Ward  determined 
to  seek  his  fortunes  in  the  west.  He  arrived  in 
Minnesota  in  1864,  and  went  at  once  to  the 
frontier,  locating  in  Fairmont,  which  was  then 
one  of  the  outposts.  As  the  country  developed 
and  the  young  to\\n  grew,  Mr.  Ward  took  a 
prominent  part  in  its  affairs.  He  engaged  in 
politics  and  was  made  county  attorney,  a  position 
which  he  held  for  eight  years.  He  also  served 
as  county  auditor,  register  of  deeds,  and  was 
postmaster  at  Fairmont  under  Lincoln,  Grant  and 
Cleveland.  He  was  honored  with  the  appoint- 
ment as  one  of  the  board  of  World's  Fair  man- 
agers from  Minnesota  in  1892.  In  1874  Mr. 
Ward  started  the  r^Iartin  County  Bank,  of  which 
he  is  now  president.  He  is  also  president  and 
chief  stockholder  in  the  \\^ard  ^Machine  Company, 
with  branches  at  Granada,  Fa'irmont,  Welcome 
and  Sherburn,  and  the  Martin  County^  Democrat 
Company,  publisher  of  JMartin  Coimt)'  Inde- 
pendent and  Martin  County  Zeitung.  Is  also 
chief  stockholder  and  president  of  Sherburn  State 
Rank.  In  politics  he  now  takes  an  independent 
position.  Mr.  Ward  was  married  in  1869  and 
has  four  children.  May,  Fe  Forest,  Charlotte  and 
Lvdia. 


140 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES   RUSSELL   UAX'IS. 

C.  R.  Davis,  of  St.  Peter,  is  easily  one  of 
the  best  known  men  in  southwestern  .Minnesota. 
For  nearly  twL-nty-five  years  he  has  been  actively 
engaged  in  politics  and  the  practice  of  law.  As 
a  speaker  before  the  bar  and  on  the  platform  he 
has  a  high  reputation.  The  preparation  for  this 
active  and  successful  life  was  of  the  kind  so 
freciuently  noted  in  the  lives  of  successful  men. 
Mr.  Davis  was  born  in  Pittsfield,  Tike  County, 
Illinois,  in  1849.  His  father,  Sidney  W.  Davis, 
was  then  a  farmer.  His  mother  died  in  1 851, 
and  two  years  later  the  father  removed  to  Min- 
nesota and  settled  on  a  farm  in  LeSueur  County. 
He  was  foremost  in  those  pioneer  days  and  soon 
took  a  prominent  positinn  in  the  Cdunnunity. 
He  was  present  at  New  I  Im  during  the  Indian 
massacre  of  1862  and  materially  aided  in  the 
defense  of  the  place.  In  1866  he  moved  to  .St. 
Peter  and  was  engaged  in  merchandising  until 
1870.  From  1870  to  1880  he  was  in  the  meat 
and  provision  business  and  after  that  took  uji 
stock  raising  and  shipping.  He  has  become  a 
leading  dealer  and  shi]ipcr  in  the  Minnesota  valley 
and  is  in  good  circumstances.  I'ntil  sixteen 
years  of  age  Charles  remained  on  the  farm  with 
his  father,  attending  school  from  three  to  six 
months  each  winter,  and  after  they  removed  to 
St.  Peter  receiving  tlie  best  education  which  the 
schools  of  the  jjjace  afforded.      This   was   sup- 


plemented  by  a  business  college   course   in   St. 
Paul  in  1867.    For  the  next  two  years  he  engaged 
in  busmess  in  St.  Peter  but,  in  the  latter  part  of 
1869,  believing  himself  adapted  to  the   law,   he 
conunenced   study   for  admission  to  the  bar  in 
the  ofSce  of  Hon.  Alfred  Wallin,  now  chief  jus- 
tice of  the  supreme  court  of  North  Dakota,  and 
then  a  practicing  lawyer  in  St.  Peter.    ^Ir.  Davis 
was  admitted  to  practice  on  ^larch  6,  1872,  and 
at  once  associated  himself  with  .Mr.  Wallin,  hav- 
ing offices  in  St.  Peter  and  New  L'lm,  and  during 
the  continuance  of  this  partnership,  which  lasted 
five   years,  did  a   large   and   lucrative    business. 
While  thus  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  and 
ever  since,  ]Mr.   Davis  has  been  a  constant  stu- 
dent.    His  reading  has  covered  works  essential 
to  his  profession  as  well  as  a  large  range  of  sub- 
jects in  the  fields  of  history  and  literature.     He 
soon  began  to  take  a  hand  in  politics  as  a  Re- 
publican, and   his  abilities  were   recognized    by 
his  election  to  the  office  of  county  attorney    of 
Nicollet  County  in  1872.     He  was  again  elected 
to  this  office  in   1878,   1880  and   1882.     He  was 
always  a  successful  prosecutor.     In  1878  he  was 
elected  city  attorney  and  city  clerk  of  St.  Peter 
and  has  since  held  these  offices  almost  continu- 
ouslv — during  a  ])eriod   of   sixteen   years.       Mr. 
Davis'  services  to  his  party  and  his  eminent  quali- 
fications for  legislative  work  led  to  his  nomina- 
tion and  election  to  the  legislature  in  1889.     He 
was  prominently  mentioned  as  a  candidate    for 
speaker  of  the   house.     During  this   session   of 
the  legislature  Mr.  Davis  was  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  house.    He  was  a  frequent  speaker,  and  an 
active  member  of  the  judiciary  connnittee.     One 
of  the  important  measures  which  he  introduced 
was  the  bill  abolishing  capital  ]iunishment,  which 
gave  him  a  wide  reputation  as  an  advocate    of 
the  aluilititjn  of  the  death  penalty.     In  1880  Mr. 
Davis  was  elected   to  the  state    senate    for    the 
term  of  four  years.     He  introduced  the  first  bill 
of  the  session,  .Senate  File  No.  i,  a  bill  providing 
fcir   the    reduction    of    interest    and    to    i)unish 
usury.      This    l.)ill    was    stubbornly    fought    but 
passed  the  senate  though  it  met  with   defeat   in 
the  house  on  the  last  night  of  the  session.     Dur- 
ing each   session   Mr.   Davis   was  a  member   of 
the  committee  on  judiciary,  and  in  the  session  of 
1893  was  chaii'man  nf  the  ("(innnittee  on   Hos- 
pitals for  the  Insane.    In  the  latter  capacity  in  the 
session  of  1893  he  was  instrumental  in  securing 


PRdGKRSSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


141 


the  passage  of  tlie  present  law  fur  the  manage- 
ment and  eontrol  of  the  various  insane  asylums 
of  the  state.  In  1892  he  was  a  prominent  candi- 
date for  the  nomination  for  congress  in  the  Sec- 
ond district  of  Minnesota,  lacking  hut  a  few 
votes  in  securing  the  nomination.  At  the  present 
time  Mr.  Davis  has  an  extensive  law  practice  and 
is  considered  a  very  successful  jury  and  trial 
lawyer.  Mr.  Davis  was  married  to  Miss  Emma 
Haven  in  St.  Peter  in  1874  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Clinton  Locke,  of  Chicago,  where  Miss  Haven 
had  formerly  lived.  They  have  two  children, 
Isabel  H.  Davis  and  Russell  Davis. 


FRED  BEAL  SNYDER. 

'Sir.  Snyder  is  president  of  the  City  Council 
of  Minneapolis;  was  born  in  the  first  house  built 
in  what  originally  constituted  the  city  of  ^linne- 
apolis.  This  was  the  home  of  Colonel  J.  H. 
Stevens.  The  house  stood  where  the  union 
depot  now  stands.  The  date  of  Mr.  Snyder's 
birth  w-as  February  21,  1859.  His  father,  Simon 
P.  Snyder,  came  to  Minneapolis  from  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1855,  and  soon  became  actively  identi- 
fied with  the  interests  of  this  community,  oper- 
ating extensively  in  real  estate  and  as  a  banker. 
He  brought  a  great  deal  of  cajiital  to  this  local- 
ity, and  contributed  in  a  large  degree  to  the  de- 
velopment of  its  resources.  Mr.  Snyder's  ances- 
try on  his  father's  side  was  Dutch,  and  settled  in 
Pennsylvania.  The  name  was  formerly  spelled 
Schneider.  On  his  mother's  side  his  descent  is 
from  the  Ramseys  and  Stevensons,  both  .Scotch 
families.  His  early  education  was  received  in 
the  public  schools  of  Minneapolis,  but  before 
graduation  from  the  high  schools  he  entered  the 
University  of  Minnesota,  from  which  institution 
he  graduated  in  1881.  His  first  l)usiness  experi- 
ence was  as  a  clerk  in  a  book  store  at  $4.50  a 
week.  During  this  time  he  began  the  stutly  of 
law,  and  went  into  the  office  of  Lochren,  Mc- 
Xair  &  Gilfillan ;  afterwards  he  was  with  Koon. 
Merrill  &  Keith.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1882  and  began  the  practice  of  law  with  Robert 
Jamison,  now  on  the  district  bench.  The  style 
of  the  firm  was  Snyder  &  Jamison  from  1882  to 
1888.  At  that  time  Mr.  Snyder  joined  with 
others  in  organizing  the  Minnesota  .Saving  Fund 
and  Investment  Company,  of  which  he  has  been 


president  since  its  organization.  Mr.  Snyder  is 
rather  independent  in  his  political  views,  but  Re- 
])ublican  in  his  political  affiliations.  He  was 
elected  alderman  of  the  Second  ward  in  1892  by 
the  Republicans  for  a  term  of  four  years.  In 
1895  he  was  elected  president  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil. Perhaps  his  most  notable  service  as  a  mem- 
ber of  that  body  was  his  leadership  in  the  Coun- 
cil of  the  controversy  between  the  city  and  the 
Minneapolis  Gas  Light  Company,  as  a  result  of 
which  the  price  of  gas  for,  all  consumers  was 
reduced  from  $1.60  to  $1.30  net.  He  also  drew 
up  and  secured  the  passage  of  the  ordinance  cre- 
ating and  regulating  the  department  of  inspector 
of  gas.  In  1896  Mr.  Snyder  was  elected  to  the 
state  legislature  from  the  Thirtieth  Dis- 
trict. Mr.  .Snyder  is  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club,  of  the  Six  (J'Clock  Club,  of  the  Chi 
Psi  college  fraternity,  and  in  recognition  of  his 
scholarship  and  ability  he  was  elected  to  mem- 
bership in  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  of  the 
University  of  Minnesota.  His  church  relations 
were  formerly  with  the  Episcopal  church,  but 
more  recently  he  has  become  an  attendant  of 
the  First  Congregational  church.  On  September 
23,  1885,  he  married  Sue  M.  Pillsbury,  daughter 
of  ex-Governor  John  S.  Pillsburv.  He  has  one 
son,  John  Pillsbury  Snyder,  born  January  8. 
1888.  His  wife  died  September  3,  1891.  Mr. 
.Snyder  was  again  married  Februarv  18,  1896,  to 
Leonora  S.  Dickson,  of  Pittsburg.  Pennsylvania. 


142 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN'  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JOHN   CLINTON   NETHAWAY. 

IMr.  Nethaway  was  born  at  Albany,  New  York, 
November  12,  1857.  After  receiving  a  common 
school  education  at  Albany  he  entered  the  Coble- 
skill,  New  York,  academy,  graduating  from  that 
institution  in  June,  1874.  He  innnediately  began 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Lamont  & 
Baker,  a  leading  law  firm  at  Cobleskill.  When 
Judge  Lamont  was  elected  to  the  state  senate, 
Mr.  Nethaway  was  appointed  his  private  secre- 
tary, the  duties  of  which  office  brought  him 
back  to  his  birthplace.  During  his  spare  hours 
he  availed  himself  of  an  opportunity  of  a  course 
of  lectures  at  the  Albany  Law  School,  in  the 
meantime  continuing  his  studies  in  the  law  office 
of  Smith,  Bancroft  &  Moak,  one  of  the  leading 
firms  at  Albany.  In  February,  1878,  having  com- 
pleted his  course  at  the  law  school,  Mr.  Neth- 
away applied  for  admission  to  the  bar  before  the 
general  term  of  the  supreme  court  at  Albany. 
After  passing  an  exceptionally  creditable  exam- 
ination he  was  admitted.  About  the  same  time 
he  started  for  the  extreme  West  and  landed  at 
Heron  Lake,  Jackson  County,  Minnesota.  After 
remaining  there  about  six  weeks,  he  decided  that 
Stillwater,  Minnesota,  afforded  flattering  induce- 
ments, and  he  located  there,  arriving  June  18, 
1878.  He  immediately  associated  himself  with 
the  late  Levi  E.  Thompson,  a  proinincnt  nttorney 


of  this  state.    This  firm  continued  for  two  years, 
after  which  he  became  connected  with  the  firm 
of    McClure    &    IMarsh    at    Stillwater.    In  1881, 
when   Judge    McClure   was    appointed     district 
judge  of  the  First  judicial  district,  a  new  firm  was 
organized,  composed  of  Fayette  Marsh  of  Still- 
water; Jasper  N.  Searles,  of  Hastings,  and  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  under  the  firm  name  of 
}Jarsh,    Searles    &   Nethaway,    which    continued 
until    April,     1884.      Mr.   Nethaway    was    then 
elected    to    the    municipal    bench    of    Stillwater, 
which  office  he  continued  to  fill  until  April,  1894, 
when   he   refused   a  re-election.     After  his   first 
term,  the  term  of  office  was  lengthened  from  two 
to  four  years.     He  was  elected  three  times,  re- 
ceiving at  each  election  the  nomination  and  votes 
without  opposition.     Although  a  strong  Demo- 
crat, he  was  indorsed  each  time  by  the  Republic- 
ans.    In  a  list  of  twenty-six  cases  appealed  from 
his  decision,  only  two  were  reversed  by  the  su- 
preme court.     At  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
office  he  returned  to  the    practice    of    law    and 
opened  an  office  in  Stillwater,  making  criminal 
law  a  specialty.     He  has  defended  five  persons 
accused  of  murder,  and  received  a  verdict  of  ac- 
quittal for  four,  and  for  the  other  one  a  verdict 
of  murder  in  the  second  degree.     In  the  cam- 
paign of  1890,  when  James  N.  Castle  was  the 
Democratic    candidate    for    congress    and    was 
elected,  "Sir.  Nethaway  acted  as  secretary  to  the 
congressional  committee.     He  has  always  taken 
an  active  part  in  politics,  and  served  the  state 
central  committee  liberally  as  campaign  speaker. 
In   1892,  JNIr.  Nethaway  was  chosen  as   Demo- 
cratic candidate  for  attorney  general.    Mr.  Neth- 
away is  a  tariff  reform  Democrat,  and  has  always 
supported  those  principles.     With  a  change  of 
administration  in  national  affairs,  he  was  a  candi- 
date for  the     office     of     district     attorney,     but 
tln-ough  a  bitter  strife  between  the  rival  candi- 
dates the  nomination  finally  went  to  a  party  who 
had  not  been  a  candidate.     Mr.  Nethaway  took 
part  in  the  campaign  of  Congressman  Baldwin 
in    1894,  and  increased   his  vote,  although   Mr. 
I'aldwin  was  defeated.       The     subject     of    this 
sketch  was  the  son    of    Clinton    Nethaway,    of 
Scotch  and  Irish  descent,  a  merchant  for  many 
years  at  Albany,  New  York.     The  family  is  of 
good  old  Colonial   stock,  and    the   ancestors  of 
the  Cnlnninl   period   tool<   an   active   part    in   flic 


PROGKESSIVE  MUX  OF  MINNIiSOTA. 


143 


wars  with  the  Indians  and  the  llrilish.  At  the 
close  of  the  Revolutionary  war  the  progenitor 
of  this  family  located  at  Schoharie  Hill,  which 
has  been  the  ancestral  home  ever  since.  Mr. 
Nethaway's  mother  was  Maria  Catherine  Hawn. 
She  was  of  Dutch  descent.  Iler  grandfather, 
Peter  Hawn,  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  the 
Revolution,  and  was  also  engaged  in  the  wars 
against  the  Indians.  He  took  part  in  the  battle 
of  Ticonderoga.  Mr.  Nethaway  was  married 
June  i8,  1884,  at  Stillwater,  to  Miss  Cora  M. 
Hall.  They  have  had  two  children,  Jay  A.,  now 
deceased,  and  Clinton  II. 


CHARLES  WILLIAM  BROWN. 

Captain  Brown,  as  he  is  generally  addressed 
by  his  acquaintances  in  Minneapolis,  acquired  his 
title  while  in  command  of  an  American  vessel  en- 
gaged in  trade  in  Australia,  India  and  China.  Mr. 
Brown  was  born  in  Xcwburyport,  Massachusetts, 
June  14,  1858.  His  father  was  Jacob  B.  Brown, 
who  was  for  many  years  a  well  known  shipmas- 
ter of  New  England,  and  directly  descended  from 
John  Brown,  who  settled  in  Rockingham  County, 
New  Hampshire  in  1644.  The  farm  occupied  and 
improved  bv  him  is  still  owned  by  his  descend- 
ants. Captain  Brown's  mother's  maiden  name 
was  Anna  A.  Fitch.  Her  ancestors  settled  Fitch- 
burg,  ^Massachusetts,  but,  being  loyal  to  the 
crown  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  they  emi- 
grated to  Nova  Scotia,  leaving  considerable  prop- 
erty behind  them.  Charles  William  began  his 
education  at  Allen's  English  and  Classical  School 
at  \\'est  Newton,  Massachusetts,  continuing  it 
in  Dummer  Academy  at  Byfield,  and  graduating 
at  NewbuPi'port  high  school.  Following  the  cus- 
tom among  New  England  boys  he  went  to  sea 
at  an  early  age,  and  was  some  time  in  the  service 
of  the  Chinese  Merchants  Steam  Navigation  Com- 
pany on  the  coast  of  China.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  he  had  attained  such  proficiency  as  a  sailor 
that  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  .American 
barque  Agate,  and  sailed  for  Adelaide,  .\ustralia. 
He  continued  for  several  years  in  that  capacity, 
trading  mostly  with  Australia,  India  and  Japan. 
In  November,  1885  having  left  the  sea  and  being 
attracted  by  the  reputation     of    Minneapolis,  he 


made  a  short  visit  to  this  city,  and  was  so  pleased 
with  the  business  opportunities  ofifered  and  the 
desirability  of  the  city  as  a  place  of  residence,  that 
he  associated  himself  with  L.  W.  Young,  and  es- 
tablished the  first  stained  glass  manufacturing 
business  in  the  Northwest.  In  April  of  the  fol- 
lowing year  the  firm  became  Brown  &  Haywood. 
Business  continued  to  grow  and  included  the 
handling  of  plate  and  window  glass.  In  1891  the 
firm  of  Brown  &  Haywood  Company  was  incor- 
porated with  C.  W.  Brown  as  treasurer  and  gen- 
eral manager.  The  enterprise  has  been  highly  suc- 
cessful and  has  grown  to  very  handsome  pro- 
portions. While  not  taking  any  active  part  in 
politics.  Captain  Brown  has  been  identified  with 
the  Republican  party,  reserving  to  himself,  how- 
ever, the  right  at  any  time  to  vote  for  the  best 
man  and  the  best  policy,  regardless  of  party  lines. 
At  present  Captain  Brown  is  president  of  the 
Jobbers'  and  Manufacturers'  Association  of  Min- 
neapolis. He  was  married  October  31,  1883,  to 
Alice  Greenleaf,  of  Newburyport,  Massachusetts. 
They  have  five  children.  Although  Captain 
Brown  has  retired  to  the  less  eventful  and  excit- 
ing occupation  of  a  merchant  and  manufacturer, 
he  has  not  lost  his  interest  in  the  sea,  nor  for- 
gotten the  pleasures  and  enjoyments  of  that  ad- 
venturous life. 


144 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


i^^k 


FLORANCE  A.  \'AXDERPOEL. 

F.  A.  \'anderpoel,  of  Park  Rapids,  is  a  native 
of  Wisconsin.  He  comes  of  old  Revolutionary 
stock,  as  his  great  grandfather  was  one  of  the 
members  of  the  celebrated  Boston  Tea  Party. 
Abraham  Vanderpoel,  son  of  the  hero  of  Boston 
harbor,  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and 
moved  to  Wisconsin  in  the  earh'  days,  settling 
with  his  young  wife  in  Jefferson  County.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  convention  held  to  form  a  con- 
stitution for  the  young  state,  which  convened  at 
Madison  on  December  15,  1847,  and  he  took  an 
active  part  in  the  construction  of  the  important 
document.  In  1861  he  enlisted  as  captain  of 
Company  E,  Twelfth  Wisconsin  \'olunteer  In- 
fantry, and  served  with  honor  until  compelled  to 
leave  the  army  on  account  of  sickness.  He  died 
in  1870.  His  son,  Clarence  C.  Vanderpoel,  en- 
listed in  the  same  company  at  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war,  but  was  afterwards  transferred  to  the 
commissary  department,  with  headquarters  at 
Natchez,  Mississippi,  where  he  remained  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  then  moved  to  West  Mitch- 
ell, Iowa,  where  he  still  lives.  He  owns  and 
operates  the  Paragon  Woolen  Mills  at  West 
Mitchell,  and  also  has  under  cultivation  about 
five  hundred  acres  of  land  near  Blooming  Prairie, 
Minnesota.  He  was  a  member  of  the  house  in  the 
Iowa  legislature  in  1884,  and  took  part  in  securing 
the  passage  of  the  prohibition  law,  which  remained 
in  force  until  1894.  His  wife,  who  was  Miss  Emily 


A.  Squire,  has  been  very  active  of  late  years  in 
temperance  and  church  work.  Their  son  Flor- 
ance,  was  born  at  Newport,  Sauk  County,  \Vis- 
consin,  on  August  13,  1856.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  at  Newport  and  West  ^Mitchell 
until  January,  1875,  when  he  entered  the  pre- 
paratory department  of  the  State  University  of 
Iowa,  from  which  institution  he  graduated  with 
honor  in  1880.  From  his  class  of  forty-five  he 
was  chosen  as  one  of  the  fifteen  speakers  on  com- 
mencement day.  While  at  college  ~Slr.  Vander- 
poel was  the  plaintiff  in  the  famous  election  case 
which  was  carried  to  the  supreme  court  of  Iowa 
to  test  the  right  of  students  to  vote  at  elections 
while  attending  college.  The  case  was  entitled 
I*.  A.  A'anderpoel  vs.  James  O'Hanlon,  et  al. 
Judgment  was  awarded  the  plaintiff  in  the  dis- 
trict court  against  the  judges  of  election  for  re- 
fusing to  receive  his  vote,  but  on  an  appeal  the 
judgment  was  oveiTuled,  it  being  decided  that  a 
student  at  college,  without  any  intentions  as  to 
his  residence  after  graduation,  was  not  a  legal 
voter  at  the  place  where  he  was  studying.  This 
decision  was  rendered  in  1880.  In  June,  1883, 
Mr.  \"anderpoel  graduated  from  the  law  depart- 
ment of  the  Iowa  L'niversity,  receiving  the  degree 
of  LL.  B.  During  the  following  winter  he  was 
clerk  of  the  judiciary  committee  of  the  house  of 
representatives  of  the  Iowa  legislature.  In  the 
fall  of  1883  he  formed  a  law  partnership  with  the 
Hon.  J.  F.  Clyde,  as  Clyde  &  ^'anderpoel,  and 
commenced  practice  at  Osage,  Iowa.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1885,  he  came  to  ]\Iinnesota  and  located  at 
Park  Rapids,  then  fifty  miles  from  the  nearest 
railroad.  Since  he  took  up  his  residence  at  Park 
Rapids  he  has  served  as  deputy  county  treasurer 
and  deputy  county  auditor,  and  in  1887  and  1888 
was  county  attorne)-.  In  the  fall  of  the  latter  year 
he  was  elected  county  auditor.  After  serving  one 
term  he  resumed  ])ractice,  and  has  since  devoted 
his  time  exclusively  to  the  law.  Air.  Vanderpoel 
has  always  been  a  Republican  in  politics.  Pic 
owns  membership  in  tliree  secret  societies — the 
Odd  Fellows,  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Modern 
Woodmen.  In  1891  he  joined  the  Baptist  church 
and  was  the  first  person  ever  ba]5tised  in  Lake 
Itasca,  the  headwaters  of  the  Mississippi  river. 
On  tlic  nir/th  day  of  August,  1888,  Air.  \'andcr- 
lK)el  and  Miss  Edith  E.  Rice,  daughter  of  (lill)crt 
II.  Rice,  were  niarriid  at  Park  Rapids.  They 
have  had  two  daughters,  one  of  whom.  T.ucille  F., 
born  .Sc])tcmber  10,  1889,  is  now  living. 


PKOGKESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


145 


ROBERT  GEORGE  MORRISON. 

The  subject  of  this  sketcli  is  a  member  of  the 
law  firm  of  Jayne  &  Morrison,  of  Minneapolis. 
(-)n  his  father's  side  he  is  of  Scotch  and  Irish 
descent,  his  grandfather  having  been  a  prcaclier 
in  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  served  one  congre- 
gation for  about  forty  years.  On  his  mother's 
side  he  is  of  Scotch  descent,  his  grandfather,  how- 
ever, belonging  to  one  of  the  old  Pennsylvania 
families.  Mr.  Morrison  was  born  at  Blair's  Mills, 
Huntington  County,  Pennsylvania,  July  31,  i860, 
the  son  of  David  Harbison  Morrison  and  Mar- 
gery B.  ]\IcConnell  (Morrison).  D.  H.  Morrison 
has  been  engaged  in  the  general  mercantile  busi- 
ness from  his  boyhood,  first  as  an  ap]:)renticc  in 
North  Ireland,  where  he  was  bom  and  lived  until 
a  young'  man,  when  he  came  to  this  countrv  and 
first  connected  himself  with  a  wholesale  house  in 
Philadelphia,  but  soon  afterwards  engaged  in 
the  general  mercantile  business  at  the  village  of 
Blair's  jNIills,  Pennsylv;mia.  In  1872  he  moved 
to  Morning  Sun,  Iowa,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
same  line  of  business  which  he  has  ever  since 
conducted.  Robert  G.  attended  short  winter 
terms  at  the  country  school  house  near  his  native 
village,  and  an  occasional  session  in  the  village 
school  of  Waterloo,  a  mile  from  Blair's  Mills. 
After  removal  to  Iowa  he  attended  the  public 
and  eventually  the  high  school  of  Morning  Sun, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  June,  1876.  He  had 
then  expected  to  receive  instruction  in  banking 
and  make  that  his  life  business,  his  father  being 
at  that  time  an  officer  in  the  local  bank.  Within 
a  few  months,  however,  he  became  desirous  of 
procuring  a  college  education,  and  during  the 
following  winter  continued  the  study  of  Greek 
and  Latin  under  the  instruction  of  Rev.  C.  D. 
Trumbull  at  home,  then  and  now  pastor  of  the 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  at  IMorning  Sun. 
In  the  fall  of  1877  he  entered  the  Iowa  State 
University,  at  Iowa  City,  becoming  a  member  of 
the  second  sub-freshman  class,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1882,  receiving  the  degree  of  A.  B. 
The  year  following  he  entered  the  law  department 
of  the  university,  graduating  with  the  degree  of 
LL.  E.,  in  1883,  at  the  same  time  being  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  to  practice  in  the  supreme  court 
of  Iowa  and  the  United  States  district  and  circuit 
courts.  In  i8go  he  received  the  degree  of  A.  'M. 
from     the  same    institution.     While    at     college 


he  was  connnissioned  first  lieutenant  Battery, 
Iowa  National  Guards,  was  a  member  of  the 
Zetagathian  Literary  Society,  at  one  time  its  pres- 
ident, and  had  a  place  on  two  of  its  annual  public 
exhibition  programs.  He  was  chosen  as  valedic- 
torian of  his  class  for  the  Class  Day  exercises. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Beta  Theta  Pi  college 
fraternity.  His  vacations  he  spent  in  his 
father's  store.  ]\Ir.  Morrison  came  to  Alin- 
neapolis  in  the  fall  of  1883,  entering  a 
law  office,  where  he  remained  for  a  year 
or  more  in  the  further  study  of  his  chosen 
profession.  He  then  secured  a  position  in  the 
business  office  of  the  \\'estcrn  Union  Telegraph 
Company,  which  he  held  until  he  started  out  in 
business  for  himself,  in  July,  1886.  Mr.  Mor- 
rison opened  a  law  office  for  the  practice  of  his 
profession  by  himself,  continuing  to  practice 
alone  until  April,  i8<)2,  when  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  Trafford  X.  Jayne,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Jayne  &  Moirison,  which  still  continues. 
This  firm  is  engaged  in  a  genera!  law  practice, 
though  running  particularly  to  corporation  and 
commercial  law,  and  enjoys  an  extensive  client- 
age. ^Ir.  Morrison's  political  affiliations  are 
with  the  Republican  party,  and  he  is  more  or  less 
active  in  local  politics.  His  church  connections 
are  with  the  \\'estminster  Presbyterian  Church, 
of  which  he  is  a  member.     He  is  not  married. 


146 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


;iS4i,, 


FREDERICK  NEWBURY  DICKSUN. 

Fred  N.  Dickson  is  an  attorney  of  St.  Paul. 
He  is  a  native  of  Minnesota,  having  been  born 
at  Xorthfiekl  on  May  15,  1863.  Though  a  .Min- 
nesotan  l>y  birth,  Mr.  Dickson  is  distinctly 
Scotch  by  descent.  His  father's  ancestors  were 
from  the  vicinity  of  Edinburgh.  His  great 
grandfather  was  an  architect  and  master  builder. 
He  learned  his  profession  in  Scotland,  and  came 
to  New  York  shortly  after  the  American  Revo- 
lution. There  he  followed  the  business  of  con- 
tracting and  building  and  became  quite  wealthy. 
Upon  his  death,  which  occurred  suddenly  in  the 
prime  of  life  from  a  stroke  of  apoplexy,  he  was 
buried  under  the  floor  of  a  church  on  Wall 
street,  which  he  had  built.  Subsecpiently,  when 
the  ground  ui)on  which  this  church  stood  be- 
came verj-  valuable,  it  was  torn  down,  each  stone 
was  marked,  and  the  building  was  rc-crectcd  in 
Jersey  City.  Tiie  body  of  .Mr.  Dickson,  with 
others,  was  exhumed  and  Imrned.  and  the  ashes 
preserved  in  urns  in  the  church.  All  of  his  sons, 
except  the  grandfather  of  I'red  Dickson,  fol- 
lowed the  sea,  and  this  son  was  a  school  master, 
and  early  in  life  settled  in  Canada.  11  is  wife  was 
of  a  family  named  ( )sbourne,  who  removed  from 
New  Jersey  at  the  outbreak  of  the  .\nierican 
Revolution,   and   settled    in    Canada,   where   tlie\' 


were  granted  large  concessions  of  land  from  the 
British  government  on  account  of  their  loyalty. 
On  his  mother's  side,  the  family  was  originally 
from  the  Scotch  Highlands.  They  lived  in  In- 
vernesshire,  carrying  on  an  e.xtensive  granite 
quarry  business.  Stone  ctitting  and  building  was 
followed  by  several  members  of  the  family.  The 
family  name  of  Alasson  is  supposed  to  be  a  cor- 
ruption of  the  simple  name  Mason.  Mr.  Dick- 
son's grandfather  was  Alexander  ^lasson,  who 
like  his  progenitors,  was  a  stone  cutter  and  mas- 
ter builder.  He  built  a  church  in  the  Island  of 
Lewes,  the  scene  of  William  Black's  "Princess 
of  Thule."  He  came  to  Montreal  about  1830, 
and  there  built,  for  the  Bank  of  ]\Iontreal,  the 
large  stone  banking-house  occupied  by  that  in- 
stitution for  so  many  years.  This  building  is 
familiar  to  all  Canadians,  as  the  picture  of  the 
bank  was  engraved  on  notes  and  certain  coins 
issued  by  the  bank  and  circulated  in  Canada. 
Mr.  Dickson's  father,  John  Xald  Dickson,  was 
born  at  the  small  town  of  Picton,  on  Ouinte  Bay, 
on  Lake  Ontario  in  Upper  Canada.  He  married 
Miss  Afary  Masson,  who  was  born  in  the  same 
vicinity,  and  removed  to  Xorthfield  in  i860.  For 
many  years  he  carried  on  a  carriage  and  wagon 
manufacturing  business,  but  has  now  retired  in 
comfortable  circumstances.  Fred  X.  Dickson 
obtained  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  Xorthfield  which  have  from  their  beginning 
been  excellent  schools.  After  leaving  the  dis- 
trict school  he  entered  Carleton  College  at 
Xorthfield  and  took  a  four  years'  classical  course. 
In  college  he  made  a  good  record  and  won  the 
first  prize  in  the  freshmen  debates  for  the  "Plym- 
outh prize,"  and  also  first  prize  in  the  junior 
debates  for  the  same  ]irize.  He  graduated  in 
1885  and  at  once  began  the  study  of  law  in  the 
office  of  the  Hon.  W.  ,S.  Pattee.  In  Xovember, 
1886,  Mr.  Dickson  came  to  .'^t.  Paul  and  entered 
the  law  office  of  John  1!.  and  W  .  II.  .Sanborn; 
two  years  later,  in  May,  18X8.  lu  was  admitted 
lo  ])ractice.  Me  remained  with  tlie  Messrs,  San- 
Ijorn  until  December  I,  1893,  when  he  opened 
an  office  and  commenced  practice  alone  with 
much  success.  Mr.  Dickson  is  a  member  of 
Sunnnit  Lodge,  A.  V.  and  .\.  M.,  Xo.  163,  at  St. 
Paul:  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  Lincoln  Lodge, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  of  the  ('(inuncrcial  Club 
<jf  .St.  P;nil,     In  pnlitical  t";iilli  ]\v  is  .'i  l\epul)1ic;in. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OP  MINNESOTA. 


147 


JOHN  T.  MULLEN. 

It  is  a  fact,  almost  without  exception,  that  the 
pubhshers  of  the  successful  country  papers  have 
grown  up  to  their  prosperity  through  years  of 
"hard  knocks."  It  seems  to  take  a  period  of 
rough  treatment  to  properly  season  a  country 
editor.  John  T.  Mullen,  the  editor  and  proprietor 
of  "The  Litchfield  Saturday  Review,"  has  attained 
his  position  after  a  youth  of  hard  work  and 
through  his  own  unaided  efforts.  Mr.  Mullen  is 
by  descent  a  Scotch-Irishman.  His  grandfather, 
John  JMcMullen,  came  to  New  York  from  Ireland 
and  thence  to  Indiana.  After  a  time  another  John 
McMullen  in  the  same  community  proved  too 
much  for  the  patience  of  the  Scotchman,  and  to 
avoid  the  constant  confusion  resulting  from  the 
identity  of  the  names,  he  dropped  the  "Mc" 
and  became  plain  John  Mullen.  Horace, 
son  of  John  Mullen,  was  born  in  New 
York  and  was  a  member  of  Company  K,  Fiftieth 
Indiana  \'olnnteers,  serving  through  the  war  and 
being  honorably  discharged  as  a  sergeant.  He 
married  Miss  Elizabeth  Jayne,  daughter  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Timothy  Jayne,  who  were  residents  of 
Indiana  at  that  time,  but  who  came  to  Meeker 
County,  Minnesota,  twenty-five  years  ago.  Mr. 
Jayne  is  still  liviiig  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven; 
his  wife  died  May  24,  1896,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
nine,  after  a  married  life  of  over  sixty-five  years. 
After  the  war  Horace  Mullen,  with  his  family, 
came  from  Vernon,  Indiana,  and  "homesteaded" 
land  five  miles  south  of  Litchfield.  Thev  lived 
on  this  farm  until  1874,  when  they  moved  to 
Litchfield.  ]\lr.  ]Mullen  died  March  29,  1876,  and 
his  wife  January  20,  1884.  ^Ir.  Mullen  was  a 
contractor  and  builder  by  trade.  Mr.  and  ]\Irs. 
Mullen  had  six  children.  Their  first  born.  Walter, 
died  when  two  years  old.  The  others  are  Airs. 
Nellie  M.  Magnuson,  wife  of  M.  F.  Magnuson 
of  Kimball  Prairie,  Minnesota;  Laura  B.,  John 
T.,  and  Elizabeth,  all  living  at  Litchfield,  and 
Leslie,  living  at  Campbell,  Minnesota.  John 
T.  Mullen  was  born  July  4,  1869,  on  his 
father's  farm  near  Litchfield.  The  death  of  his 
father  when  he  was  but  seven  years  old  and  of 
his  mother  when  he  was  fifteen  left  him  to  secure 
his  education  and  make  his  living  almost  from 
boyhood.  He  earned  his  first  dollar,  before  he 
was  eight  years  old,  sawing  wood.  From  that 
age  on  he  attended  school  as  much  as  possible 


in  the  winter,  but  was  always  constantly  at  work 
in  the  sunnner  and  often  much  of  the  time  during 
the  winter  months.  In  the  winter  of  1886  he 
commenced  learning  the  printer's  trade  in  the 
office  (jf  the  "Litchfield  Saturday  Review,"  then 
owned  and  edited  by  Lewis  A.  Pier.  Young 
Mullen  learnetl  the  trade  rapidly  and  soon  became 
the  job  printer  of  the  establishment  and  later 
foreman.  On  July  26,  1890,  he  purchased  the 
plant  and  business  and  has  since  conducted  the 
paper  himself.  Since  becoming  owner  he  has 
enlarged  the  paper  to  eight  seven  column  pages 
and  has  made  it  a  leading  paper  in  the  county 
and  the  central  part  of  Alinnesota.  At  the  same 
time  he  has  built  u\>  an  excellent  job  business. 
A  strong  Republican,  Mr.  ]\[ullen  has  been  aware 
of  the  imperfections  of  his  party  and  his  paper 
has  been  in  a  measure  independent.  He  never 
hesitates  to  iioint  out  the  faults  of  his  partv  as  he 
sees  them.  When  the  campaign  of  1894  opened 
he  was  made  chairman  of  the  Republican  coimtv 
committee  of  Meeker,  and  with  well  organized 
forces  gave  the  county  the  hottest  campaign  it 
had  e^•er  seen,  with  the  result  that,  for  the  first 
time  in  the  county's  history,  every  candidate  on 
the  Republican  ticket  was  elected.  Mr.  Mullen 
is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Odd 
Fellows,  A.  O.  U.  W.  and  Alodern  Woodmen. 
!\fr.  ]\Tullen  was  married  October  20.  1896,  at 
Evansville,  Minnesota,  to  Afiss  Afarie  Davidson. 


14-S 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[ 


GEORGE  ALLISON  ^LACKEXZIE. 

The  ancestry  of  George  A.  AFacKenzie,  of 
Gaylord,  Minnesota,  were  Scotchmen  as  far  back 
as  the  Hne  can  be  traced,  for  he  comes  of  that 
old  highland  Scotch  family  of  MacKenzies 
which  numbers  among  its  members  many  nota- 
ble characters.  Prominent  in  the  family  have 
been  a  long  line  of  Earls  of  Seaforth;  Sir  Alex- 
ander MacKenzie,  who  discovered  the  great 
river  in  North  America,  which  bears  his  name: 
Sir  George  MacKenzie,  the  famous  Scotch  law- 
yer; Henry  MacKenzie,  the  -Scotch  aiithur,  and 
Sir  Morrell  MacKenzie,  the  noted  physician, 
and  many  others.  Mr.  AlacKenzie's  father,  Mal- 
com  MacKenzie,  was  born  in  the  Isle  of  Skye, 
in  1834,  and  emigrated  to  i'rincc  I'Mward  Island. 
When  ten  years  old  he  came  to  the  I'nitcd 
States,  and  later  settled  in  Chicago,  where  he 
engaged  in  business  for  a  number  of  years.  In 
1868  he  came  to  Minnesota,  settling  in  LeSucur 
County,  which  county  he  represented  in  the  ?vlin- 
nesota  legislature  of  1877.  ITis  wife  was  Miss 
Annie  Kerr,  a  daughter  of  Charles  Kerr,  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  northern  Tllin(Ms.  and,  like 
Mr.  MacKenzie,  was  of  an  old  .Scotch  family. 
George  A.  MacKenzie  was  horn  at  Roscoe,  Illi- 
nois, on  Marcli  14,  1857.  He  came  with  the 
family  to  Minnesota  in    1868,  rind   li\cd   at  and 


near  Rochester,  where  he  attended  school.  Mov- 
ing to  LeSueur  County,  he  taught  school  for 
seven  years,  and  at  the  same  time  commenced 
reading  law.  For  a  time  he  was  tuider  the  in- 
struction of  ]\I.  R.  Everet,  of  Waterville,  Minne- 
sota. On  June  8,  1886,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  at  Owatonna,  before  the  Hon.  Thomas 
Buckham,  Judge  of  the  Fifth  Judicial  District, 
and  was  complimented  for  the  excellent  exami- 
nation which  he  passed.  During  his  ten  years' 
practice  j\lr.  iNIacKenzie  has  been  attorney  in  a 
number  of  important  cases,  one  of  which  settled 
the  important  question  of  law  in  this  state  rela- 
tive to  the  validity  of  the  incorj^oraion  of  vil- 
lages attempted  under  the  law  of  1883.  (This  is 
known  as  the  case  of  State  of  Alinnesota  vs. 
Spaude).  He  has  been  admitted  to  practice  in 
the  state  courts  of  ^Minnesota.  Alontana  and 
Washington,  and  in  several  of  the  United  States 
District  Circuit  Courts.  Since  he  moved  to 
Gaylord,  Mr.  MacKenzie  has  been  for  five  years 
corporation  attorney  for  the  village  and  a  bright 
public  speaker.  He  has  been  much  in  demand 
during  the  political  campaigns  for  the  past  ten 
years,  and  has  done  much  speaking  in  behalf 
of  the  Republican  party.  During  this  time  he 
has  attended  as  a  delegate  nearlv  every  Repub- 
lican state  convention  held  in  .Minnesota.  Mr. 
MacKenzie  is  an  enthusiastic  sportsman, 
and  has  hunted  big  game  in  nearly  all 
parts  of  the  northwest.  Fcir  the  past  five 
years  he  has  been  secretary  of  the  "M. 
C.  K.  Hunting  Club,''  an  organization  of 
over  forty  members.  It  controls  some  of  the 
best  shooting  posts  in  Southern  IMinnesota. 
During  one  of  Mr.  MacKenzie's  hunting  trips 
he  was  the  guest  of  the  famous  Mar(|uis  De 
A b  ires,  at  Medora,  on  the  Little  .Missouri  river. 
(  )n  January  10,  1879,  Mr.  MacKenzie  was  mar- 
ried at  Waterville,  Minnesota,  to  Miss  Mattie 
(  )blinger.  They  have  three  children,  Ethlyn 
Genevieve,  now  fifteen  years  of  age;  Claud  Hillel, 
and  George,  Jr.,  aged  respectively  thirteen  and 
seven  years.  Mr.  MacKenzie  is  now  aud  has 
been  for  about  six  years,  a  member  of  the  school 
board  of  Gaylord.  For  several  \ears  he  has 
liccn  engaged  with  others  in  an  attempt  to  move 
the  county  scat  f)f  Sibley  Countv  to  his  town, 
and  he  still  expects  to  be  successfid  in  this- 
])n)jcct. 


PROGRKSSIVB   MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


149 


GEORGE  FRANKLIN  GETTY. 

George  Franklin  Getty  is  a  native  of 
Granlsville,  Alar_\land,  where  he  was  burn  (Jctu- 
ber  17,  1855.  Mr.  Getty's  father  was  a  farmer 
in  moderate  circumstances  and  died  when  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  quite  young.  George 
Frankhn  received  his  early  education  in  tlie 
country  schools  of  Eastern  Ohio  and  was  con- 
sidered an  apt  pupil  at  an  early  age,  generally 
maintaining  himself  at  the  head  of  his  class.  He 
took  especial  interest  in  debating  societies,  both  in 
the  countr)-  schools  and  in  the  academies  which 
he  afterwards  attended.  He  was  a  student  of 
Smithville  Academy,  in  Wayne  County,  Ohio,  in 
1874,  and  in  1876  was  enrolled  as  a  student  at 
the  Ohio  Normal  University.  He  attended  this 
institution  at  frequent  intervals,  his  course  being 
interrupted  by  short  terms  of  teaching  in  the 
country  and  village  schools.  He  graduated,  how- 
ever, from  the  Normal  University  on  July  10, 
1879,  in  the  scientific  department.  This  is  a  very 
successful  school  in  point  of  numbers,  the  larg- 
est, in  fact,  in  Ohio.  A  prominent  feature  of 
the  literary  work  was  the  debating  societies,  and 
in  the  exercises  of  these  organizations  Mr.  Getty 
took  a  prominent  part.  He  represented  the 
F'hilomathean  Society  at  every  public  contest 
and  at  every  class  entertainment  while  he  was  a 
student  at  that  institution.  He  was  salutatorian  of 
his  class  on  graduation  day.  In  1881  and  1882 
he  attended  the  law  department  of  Alichigan  Uni- 
versity and  was  admitted  to  practice  at  Ann 
Arbor  in  1882.  He  began  practicing  shortly 
afterwards  at  Caro,  Michigan,  where  he  contin- 
ued until  1884.  During  his  residence  at  Caro 
he  was  elected  circuit  court  commissioner  for 
Tuscola  County,  a  profitable  office  for  a  young 
lawyer.  In  1884  he  came  to  Minnesota  and 
located  in  Minneapolis,  his  change  of  residence 
being  made  on  account  of  his  wife's  health.  Fie 
has  been  successful  in  his  practice  in  Minnesota, 
making  a  specialty  of  life  insurance  law,  and  has 
represented  these  companies  as  general  attornev 
in  a  number  of  important  cases.  His  practice 
extends  over  several  states,  including  ^Minnesota, 
Wisconsin,  Iowa,  the  Dakotas,  Colorado  and 
California.  Among  his  important  cases  was  one 
before  the  supreme  court  of  \Msconsin,  which 
opened  that  state  to  nearly  all  the  leading  fra- 


ternal insurance  organizations,  such  as  .Masons 
and  Odd  Fellows.  In  politics  Mr.  Getty  was 
originally  a  Democrat,  his  ancestry  having  been 
adherents  of  that  political  faith.  His  first  vote, 
however,  was  cast  for  a  Republican,  and  he  held 
office  in  Tuscola  County  as  a  Republican.  On 
his  arrival  in  Minnesota  he  espoused  the  cause 
of  prohibition,  and  was  an  ardent  and  influential 
leader  in  that  movement.  He  was  secretary  of 
the  state  central  committee  in  the  Fisk  campaign 
of  1888,  and  at  the  same  time  the  editor  of  "The 
Review,"  a  party  organ,  in  this  state.  He  was 
again  secretary  of  the  state  central  committee 
when  Hugh  Harrison  ran  for  governor  on  the 
Prohibition  ticket.  .Since  then  he  has  taken  a 
less  active  part  in  politics  and  has  generally  voted 
the  Republican  ticket.  Mr.  Gettv  is  a  member 
of  the  North  Star  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Minne- 
apolis Lodge,  St.  John's  Chapter,  No.  9,  Zion 
Commandery,  No.  2,  Alinneapolis,  Zuhrah 
Temple,  the  Minneapolis  Commercial  Club,  the 
Minneapolis  Bar  Association  and  the  Minne.sota 
Bar  Association.  His  church  affiliations  are  with 
the  Methodist  body  and  his  membership  is  with 
the  \\'esley  church  in  Minneapolis.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1879  to  Sarah  C.  Risher,  at  Marion,  Ohio. 
They  have  had  two  children,  Gertrude  Lois,  who 
died  October  10,  1890,  and  Jay  Paul,  who  is 
living. 


150 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JOHN  FREMONT  HILSCHER. 

John  Fremont  Hilscher  was  born  Jan- 
uary 23,  1857,  at  Bethlehem,  Indiana.  i\Ir. 
Hilscher  is  the  son  of  Joseph  S.  Hilscher  and 
Louise  Woland  (Hilscher.)  Joseph  S.  Hilscher 
was  a  farmer  at  Lincoln,  Illinois,  where  he  owned 
and  cultivated  a  large  farm  and  amassed  a  com- 
fortable fortune  as  the  result  of  his  life's  labors. 
He  died  in  1885,  respected  by  all  who  knew  him 
and  survived  by  his  wife,  who  is  still  living.  He 
and  his  wife  were  of  German  descent,  but  were 
both  born  in  America,  and  for  several  genera- 
tions the  family  have  l)een  residents  of  this  coun- 
try. The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  on  a 
farm  near  Lincoln,  attending  the  district  school 
in  the  neigliborhood  in  his  boyhood — only  dur- 
ing the  winter  months,  however;  the  summers, 
as  is  customary  among  framers'  boys,  he  occu- 
pied in  farm  work.  The  district  school  was 
usually  well  conducted,  and  as  a  feature  of  this 
there  was  a  debating  club  for  the  older  boys  and 
men  of  the  neighborhood  in  which  the  subject 
of  tiiis  sketch  took  an  active  jiart  and  which  im 
doubt  materially  influenced  his  choice  of  a  pro- 
fession in  later  years.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
he  left  home  and  began  at  La  .Salle,  Illinois, 
among  strangers,  to  carve  nut  his  own  career. 
He   was   em[)loycd    on   a   farm    and    in    various 


other  occupations  taught  in  the  public  schools, 
and  in  many  ways  earned  sufficient  money  to 
enable  him  to  obtain  a  college  course,  which 
was  commenced  at  Lincoln  University,  Lincoln, 
Illinois,  and  finished  at  Knox  College,  at  Gales- 
l)urg.  Having  decided  to  become  a  lawyer  he 
read  law  with  an  uncle  at  Lincoln  for  three  years 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  supreme  court 
of  Illinois  at  Springfield,  in  1882.  He  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Lincoln  and  con- 
tinued there  until  November,  1886,  when  he  re- 
moved to  W'illmar,  ^linnesota.  He  continued  in 
the  practice  of  law  at  Willmar  until  the  spring 
of  1894,  when  he  removed  to  St.  Paul,  his  present 
residence.  Among  the  important  cases  in  which 
he  has  been  engaged  was  the  defense  of  James 
Funk,  indicted  for  the  nuirder  of  his  wife  in 
1887  at  ^\'illmar.  In  1893  Mr.  Hilscher  went  to 
Holland,  where  he  organized  a  corporation  of 
Dutch  capitalists  for  the  investment  of  money 
in  America,  and  since  then,  acting  as  their  agent, 
he  has  invested  for  them  half  a  million  dollars. 
Since  removing  to  St.  Paul  he  has  made  a  spe- 
cialty of  real  estate  and  commercial  law,  and  has 
charge  of  the  Northwestern  business  of  a  number 
of  local  and  Eastern  wholesale  houses  and  manu- 
facturers. Llis  professional  career  has  been  a 
successful  one.  Mr.  Hilscher  was  the  son  of  an 
ardent  Republican,  and  gets  his  name  from  the 
first  presidential  candidate  for  the  Republican 
party.  He  has  always  been  enthusiastically  identi- 
fied with  that  party.  He  was  alternate  delegate 
to  the  National  Repul:>lican  Convention  in  Chi- 
cago in  1888,  and  was  chairman  of  the  county 
committee  of  Kandiyohi  County  the  same  year. 
lUit  aside  from  this  and  occasional  service  to 
his  party  on  the  stump,  he  has  not  taken  an 
active  part  in  political  affairs.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  St.  Paul  Conunercial  Club,  of  the  ^lasonic 
Order,  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  A.  O. 
U.  W.  In  Sei>tenilicr,  1894,  he  was  elected  Grand 
Chancellor  of  Minnesota  by  tlie  Knights  of 
Pythias,  and  served  the  order  until  1895,  when 
he  was  elected  Supreiue  Representative  from  the 
state.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  .Mr.  Ililsclier  \\;is  married  December 
30.  1884,  to  Miss  Hetta  Anderson,  of  Lincoln, 
Illinois.  They  have  two  children.  Hazel,  age.d 
eiglU,  and  John  F.,  aged  four. 


I'KOGKHSSIVH  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


151 


WILLIAM     E.    JOHNSON. 

William  E.  Johnson  is  a  member  of  the 
Minnesota  senate,  elected  from  the  Twenty- 
ninth  District,  which  comprises  a  part  of  the 
city  of  Minneapolis,  lie  is  a  sou  of  the  late 
James  Johnson,  and  was  l)orn  at  Palestine,  Col- 
nmhiana  County,  ( )hio,  hebruary  8,  1850.  His 
ancestry  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Xew 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  They  settled 
near  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  the  year  1810,  and 
took  part  in  the  Revolutionary  War  and  in  the 
Indian  wars  of  the  early  history  of  Ohio.  .Senator 
Johnson  was  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
and  began  business  in  the  railway  service  in  which 
he  was  engaged  until  1891.  He  went  to  South 
Dakota  in  1881  as  assistant  superintendent  of 
the  Dakota  division  of  the  Chicago  &  North- 
western Railroad,  and  was  the  principal  mover 
in  the  organization  and  settlement  of  Hand 
County  having  it  surveyed  by  the  United  States 
government  and  opened  for  settlement.  This 
was  done,  too,  in  a  time  which  required  nerve, 
enterprise  and  perseverance  to  secure  an  economi- 
cal and  business-like  management  of  public 
affairs,  there  being  so  many  men  ready  in  those 
days  to  take  advantage  in  the  organization  of 
new  counties  to  set  up  schemes  for  their  private 
advantage,  but  both  Hand  and  Beadle  Counties 
owe  to  Mr.  Johnson's  prudence  and  careful  man- 
agement the  fact  that  they  were  unusually  free 
from  the  burdens  which  were  laid  upon  many  of 
the  new  Western  communities.  When  he  left  that 
country  some  ten  years  later  the  people  gave  him 
a  handsome  testimonial  in  recognition  of  his  pub- 
lic services.  He  came  to  Minneapolis  in  1891 
and  accepted  the  presidency  of  the  Guaranty 
Savings  and  Loan  Association  in  Minneapolis. 
He  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  building  up  this 
line  of  financial  investment,  and  has  a  national 
reputation  as  a  promoter  of  building  and  loan 
associations.  He  is  a  member  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  Interstate  League  of  National 
Building  and  Loan  Associations  of  the  I'nited 
States.  This  committee  consists  of  seven  mem- 
bers, and  is  organized  on  lines  similar  to  that  of 
the  American  Bankers'  Association.  Mr.  John- 
son never  took  a  very  active  part  in  politics  until 
1S04,  when  he  was  selected  liy  his  district  as  a 
candidate  for  the  state  senate.    He  was  elected  as 


a  member  of  that  body,  and  in  the  session  of  1895 
received  his  first  introduction  to  public  affairs.  He 
is  a  Republican  in  his  affiliations,  and  occupied  an 
important  position  in  the  delegation  which  repre- 
sented his  city  in  the  senate.  As  a  member  of 
that  body  he  took  an  active  interest  in  labor  leg- 
islation ;  was  a  member  of  the  committee  on  labor, 
and  exerted  an  important  influence  in  shaping  the 
legislation  of  the  session.  .Mr.  Johnson  is  thor- 
oughly in  sympathy  with  the  labor  classes,  and  a 
firm  believer  in  their  improvement  and  bet- 
terment through  education,  believing  that 
a  better  understanding  of  the  relations  be- 
tween labor  and  capital  by  both  employer  and 
employe  will  greatly  jjromote  a  more  harmnnious 
relation  and  more  judicious  co-operation  between 
them.  :Mr.  Johnson  is  an  attendant  on  the  serv- 
ices (if  the  I'"pisc(ipal  church,  anfl  enjovs  the  con- 
fidence ami  esteem  of  a  large  circle  of  accjuaint- 
ances,  who  hold  him  in  high  regard  for  his  per- 
sonal qualities  and  devotion  to  public  interest. 
He  takes  an  active  interest  in  municipal  questions, 
and  is  a  diligent  student  of  the  problems  of  mu- 
nicipal government.  He  is  a  firm  believer  in  the 
mayoralty  system  of  nnmicijial  government,  be- 
lieving that  that  office  should  have  large  powers 
and  a  wide  range  of  authority.  Mr.  Johnson  wa.'i 
married  at  Lima,  Indiana,  to  Harriet  I.  McXabb. 
June  2,  1869,  and  has  five  children. 


152 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


PETER  P.  OUIST. 

After  almost  a  lifetime  of  military  service  in 
the  old  country,  the  hardships  of  a  pioneer  on 
tlie  plains  of  Minnesota  must  seem  quite  trivial. 
Peter  N.  Quist,  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  came  to  America  in  1865,  after  having 
served  twenty-six  years  in  the  army  of  Sweden. 
He  took  up  a  homestead  in  Nicollet  County, 
then  far  on  the  frontier.  In  fact  there  was  no 
lumber  supply  nearer  than  Minneapolis,  and 
lumber  for  the  house  which  the  inmiigrant  put 
up  was  hauled  from  Minneapolis.  It  was  on  this 
farm  that  young  Peter  saw  the  first  of  j\linnc- 
sota  life.  He  was  born  August  18,  1854,  in  Rin- 
kaby,  Sweden,  and  was,  conse(]uently,  eleven 
>ears  of  age  when  his  parents  came  to  America. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  in  St.  Peter,  and 
also  St.  Ausgari  Academy  at  Carver,  Minnesota, 
and  in  the  intervals  of  school  life  worked  on  the 
farm  with  his  father.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one 
he  left  the  farm  and  learned  the  hardware  and 
farm  machinery  business.  There  are  seven 
brothers  in  the  Quist  family,  and  all  arc  living  in 
this  country'  and  occupying  positions  where  they 
command  the  respect  of  their  fellow  citizens. 
The  oldest  brother,  Nels,  came  to  America  be- 
fore his  parents,  and  settled  in  Xicollct  countv. 


Andrew,  the  second  brother,  came  over  in  1857, 
and  when  the  rebellion  broke  out  enlisted  in  the 
First  Minnesota  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served 
during  the  entire  war  in  that  famous  regiment. 
He  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  He 
now  lives  in  Grafton,  North  Dakota.  The  third 
brother  was  Olof,  who  became  the  founder  and 
editor  of  Skordemannen,  the  only  Swedish  agri- 
cultural paper  in  the  United  States.  He  was  also 
the  first  postmaster  of  New  Sweden.  Another 
brother  is  the  Rev.  H.  P.  Quist,  who  was  or- 
dained at  Philadelphia  in  1876,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  Augustana  synod  of  the  Swedish  Lutheran 
church.  J.  P.  Quist  is  in  business  with  Peter  at 
Winthrop,  and  the  youngest  brother  is  living  at 
New  Sweden,  where  he  is  postmaster.  The 
father  of  this  large  family  died  in  1891,  aged  eighty 
years.  Their  mother  is  still  living,  and  is  now 
eighty-three  years  old.  In  1882  Peter  Quist  lo- 
cated at  the  then  new  town  of  Winthrop,  Sibley 
County.  It  was  at  that  time  the  terminus  of  the 
Pacific  division  of  the  M.  &  St.  L.  railway,  and  a 
promising  place.  Mr.  Quist  opened  a  hardware 
and  farm  machinery  store  under  the  name  of 
Quist  Brothers,  associating  with  himself  in  the 
lousiness  his  brother,  J.  P.,  and  C.  J.  Larson, 
aftenvards  state  senator.  The  business  has  pros- 
pered. There  have  Ijeen  a  number  of  changes, 
and  the  concern  is  now  known  as  P.  P.  Quist  & 
Co.  Mr.  Quist  was  appointed  postmaster  in  18S3 
and  served  for  ten  years,  giving  way  in  1893, 
when  the  Democracy  had  a  man  for  the  place. 
Mr.  Quist  has  always  been  a  Republican.  He 
has  taken  much  interest  in  party  affairs,  has  been 
a  member  of  many  of  the  conventions  in  the 
county  and  congressional  district,  and  has  repre- 
sented the  county  in  state  conventions.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Sibley  County  Republican  com- 
mittee, a  town  trustee,  a  member  of  the  school 
board,  vice  president  of  the  W'intlirop  lioard  of 
Trade,  director  in  the  State  liank  of  Winthrop 
and  a  director  in  the  Scandinavian  Relief  Asso- 
ciation of  Red  Wing.  \\'hen  the  Swedish  Luth- 
eran church  at  Winthrop  was  formed  he  became 
one  of  the  incorporators  and  has  been  its  treas- 
urer f(ir  a  nniiil)cr  of  years.  ( )n  Eebruarv  5, 
1881,  i\lr.  Quist  married  I\liss  Ennna  M.  Falk, 
of  Red  Wing,  who  was  a  teacher  in  the  schools 
of  Goodhue  County.  Thc\-  have  six-  cliildrcn, 
Ida,  Hugo.  Chester.  Mauritz,  Walter  and  Lvdia. 


PROGKESSIVH   MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


153 


ALONZO  DRAPER  MEEDS. 

Alonzo  Draper  Meeds  was  born  December 
6,  1864,  in  East  Minneapolis,  then  known  as  St. 
Anthony.  His  early  education  was  received 
chiefly  in  the  public  schools  of  Stillwater,  Minne- 
sota, and  his  college  training  at  the  State  Univer- 
sity at  Minneapolis,  where  he  took  the  scientific 
course,  graduating  in  1889,  with  the  degree  of  B.S. 
While  in  college  he  was  a  member  of  the  Psi 
Upsilon  fraternity.  Mr.  Meeds'  parents,  Charles 
H.  Meeds  and  Sarah  Lucy  Means  (Meeds),  were 
both  born  in  ]\Iaine,  the  father  at  Standish  and 
the  mother  at  Saco.  The  earliest  family  records 
indicate  that  the  Meeds  settled  at  Harvard,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  Artemus  Meeds,  grandfather  to  A. 
D.  Meeds,  moved  from  there  to  Linnington, 
Maine,  and  thence  to  Standish,  Alainc,  where 
his  father,  C.  H.  Meeds,  was  born.  Here 
Samuel  Meeds  was  born,  June  18,  1732. 
His  father,  Samuel  Meads,  (the  name  is  spelled 
Meads  in  these  old  records),  came  to  Plarvard 
from  Littleton,  ^Massachusetts.  He  served  in  the 
French  and  Indian  wars  from  August  to  Decem- 
ber, 1755,  and  his  son,  Samuel,  in  a  company  com- 
manded by  Israel  Taylor,  which  was  sent  for  the 
relief  of  Fort  William  Henry  in  August,  1757. 
Samuel,  the  elder,  was  also  engaged  in  the  cam- 
paign against  Fort  Ticonderoga  in  1758,  and  he 
was  also  among  the  Harvard  men  who  sprang  to 
arms  at  the  Lexington  alarm  and  marched  to 
Cambridge,  April  ig,  1775.  In  July,  1777,  when 
it  was  thought  the  British  were  about  to  invade 
Rhode  Island,  he  was  again  in  the  service,  al- 
though long  past  the  military  age.  Saiuuel,  Jr., 
was  in  the  service  at  various  times,  and  marched 
on  Bennington  at  the  alarm  call.  It  thus  appears 
that  the  Meeds  were  active  in  the  colonial  de- 
fense, although  it  does  not  appear  that  any  of 
them  occupied  very  prominent  positions. 
Charles  Henry  Meeds  enlisted  in  1862  in  the 
Maine  \'olunteers,  but  served  only  a  few  months, 
being  discharged  on  account  of  disability.  He 
came  to  Minnesota  first  in  1856,  and  after  the 
war,  in  1864,  returned  with  his  family,  locating 
at  St.  Anthony.  He  was  engaged  in  the  steam- 
boat business  between  St.  Anthony,  Red  Wing, 
Hastings  and  adjacent  points  on  the  river.  The 
family  finally  removed  to  Stillwater  in  1872. 
While  at  the  university  Alonzo,  the  subject  of 
this    sketch,    devoted    especial    attention    to    the 


study  of  chemistr}-  and  geology,  and  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1888  was  engaged  on  the  Minnesota  geo- 
logical survey  in  field  work  in  Northeastern  Min- 
nesota. In  the  winter  of  1889  he  secured  a  position 
with  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  at  St.  Paul,  and 
spent  the  following  summer  on  a  survey  in  the 
state  of  Washington,  for  that  road.  In  Septem- 
ber of  that  year  he  was  appointed  assistant  in  the 
chemical  laboratory  of  the  university,  and  in 
October,  1891,  on  a  leave  of  absence,  joined  a 
scientific  expedition  to  Mexico,  under  Dr.  Carl 
Lumholtz,  exploring  the  .Sierra  ]\Iadre  moun- 
tains. The  expedition  was  undertaken  under  the 
auspices  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  of  New  York.  Returning  May,  1892, 
the  summer  was  spent  in  the  Alinnesota  Geologi- 
cal Survey,  and  in  September  Air.  Meeds  resumed 
his  work  in  the  chemical  laboratory  of  the  uni- 
versity, where  he  continued  as  an  instructor  until 
1894.  In  August  of  that  year  he  w^as  elected  in- 
spector of  gas  for  the  city  of  Minneapolis,  after 
a  competitive  examination,  and  now  holds  that 
office.  He  has  discharged  the  duties  of  his  posi- 
tion to  the  full  satisfaction  of  the  public,  and  ren- 
dered important  service  in  maintaining  the  qual- 
ity of  the  product.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Amer- 
ican Association  for  Advancement  of  Science,  of 
the  American  Chemical  Society,  is  secretary  of 
the  Minnesota  Academy  of  Natural  Science,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order. 


154 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


EUGENE   \  lR(_iIL  S.MALLhV. 

E.  V.  Smalley,  a  prominent  Republican  jovu-- 
nalist  in  Washington  and  Xew  York  during  the 
period  following  the  Civil  War,  and  in  later 
years  an  author,  magazine  writer,  and  publisher. 
was  born  in  Randolph,  Portage  County,  L)hio, 
in  1841.  He  was  the  son  of  a  small  farmer,  who 
was  warmly  interested  in  the  anti-slavery  move- 
ment, and  who  wrote  articles  and  delivered  lec- 
tures in  its  support.  The  father  died  when  the 
boy  was  eleven  years  old,  and  at  thirteen  the 
latter  apprenticed  himself  to  learn  the  printer's 
trade  in  the  office  of  the  Advertiser,  at  Fredonia, 
New  York.  He  completed  his  apprenticeship  on 
the  Telegraph,  at  Painesville,  Ohio,  and  then 
managed  to  get  a  few  terms  of  schooling  in  a 
little  anti-slavery  college  at  McGrawsville,  Xew 
York,  endowed  bj^  Gcrrit  Smith.  This  was  ac- 
complished by  teaching  school  and  setting  ty])e 
part  of  the  time.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  was 
part  owner  and  local  editor  of  the  Press  and 
Advertiser,  in  Painesville,  Ohio.  .\t  twenty  he 
enlisted,  on  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion,  in  the 
Seventh  (Jhio  Infantry,  under  the  first  call  for 
volunteers.  He  was  discharged  in  1863  on 
account  of  wounds  received  in  the  battle  of  Port 
Rei)ublic.  He  worked  for  a  time  on  the  Cleve- 
land Herald,  and  then  obtained  a  clerkshi])  in 
the  treasury  at  Washington.  This  post  he 
resigned  in  1865  tf)  buy  the  Register  at  Youngs- 
town,  Ohio,  in  the  congressional  district  of  Gen- 


eral Garfield,  who  obtained  for  him  the  clerkship 
of  the  committee  on  military  affairs  in  the  House 
at  Washington.  He  sold  his  newspaper  in  1868, 
traveled  in  Europe  in  1869,  and  in  1870  began  to 
furnish  Washington  correspondence  for  the  New 
York  Tribune.  In  1871  Horace  Greeley  gave 
him  a  place  on  the  staff  of  that  paper,  and  he 
went  South  to  investigate  the  Klu-Klux  outrages. 
His  letters  from  South  Carolina  led  to  the  sus- 
pension of  the  habeas  corpus  in  five  counties  of 
that  state  by  President  Grant,  and  to  the  arrest 
and  punishment  of  a  large  number  of  the  leaders 
of  the  cruel  Klu-Klux  Klan.  In  1883  IMr. 
Smalley  was  sent  to  Europe  to  describe  the 
World's  Fair  at  A'ienna.  The  Centennial  Exhi- 
bition at  Philadelphia  was  his  special  field  in 
1876.  As  a  political  correspondent,  he  visited 
nearly  every  state  in  the  Union,  frequently  taking 
part  in  campaigns  as  a  platform  speaker.  In 
1880  he  wrote  "A  Brief  History  of  the  Repub- 
lican Party,"  which  had  a  large  sale,  and  also  a 
life  of  General  Garfield.  He  served  continuously 
for  twelve  years  on  the  Tribune,  except  one  year 
spent  in  the  position  of  managing  editor  of  the 
Cleveland  Herald.  In  1882  he  was  commis- 
sioned by  the  Century  Alagazine  to  travel 
through  the  northern  tier  of  states  and  territories,, 
from  Lake  Superior  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  and 
write  a  series  of  articles.  This  journey  led  him  to 
write  a  "Histon,-  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail- 
road," which  was  published  in  a  large  volume  in 

1883  by  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York.     In 

1884  he  established  in  St.  Paul  the  Northwest 
Illustrated  Monthly  Alagazine,  with  the  purpose 
of  promoting  the  development  of  all  the  new 
regions  of  the  northwestern  part  of  the  American 
continent.  Of  this  periodical  he  is  still  editor 
and  publisher.  IMr.  Smalley  has  been  a  frequent 
contributor  to  Eastern  magazines,  notably  to  the 
Atlantic,  the  Century  and  the  Forum.  His  home 
is  in  St.  Paul.  His  e.xtensive  travels  in  the  North- 
west and  his  close  study  of  its  topography,  cli- 
mate, resources  and  people,  for  fourteen  years,, 
has  made  him  a  recognized  authority  on  this 
section.  He  has  enjoyed  the  acquaintance  of 
seven  Presidents  of  the  United  .States,  and  was 
the  trusted  personal  friend  of  Hayes  and  Garfield. 
His  nc\v.s])aper  work  brought  him  into  intimate 
relations  with  nearly  all  the  eminent  men  who 
organized  the  RejMiblican  part\-  and  were  its 
national  leaders  during  the  first  thirty  years  of  its 
existence. 


PKUGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNE-SOTA. 


155 


GEORGE  A.  T^ILLSIU-RV. 

Few  names  arc  better  known  in  Minneapolis 
tlian  that  of  Pillsljnry.  George  A.  I'illsbury,  the 
elder  of  the  Pillsbury  family,  became  a  resident 
of  Minneapolis  in  1878.  He  was  a  native  of 
New  Hampshire,  where  he  was  born  Angust  29, 
1816.  He  received  a  common  school  education, 
and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  found  his  first  employ- 
ment with  a  grocer  in  Boston.  After  a  little 
more  than  a  year  he  returned  to  Sutton,  New 
Hampshire,  where  he  had  been  brought  up,  and 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  stoves  and  sheet 
iron,  with  his  cousin,  J.  C.  Pillsbury.  During  the 
next  ten  years  he  was  engaged  in  various  mer- 
cantile enterprises,  and  in  185 1  was  appointed 
purchasing  agent  for  the  Concord  Railroad  cor- 
poration. He  moved  to  Concord  and  continued 
in  this  position  for  nearly  twenty-four  years.  In 
1864,  Mr.  Pillsbury,  with  others,  organized  and 
put  in  operation  the  First  National  Bank  of  Con- 
cord. Two  years  later  he  became  its  president. 
In  1867  he  organized  the  National  Savings  Bank 
of  the  same  place.  During  his  life  in  New 
Hampshire  Mr.  Pillsbury  held  several  town  and 
municipal  offices,  including  the  ofiice  of  mayor 
of  Concord,  in  1876  and  1877.  I'''  1871  and  1872 
he  sat  in  the  New  Hampshire  legislature.  Upon 
the  announcement  of  his  determination  to  leave 
Concord  in  the  spring  of  1878,  complimentary 
resolutions  were  unanimously  passed  by  both 
branches  of  the  city  government,  by  the  directors 
of  the  First  National  Bank,  by  the  First  Baptist 
church  and  society,  and  by  the  Webster  Club, 
of  Concord.  A  similar  testimonial  was  presented 
to  him  bearing  the  names  of  more  than  three 
hundred  of  the  business  men  of  the  city.  For 
some  years  previous  to  his  coming  to  Minneap- 
olis, Mr.  Pillsbury  had  been  a  member  of  the 
great  milling  firm  of  Charles  A.  Pillsbury  &  Co. 
After  coming  here  he  took  a  more  active  part  in 
the  affairs  of  the  concern,  and  also  became  identi- 
fied with  many  of  the  business  enterprises  of  the 
city.  Among  the  various  corporate  and  public 
trusts  which  he  has  filled  are  these:  President  of 
the  Board  of  Trade,  of  the  Homeopathic  Hospi- 
tal, of  the  Pree  Dispensary,  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, Pillsbury  &  Hurlburt  Elevator  Company. 
Vice-President  of  the  Minnesota  Loan  &  Trust 
Company,  Director  and  President  of  the  North- 
western  National  Bank,  Director  of  the  Manu- 


facturers' National  Bank,  of  the  Minneapolis  Ele- 
vator Company,  and  of  the  Northwestern  Guar- 
anty Loan  Company.  He  has  also  served  as 
President  of  the  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  Bap- 
tist Union,  of  the  Minnesota  Baptist  State  Con- 
vention, and  as  trustee  of  the  Chicago  University. 
In  188S,  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  American 
Baptist  Union,  he  was  elected  its  president.  Not 
long  after  his  arrival  in  Minneapolis,  Mr.  Pills- 
bury was  elected  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation. He  was  also  made  alderman,  and  be- 
came a  member  of  the  city  council.  In  1884  he 
was  nominated  by  the  Republican  city  conven- 
tion as  its  candidate  for  mayor.  After  a  brief 
but  determined  canvass  Mr.  Pillsburv  was  elected 
by  a  majority  of  eight  thousand.  His  adminis- 
tration was  characterized  by  the  devotion  to  de- 
tail, and  economy  in  expenditure.  As  mayor  he 
-was  ex-officio  member  of  the  park  and  water 
works  boards,  as  well  as  head  of  the  police  de- 
partment. In  his  inaugural  message  flavor  Pills- 
bury suggested  that  saloons  should  not  be 
licensed  in  the  residence  portions  of  the  city. 
The  development  of  this  idea  by  Captain  Judson 
N.  Cross,  then  city  attorney,  gave  to  Minneapolis 
the  "patrol  limits"  system  of  saloon  restriction. 
During  his  active  life  in  Minneapolis,  'Sir.  Pills- 
bury has  been  closely  identified  with  the  higher 
life  of  the  city,  and  has  taken  an  interested  and 
intelligent  part  in   tlie   development  of  religion 


156 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


and  education.  About  ten  years  ago  he  served 
as  chairman  of  the  building  committee  of  the 
First  Baptist  church,  of  which  he  had  been  a 
most  prominent  member  since  his  settlement  in 
this  city,  and  the  edifice  which  was  erected  under 
his  charge  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  Northwest. 
Upon  its  completion.  'Sir.  and  Mrs.  I'illsbury. 
with  their  two  sons,  placed  in  the  church,  at 
Iheir  own  expense,  the  largest  and  best  organ  in 
the  city.  At  about  the  same  time  Mr.  Pillsbury 
made  most  liberal  donations  to  the  AJinnesota 
Academy  at  Owatonna,  Minnesota.  This  school 
was  under  the  patronage  of  the  Baptist  state  con- 
vention. In  1886  he  built,  at  a  cost  of  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars,  a  Ladies'  Boarding  Hall,  containing 
all  the  modern  conveniences  and  appointments 
of  such  a  building.  In  recognition  of  his  gift  the 
name  of  the  institution  was  changed  to  Pillsbury 
-Academy.  In  later  years  Air.  Pillslniry  has  aided 
this  institution  by  building  a  forty  thousand  d(.)llar 
academic  building,  handsomely  equipped :  a  music 
hall,  a  drill  hall,  a  steam  plant  and  other  improve- 
ments at  a  cost  of  about  sixty  thousand  dollars. 
He  has  also  contributed  a  sum  of  more  than  forty 
thousand  dollars  for  endowment  and  current  ex- 
penses. But  w'hile  doing  so  nnich  for  the  state 
of  his  adoption,  Mr.  Pillsbury  was  not  unmindful 
of  his  early  home.  In  the  year  1890  he  made 
three  notable  gifts.  To  Concord  he  gave  a  free 
hospital,  at  a  cost  of  seventy-two  thousand  dollars. 
To  Warner  he  presented  a  free  public  library,  and 
to  Sutton  a  soldiers'  monument.  JMr.  Pillsbury 
was  married  on  Alay  g,  1841,  to  Miss  iMargaret  S. 
Carlton.  They  had  two  sons,  Charles  A.  Pills- 
bury and  I'Ved  C.  Pillsbury,  who  early  became 
known  in  connection  with  their  e.xtensive  milling 
operations  in  Minneapolis.  Charles  A.  Pillsbury 
is  still  at  the  head  of  the  Pillsbury-Washburn 
Flour  Mills  Comjiany,  and  Mr.  h'red  Pillsl)ury 
died  a  few  years  ago. 


WTLLl'.T  .MAKTI.X  IIAV.S. 

Professor  Willcl  .M.  IIa\s  was  born  in  1850 
near  the  village  of  Gifford,  1  lardin  Cdunty,  Iowa. 
His  father,  .Silas  Hays,  had  joined  the  earliest 
pioneers  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Iowa  river,  a 
few  years  before  Willet's  birth.  The  father  was  a 
man  of  positive  character  having  been  one  of  the 
only    four   members   of   the   Abf)lition    party    in 


Bladensburg  township,  Knox  County,  Ohio,  from 
which  place  he  emigrated,  with  his  young  wife, 
to  Iowa.  He  was  of  British  stock.  His  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Christina  Lepley  was  of 
the  sturdy  Pennsylvania  Dutch  stock,  so  num- 
erous in  central  Ohio.  When  Willet  was 
six  years  old  his  mother  was  left  a  widow 
with  an  older  son  and  an  infant  boy. 
W  hen  the  estate  was  settled  she  had  a  farm  of 
one  hundred  and  forty  acres,  and  several  hun- 
dred dollars  in  cash.  When  the  second  son  was 
twelve  years  of  age  the  tenant,  who  had  allowed 
the  farm  to  run  down,  was  discharged  and  Willet 
and  his  brothers  managed  it.  The  mother  was 
not  only  truly  loyal  to  her  boys,  but  she  was  a 
strong  business  woman,  and  under  her  guidance 
the  boys  made  the  farm  pay,  erecting  buildings, 
planting  fine  groves,  building  fences  and  roads 
and  gaining  the  favorable  comments  of  the  neigh- 
bors. Charles  L.  and  Willet  took  turns  "year 
about"  in  college  and  in  managing  the  farm  until 
the  elder  brother  was  ready  for  a  post  graduate 
course  of  law.  The  youngest  of  the  three, 
Marion,  was  then  ready  to  enter  college  and  the 
farm  was  again  rented.  Having  finished  the 
country  school,  Willet  attended  Oskaloosa  Col- 
lege, Oskaloosa,  and  Drake  University,  Des 
Moines,  Iowa,  for  three  years,  taking  an 
academic  course  and  then  yieldiiig  to  his 
desire  for  agricultural  work,  he  entered  the 
State  Agricultural  College  at  Ames,  Iowa,  where 
he  graduated  in  the  fall  of  1885,  receiving  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Agriculture.  He  received 
a  good  standing  in  his  college  classes.  Instead 
of  high  marks  in  recitation,  he  gained  a  reputa- 
tion among  the  professors  for  studying  subjects 
rather  than  books,  often  developing  them  beyond 
the  work  of  the  classes,  and  thus  showing  his 
bent  for  the  practical  in  agricultural  education. 
\t  about  the  time  of  graduation,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Clara  Shepperd,  of  Chariton,  Iowa, 
who  took  a  post  graduate  course  at  the  Iowa 
Agricultural  College  in  Domestic  Science,  and 
became  his  able  co-worker  in  industrial  educa- 
tion, l/pon  graduation  he  was  placed  in  charge 
of  the  agricultural  ex]>erimcnts  <m  the  college 
farm  at  .'\mes.  Here  he  did  work  of  value, 
among  other  things,  showing  the  extent  and  posi- 
tion in  the  soil  of  the  roots  of  corn  and  other 
crojis.  The  kind  of  tillage  and  tillage  imple- 
ments  adai)ted    to    conserving   soil    moisture    in 


I'KOGKESSIVI-;   MIvN   OF   MIXNESOTA 


157 


time  of  drouth  by  level  culture  at  uiediuni  depth 
without  seriously  ])runiug  the  roots,  now  so 
much  emphasized  in  agricultural  teaching,  was 
here  first  clearly  shown.  Instead  of  completing  a 
post  graduate  course  in  science,  Air.  Hays  se- 
cured a  position  as  associate  editor  (if  tlie  I'rairie 
Farmer,  Chicago,  under  the  venerable  editor. 
Orange  Judd.  In  1888,  when  the  various  states 
began  to  establish  experiment  stations  under  the 
government  appropriations,  Minnesota  was  on 
the  hunt  for  practical  men,  and  Dr.  Edward  D. 
Porter  selected  Mr.  Hays  as  his  assistant.  Two 
J  ears  later  the  lioard  of  Regents  promoted  hini 
to  the  Professorship  of  Agriculture.  A  year  later, 
Mrs.  Hays,  having  won  a  name  for  herself 
through  teaching  and  lecturing,  the  two  were 
offered  the  Professorship  of  Agriculture  and 
Domestic  Science  in  the  North  Dakota  Agri- 
cultural College  at  Fargo.  Here  the  most  prac- 
tical and  valuable  work  was  being  accomplished 
by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hays  when  death  removed  the 
wife.  Those  interested  in  the  agricultural  de- 
partment of  the  I'niversity  of  Alinnesiita,  soon 
after  this,  negotiated  with  Professor  Hays  to  re- 
turn and  various  reasons,  well  considered,  led 
him  to  accept  again  his  old  place  as  Professor 
of  Agriculture  and  with  it,  the  position  of  Vice- 
Chairman  and  Agriculturist  of  the  Experiment 
Station.  Having  been  educated  in  a  western 
agricultural  college,  Professor  Hays  in  the  in- 
ception of  the  Minnesota  School  of  Agriculture, 
took  a  leading  part  in  defining  its  policy  and  in 
holding  it  to  the  work  of  making  educated  farm- 
ers out  of  the  most  enterprising  farm  boys  of 
the  state.  Reorganizing  the  course  in  the  college 
of  agriculture  also  had  his  special  attention. 
As  professor  of  agriculture  he  organized  dairy 
education  in  the  School  of  Agriculture  and  upon 
his  recommendation  the  Board  of  Regents  made 
the  appropriation  for  the  original  dairv  building, 
appointed  a  separate  professor  of  dairying  and 
started  the  Minnesota  Dairy  .School.  Likewise 
instruction  in  the  School  of  Agriculture  in  the 
slaughter  and  care  of  meats  was  started  by  him, 
being  a  new  feature  in  agricultural  schools. 
His  connection  with  Mrs.  Hays'  work  caused 
him  to  take  a  prominent  part  in  developing  the 
industrial  course  for  ladies  in  North  Dakota  Ag- 
ricultural College.  He  acts  upon  the  belief  that 
the  Universitv  of  Minnesota  can  and  should  im- 


plant a  system  of  agricultural  high  schools  in  the 
state  and  nation,  for  farm  girls  as  it  seems  to 
have  done  for  farm  bcjys,  and  also  the  advanced, 
or  agricultural  college  course  for  those  women 
who  have  graduated  in  the  girls'  agricultural 
high  school,  who  wish  to  become  teachers 
and  scientific  investigators  in  woman's  in- 
dustries. He  has  written  much  in  bulle- 
tins for  the  Iowa,  JNIinnesota  and  North 
Dakota  experiment  stations,  and  has  been 
a  prolific  writer  for  the  agricultural  press 
in  the  Northwest  and  has  in  preparation 
text  books  for  his  classes  in  agriculture. 
Among  the  reports  of  original  work,  his  studies 
in  the  roots  of  corn  and  other  field  crops,  of 
tillage,  feeding  experiments,  breeding  field  crops, 
the  improvement  of  field  seeds,  field  management 
of  pasture  and  meadows  may  be  especially  men- 
tioned. He  has  done  work  in  the  Farmers'  Insti- 
tute and  has  delivered  many  addresses  at  meetings 
of  agricultural  people.  He  has  taken  a  special 
interest  in  the  rural  school  and  has  prepared  a 
reader  for  the  fourth  grade.  A  system  of  sub- 
experiment  farms  as  a  part  of  the  Minnesota 
Experiment  .'station,  with  adjunct  forest  experi- 
ment stations  under  the  auspices  of  the  Division 
of  Forestry  of  the  I'nited  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  has  recently  been  organized  under 
his  leadership  and  management. 


158 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CLARENDON  DWIGHT  BELDEN. 

Clarendon  Dwight  Belden,  of  Austin,  Minne- 
sota, was  born  at  I'^uit  Hill,  just  north  of  Provi- 
dence, Rhode  Island,  May  3,  1848.  His  father, 
Stanton  Belden,  was  born  and  reared  in  Saudis- 
field,  Massachusetts,  and  graduated  at  Yale  col- 
lege in  the  class  of  1833,  and  his  professional  life 
of  thirty-five  years  was  spent  as  principal  of  the 
Fruit  Hill  Classical  Institute.  Stanton  Belden's 
mother  was  Prudence  Sholes,  of  Groton,  Connect- 
icut, and  her  father,  Nathan  Sholes,  a  Revolution- 
ary soldier,  was  killed  while  defending  Fort  Gris- 
wold.  The  mother  of  Clarendon  Dwight  Belden 
was  Antoinette  Percival  Manchester,  of  Fall 
River,  Massachusetts,  and  on  the  Manchester 
side,  the  family  lineage  is  traced  back  four  or  five 
generations  directly  to  Benjamin  Church,  1639  to 
1 7 18,  who  served  in  King  Philip's  war,  and  com- 
manded the  party  by  which  the  chief  was  slain. 
Clarendon  Dwight  Belden  was  reared  on  a  small, 
ten-acre  fruit  farm,  which  surrounded  his  father's 
academy  grounds.  He  was  educated  in  his  fath- 
er's school,  and  at  Lyons  LTniversity  grammar 
school,  Providence.  He  entered  Brown  Univer- 
sity in  1864  and  took  a  full  classical  course,  grad- 
uating with  the  class  of  1868,  receiving  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  subsequently  received  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  He  was  a  member  of 
tlie  Delta  Up.silon  fraternity,  and  also  of  the  Phi 
I'>cta  Kappa.    For  the  next  three  years  he  was  the 


principal  of  a  New  England  graded  village  school. 
In  1 87 1  he  entered  the  Crozer  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Upland,  Pennsylvania,  graduating  in  1874, 
and  was  ordained  in  J\Iay,  1874,  by  a  council 
called  by  the  Alemorial  Baptist  church  of  Phila- 
delphia. In  the  fall  of  1874  he  came  West,  set- 
tling as  pastor  in  Austin,  Minnesota.  He  had  a 
very  successful  pastorate  of  seven  and  a  half 
years,  and  resigned  to  take  the  position  of  Super- 
intendent of  Schools  of  Mower  County,  to  which 
he  was  elected  in  November,  1881.  He  held  this 
position  until  January,  1891,  and  in  that  period 
brought  the  district  schools  of  the  county  to  a 
good  graded  system.  One  year  he  was  president 
of  the  Minnesota  County  Superintendents'  Asso- 
ciation. In  October,  1891,  he  took  charge  of  the 
Baptist  church  in  Windom,  Cottonwood  County, 
Minnesota,  remaining  one  year,  during  which 
time,  their  new  meeting  house  was  completed 
and  dedicated,  and  a  heavy  debt  raised.  Return- 
ing to  Austin  in  October,  1892,  he  became  asso- 
ciate editor  of  the  Slower  County  Transcript,  one 
of  the  leading  Republican  newspapers  of  South- 
ern Minnesota,  and  in  October,  1893,  purchased 
a  half  interest  in  that  paper,  which  he  now  owns, 
and  to  which  he  gives  a  large  share  of  his  time. 
;\fr.  Belden  has  always  been  greatly  interested  in 
educational  work  and  has  been  clerk  of  the  Aus- 
tin Board  of  Education,  and  on  the  examining 
board  for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  Austin  Co-operative  Creamery 
Association  in  1893,  and  continues  as  its  general 
manager.  During  all  these  years  he  has  regu- 
larly engaged  in  ministerial  work  as  opportunity 
afforded,  and  has  been  in  close  relations  with  the 
ISaptist  denomination  of  Minnesota.  He  was 
married  on  June  27,  1877,  to  j\Irs.  Francelia  L. 
Crandall,  of  Austin,  and  has  one  daughter,  Antoi- 
nette Griffith  Belden,  born  June  24,  1882.  Mr. 
Belden  has  been  a  frequent  contributor  to  the 
religious  and  secular  press  for  the  past  twenty 
\ears.  He  has  taken  especial  interest  in  non- 
partisan municipal  reform  and  in  the  movement 
for  good  citizenship.  .Since  devoting  his  time 
largely  to  newspaper  work  he  has  taken  great 
interest  in  editorial  associational  work,  and  is  at 
present,  in  1896,  the  Minnesota  member  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  National  Editorial 
Association.  He  is  an  enthusiastic  Royal  Arch 
Mason  and  past  chancellor  commander  in  the 
Knights  of  Pythias. 


PROGRESSIVE   MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


159 


JAMES  CLARK  I\l  ICllAl-.l.. 

James  Clark  Afichael  is  an  attorney  practicing 
his  profession, in  St.  Paul.  He  was  born  March 
19,  1863,  in  Preston  County,  Virginia.  His 
fatlier,  John  A.  Micliael,  was  a  school  teacher  and 
farmer,  and  in  limited  financial  circumstances. 
His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Xancy  Hamillon 
C'rmonde.  She  is  still  living.  His  ancestry  on  his 
father's  side  were  of  Welch  and  German  extrac- 
tion and  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  New 
York,  serving  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution  and 
the  war  of  181 2.  On  his  mother's  side,  mater- 
nally they  are  direct  descendants  from  the  Plam- 
ilton  family  (Clan  Hamilton)  of  Scotland,  the 
maternal  grandmother  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  being  a  second  cousin  of  Alexander 
Hamilton.  His  mother's  paternal  ancestors  are 
descendants  of  the  Ormondes  who  figured  some- 
what in  Irish  afifairs.  James  attended  the  public 
schools  in  the  county  in  which  he  was  born,  four 
months  out  of  each  year,  until  he  was  fourteen 
years  of  age.  These  schools  were  not  of  a  very 
high  order,  though  the  diligent  scholar  could 
make  rapid  progress,  not  being  hindered  by  the 
so-called  grades.  Later  he  attended  the  West 
Virginia  State  University,  at  Morgantown,  for 
two  and  one-half  years,  and  was  an  active  member 
of  the  Columbian  Society  of  that  school.  By 
hard  work  and  diligent  devotion  to  his  studies 
James  was  able  to  stand  at  the  head  of  most  of 
his  classes,  at  the  same  time  carrying  about  one- 
half  more  studies  than  the  average  student,  com- 
pleting four  year's  work  in  about  one-half  the  time. 
On  account  of  his  father's  death,  occurring  when 
James  was  but  nine  months  old  and  leaving  his 
mother  with  two  small  children  in  such  straight- 
ened circumstances  that  she  was  unable  to  assist 
them  in  getting  a  college  education,  his  college 
da)'S  were  attended  by  very  frugal  habits  and 
excessive  labor.  He  was  obliged  to  earn  his  own 
way  by  teaching  during  the  winter  months  and 
by  whatever  employment  he  could  obtain  during 
vacations.  At  an  early  age  Mr.  Michael  com- 
menced to  fit  himself  for  the  profession  of  law. 
On  leaving  college,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he 
worked  on  a  farm  in  Illinois  for  two  years,  pur- 
suing his  professional  reading  as  best  he  could 
during  that  time.  In  1884  he  came  to  Minnesota, 
settling  at  Red  Wing,  where  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  He  remained  in  active  practice  in  that  city 
for  five  years  in  partnership  with  the  late  Hon. 


F.  W.  Hoyt,  under  the  firm  name  of  Hoyt  & 
Michael.  In  the  summer  of  1889  he  removed  to 
St.  Paul  and  has  remained  in  active  practice  in 
that  city  ever  since,  and  by  continuous  hard  work 
and  close  application  to  business  he  has  had  a 
fair  share  of  success.  He  was  assistant  corpora- 
tion attorney  of  St.  Paul  in  1891  and  1892  and 
had  more  than  usual  success  in  defending  damage 
suits  and  a  number  of  other  actions  brought 
against  the  city  in  the  state  and  federal  courts 
involving  the  ownership  of  streets.  He  was 
associate  attorney  for  the  Duluth,  Red  Wing  & 
Southern  Railway  Company  during  the  construc- 
tion of  that  road  in  1888,  and  is  at  present 
attorney  for  the  South  St.  Paul  Belt  Railway 
Company,  and  had  charge  of  all  its  legal  matters 
during  the  construction  of  the  road.  June  i,  1895, 
;Mr.  Michael  associated  with  himself  David  F. 
Peebles,  under  the  firm  name  of  Michael  & 
Peebles.  This  firm  enjoys  a  large  general  prac- 
tice. In  politics  Mr.  Michael  is  a  Democrat  and 
takes  an  active  interest  in  the  afifairs  of  his  partv, 
but  has  never  been  an  ofifice  seeker.  He  is  past 
chancellor  of  the  order  of  Knights  of  Pvthias 
and  an  active  member  of  the  Commercial  Club 
of  St.  Paul,  and  is  also  a  member  of  St.  Paul 
Lodge,  Xo.  59,  B.  P.  O.  E.  He  is  an  attendant 
of  the  Episcopal  Church.  Mr.  Michael  was  mar- 
ried September  3,  1890,  to  Miss  Jennie  i\L  Cran- 
dall.  of  Minneapolis.    They  have  no  children. 


160 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


THEOPHILUS  L.  HAECKER. 

Theophilus  L.  Haecker  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Liverpool,  Aledina  County,  Oliio  on  the  fourth 
of  May,  1846,  of  German  parents,  as  liis  name 
indicates.  When  he  was  seven  jears  old  his  ]3ar- 
cnts  removed  to  a  farm  in  Cottage  Grove,  Wis- 
consin, and  he  worked  on  the  farm  sunmiers  and 
attended  the  district  school  winters  until  he  was 
si.xtcen  years  old,  when  he  entered  the  University 
of  Wisconsin.  The  following  spring  he  was 
taken  sick,  and,  falling  behind  in  his  classes,  en- 
listed in  Company  A,  Thirty-seventh  Regiment, 
as  private,  being  then  less  than  seventeen  )  cars 
old.  Soon  after  entering  Camp  Randall,  the 
colonel  sent  word  among  the  recruits  that  he  de- 
sired specimens  of  their  handwriting.  Young 
Haecker  submitted  his  penmanship  and  was  se- 
lected to  do  clerical  work  at  headquarters.  Dur- 
ing the  siege  of  Petersburg  Mr.  Haecker  dis- 
tinguished himself  for  bravery.  After  the  siege 
he  was  placed  on  detached  service  in  the  medical 
department  at  City  T'oint,  and  was  rapidly  pro- 
moted until  he  had  charge  of  all  the  quarter- 
master's supplies  of  the  Ninth  Corps  Hospital 
Department.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  rejoined 
his  regiment  and  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
drum  corps,  participating  in  the  grand  review  at 
Washington,  and  in  .August,  1865,  returned  to 
^Tadison  with  his  regiment.  The  following 
month  he  went  to  Hampton.  Eranklin  County, 
Iowa,  to  which   i)lace  his   parents  had   removed 


while  he  was  in  the  army,  and  there  spent  two 
years  in  farming.  But,  having  a  great  desire  to 
prosecute  his  studies,  he  returned  to  Madison, 
Wisconsin,  in  the  spring  of  1867,  re-entered  the 
university,  selecting  the  ancient  classical  course. 
During  his  third  year  his  health  failed  and  he 
was  compelled  to  return  to  Hampton,  Iowa,  in 
tending  to  follow  farming;  but  opportunitv  otTer- 
ing,  he  spent  a  couple  of  years  teaching  in  the 
puljlic  schools.  In  1870  he  went  to  Hardin 
County,  Iowa,  and  founded  the  Ackley  "Inde- 
pendent," the  paper  gaining  a  wide  circulation  and 
becoming  one  of  the  leading  newspapers  of  north- 
ern Iowa  under  his  management.  In  1872  he 
made  a  tour  through  Minnesota,  visiting  St. 
Faul,  Minneapolis,  St.  Anthony  (now  East  Min- 
neapolis), and  Duluth.  In  the  fall  of  the  follow- 
ing year  he  disposed  of  the  "Independent"  and  in 
February  returned  to  Cottage  Grove,  Wisconsin, 
and  settled  on  a  farm  with  the  intention  of  going 
into  stock-raising  and  dairying.  He  had  scarcely 
settled  down  to  work  when  he  was,  without  so- 
licitation from  himself  or  his  friends,  offered  a 
position  in  the  executive  office  by  William  R. 
Taylor,  then  governor  of  ^^'isconsin.  He  ac- 
cepted the  position  and  entered  upon  his  duties, 
at  the  same  time  intendmg  to  continue  his  farm 
operations.  He  remained  in  this  position  during 
five  administrations,  covering  a  period  of  seven- 
teen years,  and  all  this  time  maintained  his  in- 
terest in  stock-raising,  much  of  the  time  driving 
ten  miles  to  his  office  in  the  morning  and  re- 
turning to  the  farm  evenings,  and  some  winters 
not  faiHng  a  single  night  to  personall\-  inspect 
every  animal  on  the  place  before  retiring.  \\'hile 
in  the  executive  office  somevery  responsible  duties 
were  imposed  upon  him,  one  being  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  St.  Croi.x  land  grant,  and  during 
twelve  years  of  the  time  he  reviewed  all  the 
])ardon  cases  coming  before  the  governor.  In 
the  early  8o's  the  board  of  regents  of  the  Wis- 
consin I'niversity  was  reorganized.  .\n  experi- 
ment station  was  then  establi^lu'd  and  Professor 
Henry  ])laccd  in  charge,  and  during  the  \ears 
followin.g  Mr.  Haecker  was  an  intimate  friend  of, 
and  constant  adviser  with.  Pi-cifessur  Henry,  thus 
becoming  familiar  with  station  and  other  agri- 
cultural educational  work.  In  the  summer  of 
1882  he  was  conmiissioned  l)v  the  board  of  re- 
gents to  make  a  tour  in  the  cast.  an<l  he  visited 
nearly  all  the  noted  lirrds  nf  live  stock-  and 
selected  jiart  of  a  carlo.-id  for  tlic  nni\iTsity.  These 


I'KoC.KlvSSIVU  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


161 


animals  proved  of  excellent  merit,  and  ui)on  the 
organization  of  the  Farmers'  Institute,  he  was 
selected  by  Mr.  Alorrist)n,  tlic  superintendent,  to 
discuss  the  subjects  of  breeding-  and  handling-  of 
dairy  stock.  To  afTord  his  children  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  educational  facilities  offered  at 
Madison  he  moved  there  in  the  fall  of  i8cjo,  and 
being  unexpectedly  relieved  from  official  duties 
in  January,  he  joined  the  first  class  in  the  Wis- 
consin Dairy  School,  "fhe  second  week  he  was 
appointed  assistant  to  the  instructor  in  the  fac- 
tory course,  and  instructor  in  the  home  dair\- 
course.  At  the  close  of  the  session  he  engaged 
in  experimental  work  at  the  Experiinent  Station, 
and  in  the  fall  he  was  appointed  instructor  in 
butter  making  in  the  Minnesota  Dairy  School. 
Upon  the  resignation  of  Professor  Hays,  he  was 
appointed  instructor  in  breeding  in  the  School 
of  Agriculture,  and  the  following  May  was  made 
assistant  in  agriculture  in  the  .Scluiol  of  Agri- 
culture and  Experiment  Station.  Tn  June,  1893, 
he  was  appointed  full  professor  in  the  College 
of  Agriculture  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  Dairy 
School.  Possibly  Professor  Haecker's  most  suc- 
cessful and  best  known  work  at  the  Experiment 
Station  is  along  the  line  of  feeding  and  the 
atlaptability  of  certain  types  of  stock  for  special 
purposes.  Professor  Haecker  is  doing  excellent 
work  in  the  field,  holding  meetings  and  making 
addresses  in  various  parts  of  this  and  other 
states,  with  the  results  showing  in  creameries 
that  are  l.ieing  started  in  almost  every  place,  and 
the  strong  interest  aroused.  Professor  Haecker 
is  making  an  enviable  record  among  the  edu- 
cators of  the  young  people  of  the  country  as 
well  as  among  the  farmers  who  appreciate  his 
efforts  in  their  behalf.  As  secretary  of  the  State 
Dairvmen's  Association  he  has  done  much  to 
bring-  it  into  the  closest  relation  with  the  dairy- 
men whom  it  is  intended  to  hell),  bringing  out 
the  home  talent  instead  of  depending  upon  out- 
side speakers  entirely. 


CARL  HEILMAIER. 

Carl  Heilmaier  was  born  t,n  the  twenty-fifth 
of  May,  1868,  at  Freising,  one  of  the  ancient 
towns  of  Bavaria.  Carl  w^as  the  son  of  Mathias 
Heilmaier,  an  officer  of  high  rank  in  the  service 


of  the  Bavarian  government  at  Munich.  Carl 
received  his  education  at  some  of  the  best  schools 
in  Bavaria,  and,  having  early  developed  a  pas- 
sionate love  and  a  decided  talent  for  music,  he 
became  a  ])npil  of  the  Royal  Consen'atory  of 
Music  at  Munich,  in  September,  1886.  He 
studied  composition  under  J.  Rheinberger  and 
jjiano  under  Berthold  Kellerman,  w-ho  was  a 
pupil  of  Liszt.  He  graduated  from  the  con- 
servatory in  July,  i8go,  and  two  years  later,  in 
]May,  i8q2,  he  married  Fraulein  Johanna  Ferber. 
a  daughter  of  a  citizen  of  Munich,  and  shortly 
afterwards  came  with  his  wife  to  America.  They 
arrived  in  Chicago  in  July,  1892,  where  Mr. 
Heilmaier  secured  an  engagement  as  a  teacher 
of  piano  at  M.  J.  Seifert's  Western  Musical  Acad- 
emy. He  remained  there  for  two  years,  but  in 
the  fall  of  1894,  because  he  reciuired  change 
on  account  of  his  health,  he  came  to  Minne- 
apolis. The  following  spring,  in  1895,  '''^  '"'^■" 
moved  to  St.  Paul,  where  he  succeeded  to  the 
clientage  of  Henri  von  Ellemeet,  a  very  successful 
teacher  of  that  city,  who  turned  over  his  pro- 
fessional engagements  to  Mr.  Heilmaier.  I\Ir. 
and  Mrs.  Heilmaier  have  a  daughter,  Johanna, 
born  February  20,  1894.  Prof.  Heilmaier  is  now 
established  at  St.  Paul,  and  is  one  of  the  leading 
musicians  and   teachers  of  the  Northwest. 


162 


PROGRESSIVE  MEX  OF  MINNESOTA. 


FERUIXAXD  P.  CAXAC-.MARQUIS. 

Ferdinand  Phileas  Canac-AJarquis  comes  oi 
an  honorable  family  of  the  Province  of  Quebec, 
Canada.  His  father,  I'ranccis  Canac-^larquis,  was 
a  well-to-do  farmer  in  the  parish  of  Ste.  Famille, 
Island  of  Orleans,  near  Quebec.  He  succeeded 
to  the  title  of  the  farm,  as  his  father  and  grand- 
father, and  even  earlier  ancestors,  had  done  he- 
fore  him.  He  participated  in  the  rebellion  oi 
1837  and  1838,  when  a  number  of  French  Cana- 
dians took  up  arms  for  the  maintenance  of  their 
representative  rights  and  the  preservation  of 
their  language  and  religion.  He  spent  his  whole 
life  on  the  farm,  although  he  was  elected  mayor 
of  his  town  and  occupied  other  important  trusts. 
He  took  great  pains  to  provide  educational  facili- 
ties for  his  children,  and  died  February  22,  i88<), 
honored  and  respected  by  every  one,  having 
reached  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-nine  years, 
and  leaving  the  family  in  good  circumstances. 
His  wife,  Sophie  Bilodeau,  was  a  native  of  Ste. 
Mar}-,  County  of  Beauce,  Province  of  Quebec, 
a  member  of  a  large  family  of  highly  respected 
people,  and  the  mother  of  twelve  children,  to 
whose  careful  training  she  devoted  her  unweary- 
ing energy.  She  was  drowned  October  30,  1875, 
in  the  St.  Lawrence  river.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born  at  Ste.  Famille.  .\iigust  16,  1858. 


He  graduated  from  the  normal  school  in  Quebec, 
and  later  at  the  business  college  in  that  city,  and 
then  engaged  as  a  salesman  in  a  dry  goods  house, 
where  he  was  employed  for  four  and  a  half  years. 
Although  his  business  prospects  were  encourag- 
ing, he  desired  to  study  medicine,  and  entered 
the  Mctoria  College  of  [Medicine  at  Alontreal. 
He  passed  examination  with  distinction  in  1886, 
and  received  the  title  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  and 
Master  in  Surgery,  this  latter  title  having  been 
conferred  that  year  on  only  four  candidates  out 
of  a  class  of  twenty-eight.  While  a  student  he 
uas  an  assistant  to  Dr.  W.  H.  Hingston,  now  Sir 
William  Hingston,  of  ^Montreal,  then  and  now 
considered  one  of  the  most  prominent  surgeons 
in  Xorth  America.  (  )n  the  twenty-seventh  of 
May,  1886,  Dr.  Canac-Marquis  arrived  in  Min- 
nesota and  located  at  Anoka.  Although  without 
acquaintance  or  friends  he  soon  succeeded  in 
building  up  a  profitable  practice,  and  at  the  end 
of  about  two  and  a  half  years  had  accumulated 
sufficient  funds  to  enable  him  to  leave  for  Europe, 
where  he  pursued  his  studies  for  a  period  of  two 
years.  He  was  admitted  to  Dr.  Pean's  clinic,  as 
well  as  that  of  Doctors  Charcot,  Pozzi,  Lucas- 
Championniere,  Le  Dantu  and  in  many  other 
clinics  and  hospitals  of  the  most  prominent  sur- 
geons in  Paris.  He  was  also  admitted  to  the  Pas- 
teur Institute  to  study  bacteriology.  He  also  spent 
nine  months  in  Berlin  in  special  studies  under 
Doctors  Koch,  Bergman,  Olshausen,  Martin  and 
others.  He  also  spent  some  time  at  Vienna  under 
Bilroth,  Braun  and  others.  October,  1890,  he  lo- 
cated in  St.  Paul,  where  he  has  established  the  rep- 
utation of  being  one  of  the  best  surgeons  in  the 
Northwest.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Alasonic  fra- 
ternity, the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  the  K.  of 
P.,  the  Odd  Fellows,  the  Elks  and  the  Alliance 
Francaise.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  State 
Medical  Society,  president  of  the  St.  Paul  Infants' 
Home  staf¥,  and  is  the  medical  director  of  the 
Lincoln  Life  and  Accident  Company,  of  the 
Germania  Life  Insurance  Company  and  the 
Bankers'  Alliance.  He  was  married  in  .St.  Paul, 
July  8,  1804,  to  Aliss  Emma  Planto,  a  native 
of  the  parisli  of  St.  Lawrence,  Island  of 
Orleans,  near  Quebec.  A  son  was  born  to  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Canac-Mru-quis,  November  21,  1895, 
who  was  named  Rantil  I'mlinaiul. 


rROGRESSlVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


163 


MICHAEL  JOHN  DOWLING. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  aUh(iii(;h  yet  a 
young  man,  has  had  an  eventful  career.  (Jn  the 
night  of  Deceniljer  4,  1880,  he  was  lost  on  the 
prairie  near  Canby,  ^Minnesota,  am!  being  over- 
taken by  a  severe  blizzard  was  unable  to  lind  his 
way  to  any  better  shelter  than  that  of  a  straw 
stack.  As  a  result  of  that  exposure  to  cold,  on 
December  20,  both  legs  were  aminitated  six 
inches  below  the  knees,  the  left  arm  four  inches 
below  the  elbow,  and  all  of  the  fingers  and  half 
of  the  thumb  of  the  right  hand.  .Mr.  nowling's 
parents  were  poor  people,  and  ])rior  to  the  great 
misfortune  which  overtook  him  he  had  been 
for  three  years  doing  farm  work  and  herdiiTg 
cattle  in  Lyon  and  Yellow  .Medicine  counties. 
After  his  narrow  escape  trom  death  in  1880  he 
remained  as  a  charge  upon  the  county  of  Yellow 
]\Iedicine  until  April  i,  1883.  He  was  born  at 
Huntington,  Hampden  County,  Massachusetts, 
February  17,  1866.  He  attended  the  i)ublic 
schools  of  that  state,  and  also  in  New  York,  Illi- 
nois, Missouri,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota.  After 
recovering  his  health,  so  liadlv  shattered  by  the 
disaster  of  1880,  Mr.  Dowling  began  April  i, 
1883,  without  a  cent,  to  rely  upon  himself  for  his 
own  support.  His  first  venture  was  at  odd  jobs 
of  painting.  He  then  secured  sufficient  funds  to 
establish  a  roller  skating  rink,  which  proved 
very  successful.  He  followed  this  up  by  teaching 
in  the  public  schools.  He  was  principal  of  the 
East  Granite  Falls  school  in  1886,  and  of  the 
Renville  schools  in  1887.  This  latter  position  was 
a  very  fortunate  one  for  him.  He  held  it  for 
three  years,  obtaining  by  means  of  it  a  good  start 
in  life,  and  refused  a  flattering  ofTer  of  continu- 
ance in  order  to  engage  in  the  publication  and 
editorship  of  the  Renville  Star,  which  he  had 
already  established.  After  a  few  months  he  sold 
the  Star,  and  during  the  years  i8<;o,  i8()i  and 
1892  traveled  extensively  throughout  the  Cnited 
States  and  Canada  as  a  special  life  insurance 
agent.  In  i8q2  he  re-purchased  the  Star  and 
also  acquired  its  contemporary,  the  Farmer.  He 
still  continues  the  publication  of  the  consolidated 
paper.  He  is  also  interested  in  several  business 
concerns  in  Renville  County,  but  regards  news- 
paper work  as  his  profession.  He  has  always 
been  a  Republican  and  has  been  honored  with 
ntimerous  ofilices  of  more  or  less  importance.  He 


was  village  recorder  of  Renviile  village  for  one 
term;  justice  of  the  peace  four  years;  secretary 
of  Renville  County  Republican  Committee,  and 
delegate  to  various  district  and  state  conventions. 
He  was  the  First  Assistant  Clerk  of  the  house  of 
representatives  in  1893,  ^"d  i"  1895  ^^'^s  unani- 
mously elected  chief  clerk  of  that  body.  At  the 
meeting  of  the  National  Republican  League  in 
June,  1895,  ^t  Cleveland,  Mr.  Dowling  was,  after 
a  short,  decisive  campaign,  elected  its  secretary. 
He  has  proven  himself  a  most  efficient  organizer, 
;uid  has  given  great  satisfaction  to  the  active 
members  of  the  party,  who  appreciate  the  val- 
uable services  he  has  rendered.  Mr.  Dowling 
is  a  meml)er  of  the  Knight  of  Pythias,  the  I.  O. 
O.  F.,  and  the  A.  (  ).  U.  \V.,  the  St.  Paul  Press 
Cluli,  the  ^^larquette  Club,  of  Chicago;  was  sec- 
retary of  the  Minnesota  Editorial  Association  for 
two  years;  has  represented  it  in  the  National 
Editorial  Association  three  different  times,  and 
was  sent  to  the  first  national  Good  Roads  con- 
vention at  Asbury  Park,  in  1894,  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  St.  Paul  Commercial  Club.  He 
married  October  2,  1895,  ^liss  Jennie  L.  Borde- 
wick,  at  Atlanta,  Georgia,  whither  both  of  them 
had  gone  as  members  of  the  state  editorial  excur- 
sion party.  I\rrs.  Dowling  is  a  daughter  of  Henry 
Bordewick,  e.x-postmaster  of  Granite  Falls,  Min- 
nesota. 


164 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


THOMAS  BURR  CLEAIEXT. 

Thomas  B.  Clement  is  a  banker  living  at  Fari- 
bault, Minnesota.  He  was  born  on  June  19,  1834. 
in  Manlius,  Onondago  County,  New  York.  His 
father,  Frederick  Clement,  was  a  native  of  ]\Iadi- 
son  County,  New  York,  where  he  was  born  in 
1799.  He  came  of  an  old  family  of  Duchess 
County,  New  York,  whose  members  were  prom- 
inent in  the  Revolutionary  War.  Air.  Frederick 
Clement  inherited  the  military  tastes  of  his  fore- 
fathers, and  in  the  old  days  in  New  York,  was 
prominent  as  an  officer  in  the  state  militia.  He 
had  four  sons  and  three  daughters,  of  whom 
only  two  sons  are  now  living.  One,  the  oldest 
of  the  family,  ( )zias,  lives  at  the  old  homestead 
at  Manlius.  and  the  other  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Mr.  Clement  is  also  descended  on  his 
mother's  side  from  an  old  Colonial  family.  Ili> 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Olive  .Mallory  and 
her  family  were  old  settlers  in  Connecticut.  As 
a  boy,  Mr.  Clement  lived  at  Manlius,  attending 
the  connnon  school  at  that  jjlace.  At  the  age  of 
nineteen,  after  tiiree  years'  e.xi)crience  in  a  coun- 
try store,  he  entered  business  for  himself.  In 
i860  Mr.  Clement  visited  Minnesota.  In  the 
follow^ing  year  he  repeated  the  visit  settling  per- 
manently at  l-'aribault  three  years  later,  at  the  age 
of  thirty,  and  continuing  the  mercantile  business 
till    1868,  when  he  organized  tin-   i'irst    Xationa! 


Bank  of  that  jilace.  He  became  its  president 
and  has  remained  in  that  position  ever  since. 
Mr.  Clement  is  recognized  as  a  "banker"  in  the 
best  sense  and  as  distinguished  from  a  "money 
loaner."  He  is  cjuick  to  recognize  in  young  men 
and  young  enterprises  the  necessary  elements  to 
success,  and  with  these  elements  as  security  he 
takes  particular  pleasure  in  helping  them  along 
over  the  critical  periods  of  inexperience  and  ap- 
parent uncertainty  to  final  independence.  His 
motto  is:  "Help  others  to  help  themselves."  As 
a  financier  he  is  always  able  to  foresee  remote 
consecjuences,  and  his  ability  is  recognized  beyond 
the  bounds  of  his  own  community.  During  his 
long  residence  at  Faribault,  Air.  Clement  has 
been  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  life  of  that  city. 
He  has  been  identified  with  its  advances  from  the 
condition  of  a  small  village  to  that  of  a  thriving 
_\oung  city.  It  has  also  been  his  part  to  be  in- 
fluential in  the  building  up  of  the  various  educa- 
tional institutions  which  have  so  conspicuously 
stamped  upon  Faribault  its  high  character  as 
a  place  of  residence.  Air.  Clement's  fellow  citi- 
zens have  not  allowed  him  to  remain  a  private 
citizen  (luring  this  period.  His  first  official  posi- 
tion was  that  of  mayor  of  this  cit}',  and  in  1874 
he  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Alinnesota  Legislature  for  one  term.  He 
was  elected  to  the  .^tate  Senate  in  1877,  and  was 
re-elected  twice,  serving  ten  years  in  all.  Twenty- 
two  years  ago  he  became  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Tnistees  of  the  Alinnesota  Institute  for  De- 
fectives. This. institute  includes  the  State  schools 
for  the  Deaf,  the  Blind,  and  the  I'"eeble-AIinded, 
all  of  which  are  located  at  Faribault.  Mr. 
Clement  has  been  president  of  the  board  during 
his  membership  in  it.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
Board  of  County  Commissioners  in  Rice  County 
for  three  years.  During  his  service  in  the  State 
Legislature  Mr.  Clement  through  large  ac- 
quaintance and  sound  business  abilit\'  was  en- 
abled to  make  himself  a  very  useful  member, 
Ixith  for  the  home  communit\-  and  for  the  state- 
at  large,  lie  took  an  active  interest  in  the  ini- 
l)ortant  legislation  enacted  dmiug  the  late 
70's  and  the  early  So's.  .Mr.  Clement  was 
first  m.-irried  in  1856  to  Aliss  lunma  jean  fohn- 
son,  daughter  of  Wm.  A.  Johnson,  of  l'"redonia,. 
New  York.  They  had  one  child,  named  l'".llen 
I  )live  who  was  born  in  1857  and  who  is  now  Airs. 


PROGRliSSIVH   MEN  OF  MINNKSOTA. 


16E 


Charles  Hutchinson  of  Faribault.  Mrs.  Clement 
died  in  1865.  In  1867  Mr.  Clement  married  Miss 
Ellen  F.  Jolmsdn,  a  sister  of  his  first  wife.  They 
have  had  two  children,  both  sons.  The  eldest, 
Thomas  J.  Clement,  died  in  1891,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two  years,  having  married  Miss  Lola 
Cofifin,  of  Faribault.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he 
was  teller  in  his  father's  bank.  The  second  son. 
Hurlburt  ().  Clement,  was  five  years  his  brother's 
junior.  He  is  now  living  at  l"arib;nill  and  is  en- 
gaged in  the  liank  with  his  fatluT.  TliDUgh  nni 
a  member  of  an\'  church  nrgaiiizatinn.  .Mr. 
Clement  attends  the  Cnngregatidnal  church  at 
Faribault. 


EGBERT    COWLES. 

Egbert  Cowles,  banker,  cashier  of  the  Hijur 
City  National  Bank,  is  the  son  of  Lucius  S. 
Cowles,  a  wholesale  dry  goods  merchant  of  Ga- 
lena and  Freeport,  Illinois.  Lucius  Cowles  was 
born  in  Farmington,  Connecticut.  The  Cowles 
family  were  of  English  origin,  and  settled  in 
Farmington  in  1647.  The\-  were  land  owners  and 
farmers,  raisers  of  fine  stock,  and  in  the  present 
century  engaged  in  jdurnalism  and  other  profes- 
sions. Judge  Alfred  Cowles,  a  member  of  this 
family,  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Illinois, 
having  taken  up  his  residence  at  Kaskaskia  as 
early  as  1823.  He  afterwards,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
six  years,  made  a  trip  across  the  plains  and 
mountains,  arriving  in  San  Francisco,  California, 
in  1852.  In  1864  he  went  to  .San  Oiego,  where  he 
remained  until  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1887. 
He  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  one  hundred 
years,  four  months  and  ten  days.  His  cousin, 
Alfred  Cowles.  was  one  of  the  owners  and  mana- 
gers of  the  Chicago  Tribune  for  many  years  be- 
fore his  death,  and  Edwin  Cowles  was  principal 
owner  of  the  Cleveland  Leader  for  upwards  of 
twentx-  years.  Mr.Cowles'  ancestry  on  his  mother's 
side  were  New  England  people,  prominent  in  the 
legal  profession  and  in  national  ])olitics.  Her 
name  was  Louise  S.  ^^'hitnKu^,  and  she  was  a  na- 
tive of  Farrjiington,  where  she  was  married.  Eg- 
bert Cowles  was  born  in  Galena,  Illinois,  January 
I,  1858,  and  removed  with  his  father's  family  to 
Freeport  in  i860.  He  attended  the  Freeport 
public  schools,  and  was  graduated  by  the  high 
schools  of  that  cit\-,  but  never  entered   college. 


He  earned  his  first  dollar  by  unloading  a  car  of 
crockery  at  Freeport  when  si.xteen  years  of  age, 
and  took  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction  in  the  accom- 
plishment. In  1872  he  went  to  Chicago,  where 
he  secured  a  position  as  messenger  for  the  Com- 
mercial National  Piank.  He  continued  with  that 
institution  until  1880,  when  he  traveled  for  two 
years  in  the  .Southern  states  on  account  of  his 
health.  In  1882  he  obtained  the  position  of 
discount  clerk  with  the  Merchants'  Loan  and 
Trust  Company,  of  Chicago,  and  he  continued  in 
that  position  until  1884.  He  then  came  to  Min- 
neapolis, where  he  assisted  in  the  organization  of 
the  Scandia  Hank  that  \ear,  and  remained  with 
that  institution  until  .May,  1886,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed assignee  of  the  Bank  of  North  Minneap- 
olis. He  settled  up  the  affairs  of  that  bank,  pay- 
ing in  full  in  four  months,  and  was  appointed 
cashier  of  the  German-American  Bank  of  Minne- 
apolis in  December,  1886,  and  remained  in  that 
position  until  August,  1894.  At  that  time  he  was 
engaged  as  manager  of  the  Flour  City  National 
Bank  of  Miiuieapolis,  and  in  January,  1895,  was 
elected  its  cashier.  Mr.  Cowles  is  a  member  of 
the  Minneapolis  Club  and  an  attendant  at  the 
First  L^nitarian  church.  He  is  not  married.  Po- 
litically he  claims  no  jiarty  afiiliations,  preferring 
to  work  and  vote  for  the  best  man  and  the  best 
cause,  regardless  of  ]>arty  lines. 


166 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


^^•ILLIA.\1  M.  LIGGETT. 

William  M.  Liggett  was  born  in  1846  in 
Union  County,  Ohio,  a  region  where  the  farmers 
were  among  the  most  intelligent,  enterprising  and 
public-spirited  men  of  the  community.  As  a 
farmer's  boy,  ;\Ir.  Liggett's  experience  was  not 
different  from  that  of  most  farmers  of  thirty-five 
years  ago,  but  he  was  scarcely  in  his  teens  before 
the  intense  political  struggle  which  preceded  the 
Civil  War  engaged  the  attention  of  every  think- 
ing man.  A  good  farm  is  the  Ijcst  nurserv  for 
boys  in  any  free  country,  hut  la-tween  1856  and 
1861,  when  every  night  round  the  fireside  and 
at  every  neighborhood  gathering  national  ques- 
tions were  discussed  with  a  fen'or  and  seriousness 
that  prepared  men  for  the  fiery  furnace  of  the 
impending  war,  a  farm  was  a  rare  school  for  the 
development  of  character.  Enlisting  at  the  age 
of  seventeen  in  the  Ninety-sixth  Ohio,  young 
Liggett  served  with  honor  in  the  campaign  of 
Red  River  under  Banks,  and  was  in  the  siege  of 
Fort  Gaines  and  Morgan,  Spanish  and  Blakely. 
The  capturing  of  Fort  Blakely  with  seven  thou- 
sand prisoners  was  the  last  engagement  of  the 
war.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  declined  a  com- 
mission, and  returned  to  the  home  farm.  After- 
wards accepting  a  situation  in  the  Fiank  of 
Marysville,  one  of  the  most  conservative  banking 
institutions   in   his   native   .state,   he    gathered    a 


business  experience  and  knowledge  of  afifairs 
which  has  since  served  him  well.  Literesting 
himself  in  politics  he  became  recognized  as  a 
local  leader,  and  was  twice  elected  treasurer  of 
his  county.  In  the  meantime  he  had  been  promi- 
nent in  the  organization  of  the  National  Guard 
of  the  state,  and  at  the  time  of  the  great  riot  in 
Cincinnati,  when  the  court  house  was  burned  and 
the  whole  city  terrorized,  he  was  colonel  of  the 
Fourteenth  C)hio  National  Guard,  and  com- 
manded the  battalion  that  cleared  the  streets  of 
the  mob,  ended  the  riot  and  restored  peace  and 
order  to  the  city,  being  wounded  severely  in  the 
brief  time  the  street  firing  lasted.  Soon  after  this 
episode,  in  1884,  he  formed  a  business  partner- 
ship with  an  old  friend  and  comrade,  ]\Iajor  Wil- 
cox, who  had  already  established  Grandview 
Farm,  in  Swift  County.  Stepping  into  the  man- 
agement of  this  property  he  was  soon  recognized 
as  one  of  the  leading  agriculturists  and  breeders 
of  the  state  and  found  ample  room  for  the  exer- 
cise of  all  the  administrative  ability  at  his  com- 
mand, and  use  for  both  his  farm  and  his  business 
e.xperience.  His  ideals  in  domestic  stock  were 
of  tlie  practical  rather  than  the  fancy  type ;  his 
success  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  During  his 
seven  years  of  residence  on  the  farm,  no  farm  in 
the  Northwest  made  more  sales  or  did  more  to 
improve  the  cjuality  of  farm  stock.  Several 
offices  of  honor  have  come  to  Colonel  Liggett 
unsolicited.  In  1888  he  was  appointed  regent  of 
the  State  University  by  Governor  McGill,  as  a 
representative  of  the  farmers  of  the  state,  and 
has  since  been  chairman  of  the  Agricultural  Com- 
mittee, and  to  him,  as  much  as  any  other,  is  due 
the  successful  opening  of  the  J\Iinne,sota  Scfiool  of 
Agriculture,  now  generally  recognized  as  a  model. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Agri- 
culture, and  the  Board  of  Farmers'  Institute,  and 
a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
National  Cattle  Growers'  Association.  In  1890  he 
was  elected  secretary  of  the  State  .Agricultural 
Society,  and  the  successful  fair  of  i8()o  was  held 
under  his  management.  Fle  would  have  been 
his  own  successor  if  Governor  INTerriam,  recog- 
nizing his  executive  ability,  had  not  appointed 
him  one  of  the  Railroad  Connnissioners  of  the 
state,  in  which  capacity  he  served  a  second  term 
as  chairman  of  the  cnnnnission.  In  August, i8()3, 
he  was  asked  b\-  \hv   i'.nard  nf   Regents  to  lal<e 


PKOCRESSIVK  MEN  OF   MINNHSOTA. 


167 


the  position  of  acting  director  of  the  Scliool  of 
Agriculture  of  the  State  Experiment  I'arni, 
giving  all  his  spare  time  to  the  duties  of  the 
position.  In  October,  1896,  Colonel  Liggett  re- 
signed as  Railroad  and  Warehouse  ("onunis- 
sioner  to  accept  the  position  i>(  dean  of  the  Agri- 
cultural School  and  director  of  the  lixperiment 
Station,  to  which  he  was  elected  by  the  i5oard  of 
Regents,  October  14,  1896.  It  is  Colonel  Lig- 
gett's  strongest  point  that  he  never  disappoints 
expectations.  He  lias  a  genial  anil  cordial  ad- 
dress which  wins  friends,  and  the  sterling  quali- 
ties which  retain  them.  With  good  judgment,  a 
clear  mind  and  rare  executive  ability,  he  easily 
takes  rank  with  the  leading  agriculturists  and 
breeders  of  the  country,  and  as  he  is  yet  a  young 
man  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  a  long  and  u.-<efui 
life  in  his  chosen  calling. 


CORDENIO  A.  SEVERANCE. 

The  ancestors  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
were  of  old  New  England  stock,  his  mother's  fam- 
ily residing  in  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  for 
several  generations,  and  his  father's  having  come 
to  Boston  from  Ipswich,  England,  1637,  and  liv- 
ing in  Massachusetts  continuously  fiom  that  time/ 
down  to  the  early  part  of  this  century,  when  the 
grandfather  of  Cordenio  moved  to  Pennsylvania. 
Some  of  the  family  were  officers  in  the  colonial 
wars  prior  to  the  Revolution,  and  the  great-great- 
grandfather of  ^Ir.  Severance,  although  an  old 
man,  served  for  a  short  time  in  the  Revolutionary 
War.  E.  C.  Severance,  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  in  Susquehanna  County, 
Pennsylvania,  and  has  been  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business,  lumbering  and  farming  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  Minnesota.  He  came  to  Minnesota 
in  1855,  and  has  resided  here  ever  since.  He 
was  county  auditor  of  Dodge  county,  in  this  state, 
[or  six  years,  and  was,  about  ten  years  ago,  state 
senator  from  that  county.  His  wife,  Amanda  J- 
Arnold  (Severance),  was  born  in  Connecticut  and 
reared  in  Michigan.  She  died  March  6,  1894, 
sincerely  mourned  bv  her  family  and  by  every 
one  who  knew  her.  She  had  lived  an  earnest 
Christian  life.  Cordenio  Arnold  was  born 
at  Mantorville,  Dodge  county,  Minnesota,  June 
30,  1862.  He  attended  the  public  and  high 
schools  in  that  village,  and  was  for  about  three 
vears  at  Carleton  College.  Northfield,  but  did  not 


graduate.  For  one  year  while  attending  Carleton 
he  was  president  of  his  class.  After  leaving  col- 
lege he  studied  law  for  a  time  with  Hon.  Robert 
Taylor,  of  Kasson,  Minnesota,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  on  the  day  he  was  twenty-one  years 
of  age.  He  was  examined  for  admission  two 
or  three  months  previously,  the  court  making  an 
order  that  he  should  be  admitted  as  soon  as  he 
was  old  enough  to  take  the  oath.  Mr.  Severance 
entered  the  office  of  Senator  Davis  in  St.  Paul  in 
the  summer  of  1885,  and  in  January,  1887,  became 
Senator  Davis'  partner.  The  firm  of  Davis,  Kel- 
logg &  Severance,  of  which  ]\Ir.  Severance  is  a 
member,  was  formed  the  first  of  October,  1887. 
This  firm  enjoys  a  very  large  practice  and  has 
handled  a  large  number  of  important  cases  in  this 
state.  Mr.  Severance  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 
He  has  never  filled  any  official  position,  however, 
and  has  never  been  a  candidate  for  any.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Minnesota  Club  of  St.  Paul,  the 
Kitchi  Gammi  Club  of  Duluth,  and  the  Town  and 
Country  Club  of  St.  Paul.  He  is  also  one  of  the 
board  of  governors  of  the  Ramsey-  County  bar 
Association.  June  26,  1889,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Mary  Frances  Harriman,  a  daughter  of  Gen. 
Samuel  Harriman,  of  Wisconsin,  and  had  one 
daughter,  Alexandra,  who  was  born  in  1894  and 
died  in  1895.  Mr.  Severance  is  not  a  member  of 
any  church,  but  usually  attends  the  House  of 
Hope  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  IVIrs.  Sever- 
ance is  a  member.  ]\lr.  and  Mrs.  Severance  reside 
at  589  Sununit  avenue,  St-  Paul. 


168 


PROGRESSIVE  ME\  OF  MINNESOTA. 


J(JHX  I'R.'Wlv  CALDKUWuuD. 

As  city  comptroller,  auditor  of  the  Twin  City 
Rapid  Transit  Company,  president  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club,  and  a  leader  of  the  younger  busi- 
ness men  of  the  city,  J.  F.  Calderwood  has  be- 
come, during  the  past  eight  or  ten  years,  one  oi 
the  best  known  men  in  .Minneapolis.  Mr.  Cal- 
derwood was  born  in  the  town  of  Redford,  near 
Detroit,  Michigan,  on  May  2-j.  1859.  His  father, 
H.  N.  Calderwood,  is  a  native  of  Scotland  and 
was  born  and  spent  his  boyhood  days  at  Calder- 
woods  Glen,  forty  miles  from  Edinburgh.  He 
came  to  this  country  when  fourteen  years  of  age, 
and  livetl  with  his  parents  until  his  marriage, 
when  he  moved  to  Michigan.  His  wife  was  Miss 
Ellen  V'an  Vaulkenburg,  a  native  of  Herkimer 
County,  New  York.  They  were  married  on  March 
18,  1855.  Mrs.  Calderwood  died  on  February 
20,  1896.  Mr.  Calderwood  followed  farming  in 
Michigan  until  his  si  in.  Jnlin,  was  ten  years  of 
age,  when  he  moved  to  Icntim,  (k-nesec  County, 
Michigan,  where  he  still  resides.  John  was  the 
only  child.  He  received  his  education  at  the  pul)- 
lic  and  liigli  schools  of  Fcnton,  graduating  from 
the  latter  institution  on  June  25,  1877.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  University  of  Micliigan  but  did 
not  enter.  For  two  years  he  taught  a  district 
school  in  northern  .Michigan,  in  the  locality 
where  nerve  ratlier  liian  cdncation  was  the  lirst 


clement  of  success.  Subsequently  he  taught  in 
the  normal  schools  of  Indiana  for  one  year.  But 
teaching  did  not  suit  Mr.  Calderwood,  as  his 
natural  bent  was  for  business,  and  he  went  to  Bay 
City  to  find  some  employment  along  the  lines  of 
his  ambition.  His  first  position  was  that  of 
office  bov  with  the  lumber  firm  of  T.  H.  McGraw 
&  Co.  With  this  house  the  young  man  had  a 
chance  to  develop  his  abilities,  and  was  so  suc- 
cessful that  before  he  was  twent3"-one  years  old 
he  had  become  head  bookkeeper  for  the  firm,  but 
with  characteristic  enthusiasm  he  overworked, 
and  failing  health  led  him  to  come  to  Minnesota. 
L'pon  his  arrival  in  Minneapolis  in  October,  1881, 
he  secured  a  position  as  head  bookkeeper  and 
credit  man  with  the  carpet  house  of  Folds  & 
(iiiffith.  Seven  years  of  continuous  service  with 
this  firm  were  only  ended  by  INIr.  Calderwood's 
election  in  Xovember,  1888,  to  the  office  of  City 
Comptroller  of  Minneapolis.  Air.  Calderwood 
brought  to  this  position  a  thorough  business 
experience  and  a  mind  admirably  adapted  to 
finance.  It  v.as  something  of  a  novelty  for  any- 
one but  an  active  politician  to  seek  such  an  office. 
But  though  the  young  man,  previous  to  his  nomi- 
nation, was  comparatively  unknown,  Mr.  Calder- 
wood's canvass  was  so  energetic  and  his  qualities 
were  so  generally  recognized,  that  he  received  a 
larger  majority  than  any  other  candidate  on  the 
Republican  ticket.  In  this  campaign  he  displayed 
an  excellent  executive  ability,  which  did  much  to 
aid  in  his  election.  l"]ion  taking  \\\^  the  dttties 
of  his  office  Mr.  Calderwood  at  once  made  himself 
felt  as  a  positive  and  aggressive  factor  in  the  city 
government.  I'nder  his  administration  the  office 
of  ("(.imptroller  became,  not  that  of  a  liookkeeper, 
but  rather  that  of  linancial  achiser  and  director 
of  the  munici])ality.  This  sort  of  thing  met  with 
scanl  fa\  nr  I'n-m  tin;  jioliticians  who  were  in  office 
for  emi_)lunicnts  imly,  but  it  made  Mr.  Calderwood 
immcnscl\'  po])ular  in  the  city.  I  le  was  renomi- 
natetl  in  i8i)o  without  opposition,  but  the 
nmmcipal  elections  being  complicated  with  the 
national  and  state  elections  held  at  the  same  time, 
all  Republican  candidates  for  city  offices  were 
defeated  in  the  general  Democratic  "land  slide'' 
I  if  that  fall.  Shortly  after  the  close  of  his  official 
term,  .Mr.  Calderwood  was  offered  the  position  of 
auditor  of  the  Minneapolis  Street  Railway  Com- 
])any.      In  this  |)osition  he  has  been  remarkably 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


1G9 


successful.  Its  duties  have  been  of  tlie  most 
engrossing  nature,  and,  with  his  customary  self- 
forgelluhiess,  Air.  Calderwood  has  frequently 
devoted  douljle  tiie  usual  business  hours  to  the 
interests  of  the  cor])oration.  At  the  same  time 
he  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
city.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  .Minne- 
apolis Conmiercial  Club,  and  for  three  years  past 
has  been  its  president.  To  his  energ\-,  influence 
and  wise  direction  nuist  be  attributed  the  larger 
part  of  its  success.  Mr.  Caldervvooil,  with  his 
wife  and  daughter,  reside  at  the  West  Hotel  in 
Minneapolis. 


SA.M L'EL  .SWK.XIXGSEN. 

The  people  of  Mower  County  have  shown 
their  esteem  for  Samuel  Sweningsen  by  retaining 
him  in  office  longer  probably  than  has  ever  been 
done  before  in  the  case  of  any  county  officer  in 
the  state.  Air.  Sweningsen  is  of  Norwegian  de- 
scent, his  father,  Mogens  .Sweningsen,  and  his 
mother,  Alary  Halversen  (Sweningsen),  both  na- 
tives of  Norway,  came  to  this  country  in  1846. 
Mogens  settled  in  the  town  of  Howard, 
Illinois,  now  Durand,  where  he  has  continued  to 
reside  ever  since.  His  occupation  in  Norway  had 
been  that  of  a  carpenter  and  builder,  but  he 
engaged  in  farming  when  he  came  to  this  coun- 
try, and  that  has  been  his  occupation  imtil  com- 
pelled by  old  age  to  retire  from  active  work.  He 
then  settled  in  the  neighboring  village  of  Durand, 
Illinois.  His  son,  Samuel,  was  l^om  June  29, 
1849,  ^t  Laona,  Winnebago  County  Illinois.  He 
received  an  education  in  the  common  schools, 
Durand  Seminary  and  Dccorah,  Iowa,  Lutheran 
College.  In  1871  he  located  in  Minnesota.  He 
was  first  employed  on  a  farm  near  Zumbrota 
for  two  years,  when  he  moved  to  Alovver  County. 
In  187s  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Oscar  N. 
Olberg,  now  of  Albert  Lea,  and  engaged  in  the 
general  mercantile  business.  This  firm  operated 
at  one  time  three  stores,  located  at  Rose  Creek, 
Adams  and  Taopi,on  the  line  of  the  Chicago,  Mil- 
waukee &  St.  Paul  Railroad  in  A  lower  County. 
In  1880  this  partnership  was  dissolved,  and  the 
following  vear  Air.  Sweningsen  located  at  Austin, 
He  formed  a  partnership  here  with  C.  I.  John- 
son, in  1882,  and  engaged  in  the  l)oot  and  shoe 
business.  This  partnership  was  dissolved  in  1887, 


and  disposing  of  his  interest  to  Air.  Johnson, 
who  still  continued  the  business.  Air.  Sweningsen 
engaged  in  the  jewelry  trade.  Subsequently  he 
took  a  partner  by  the  name  of  Frederick  E. 
Gleason.  They  are  still  conducting  the  business, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Sweningsen  &  Gleason. 
Air.  Sweningsen  is  a  Republican.  He  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  of  Adams,  Alinnesota,  by 
President  Hayes  in  1876.  In  1881  he  was  elected 
clerk  of  the  district  court  in  Alower  County,  and 
re-elected  in  1886  and  1890.  He  occupied  the 
position  continuously  for  thirteen  years,  and  this 
is  believed  to  be  the  only  instance  on  record  in 
Alower  County  where  a  county  officer  held  a 
position  continuously  for  that  number  of  years. 
In  1890  he  was  nominated  by  the  Republican 
party  for  representative,  but  he  declined  on  ac- 
count of  l)eing  a  candidate  for  clerk  of  court  at 
the  same  time.  In  1894,  while  still  a  clerk  of 
the  district  court  Air.  Sweningsen  was  nomi- 
nated by  the  Republicans  for  state  senator,  was 
elected  and  served  in  the  twent}--ninth  session  of 
the  Alinnesota  legi.slature.  His  present  term  ex- 
pires January  i,  1899.  With  the  expiration  of 
that  term  Mr.  Sweningsen  will  have  completed 
as  countv  officer  and  representative  seventeen 
years  in  the  service  of  Alower  Count}'.  He  was 
married  November  16,  1876,  to  Aliss  Alargaret 
Carr.  She  was  born  in  Dundee,  Illinois,  Jan- 
uary 15,  1855.  Air,  and  Airs.  Sweningsen  have 
three  children,  Stella  .Ma\-,  Oliver  and  \\"illiam. 


170 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HIRAM  W.  FOOTE. 

Hiram  W.  Foote,  of  Minneapolis,  is  state 
inspector  of  oils.  His  father,  Rev.  Hiram  Foote, 
born  at  Burlington,  New  York,  in  1808,  was  a 
Congregational  clergyman.  He  was  educated  in 
Oneida  Institute  and  at  Uherlin  College,  graduat- 
ing from  the  latter  in  1837.  He  was  ordained  as 
a  minister  in  1839,  and  was  married  the  same 
year  to  Eliza  M.  Becker,  of  Cooperstown,  New 
York.  About  that  time  he  removed  to  Joliet, 
Illinois,  where  he  took  charge  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  that  city,  subsequently  going  to 
Wisconsin.  He  had  pastorates  at  Racine,  Janes- 
villc,  Brodhcad  and  Waukesha.  Mr.  h'oote  was 
a  pioneer  in  the  cause  of  education  in  Wisconsin, 
and  one  of  the  first  to  agitate  the  graded  school 
system  in  that  state,  l-'or  many  years  he  was 
president  of  the  janesville  board  of  education, 
and  a  trustee  of  lieloit  College.  He  was  also 
trustee  of  the  Rockford.  llHnois,  Seminary  for 
Girls,  and  the  Wisconsin  State  Institute  for  the 
Blind.  Rev.  Mr.  F'oote  was  strongly  anti-slavery 
in  his  sympathies  and  was  a  friend  and  co-worker 
of  tlie  leaders  in  the  anti-slavery  movement  Ijcfore 
the  war.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  first  anti- 
slavery  convention  held  in  New  York  state,  and 
his  home  was  always  a  station  on  the  famous 
underground  railroad  by  which    slaves    reached 


Canada  from  the  South.  Upon  the  organization 
of  the  Republican  party  he  identified  himself  with 
it  and  remained  an  active  Republican  until  his 
death  at  Rockford,  in  1889.  The  wife  of  Rev. 
Hiram  Foote,  the  mother  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  Eliza  M.  Becker  (I'^oote.)  She  was 
a  woman  of  education  and  refinement  and  useful 
in  a  remarkable  degree  to  her  husband  in  his 
pastoral  work.  She  was  born  in  New  York  and 
educated  at  Oneida  Institute.  During  the  War 
of  the  Rebellion  she  not  only  sent  two  of  her 
sons  to  the  defense  of  the  Union,  but  spent  much 
of  her  time  in  providing  hospital  supplies  for  use 
at  the  front.  On  the  organization  of  the  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union  she  identified  her- 
self with  it,  afterwards  going  over  to  the  Non- 
partisan Society.  Although  seventy-eight  years 
of  age,  she  is  still  a  very  active  woman,  and  de- 
votes her  time  and  energy  largely  to  philanthropic 
and  religious  work.  The  family  ancestry,  both 
on  the  father's  and  on  the  mother's  side,  is  trace- 
able back  to  the  first  settlers  of  the  country.  On 
the  father's  side  it  is  English,  and  on  the  mother's 
side  it  runs  to  the  Hollanders,  who  settled  in 
New  York.  Both  families  furnished  soldiers  for 
the  Revolutionary  War  on  the  American  side.  H. 
W.  Foote,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
near  Janesville,  Wisconsin,  February  9,  1846.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  and  afterward  Carroll 
College  at  Waukesha.  When  he  left  school  he 
began  to  learn  the  drug  business,  but  in  1864 
enlisted  in  Company  D,  One  Flundred  and 
Thirty-fourth  Illinois  \'olunteer  Infantrv.  At 
the  close  of  the  war  he  engaged  with  a  wholesale 
book  company  in  }ililwaukce,  and  was  afterward 
for  several  years  with  a  wholesale  oil  and  paint 
company  in  that  city.  Later  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  his  brotlier  in  the  drug  business  which 
they  sold  out  in  1870.  In  Feliruary,  1872,  he  re- 
moved to  St.  Paul  to  close  up  the  state  business 
of  the  Cirover  &  Baker  Sewing  Machine  Com- 
pany, of  Boston.  When  this  was  completed  he 
was  appointed  Northwestern  representative  of  the 
oil  refineries  of  Cleveland.  In  1882  he  moved  to 
Minneapolis  and  went  into  the  carriage  business. 
.Selling  out  his  business  in  1892  he  was  appointed 
by  Governor  Nelson  in  i8<)3  as  state  inspector  of 
oils  for  Minnesota,  and  was  re-ap]iointed  in  1895 
by   Governor   Clough.     He  has   always   been   a 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


171 


Republican,  and  lias  always  taken  an  active  part 
in  the  work  of  the  party.  He  has  Ijccn  on  some 
one  of  the  party  connnittees  in  Hennepin  County 
and  Minneapolis  during  nearly  the  whole  time 
of  his  residence  here,  and  is  at  ])resent  a  member 
of  both  the  congressional  committee  of  the  Fifth 
district  and  of  the  Hennepin  County  Repulilican 
Executive  conmiittee.  He  is  a  tliirty-second  de- 
gree Scottish  Rite  Mason,  past  master  of  Ark 
Lodge,  No.  1/6.  A.  F.  and  A.  M.;  ]iast  high 
priest  of  Ark  Chapter,  No.  53,  R.  A.  .M.,  a  mem- 
ber of  Zuhrah  Temple,  of  the  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S., 
and  Minneapolis,  No.  44,  15.  P.  O.  E. ;  also  of 
the  Minneapolis  Commercial  Club.  Mr.  Foote 
was  married  in  1874  to  Viola  D.  Horton, 
in  St.  Paul.  Their  only  child  is  a  daughter, 
Miss  Clara  B.  Foote,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Central  Hieh  School. 


JAMES  C.  MOODEY. 

James  C.  Moodey  is  the  secretary  and 
manager  of  the  Minnesota  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany, with  headquarters  at  Minneapolis.  Mr. 
Moodey  has  been  engaged  in  active  business  since 
he  was  fifteen  years  old,  and  is  one  of  the  self- 
made  men,  who  have  achieved  success  in  what- 
ever line  of  business  he  has  undertaken.  His 
father  was  James  C.  Moodey,  a  lawyer  and  judge 
of  the  St.  Louis  circuit  court.  Judge  Moodey's 
father  was  James  C.  Moodey,  of  Cumberland 
County,  Pennsylvania,  known  as  "Parson 
Moodey,"  and  for  fifty-one  years  pastor  of 
Middle  Springs  Presbyterian  church,  in  Cum- 
berland County,  Pennsylvania.  "Parson"  .Moodey 
was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent  and  was  born 
the  day  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  promulgated,  July  4,  1776.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  born  May  3,  1856,  at 
New  Albany,  Indiana.  He  began  his  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  St.  Louis,  wdiere  he  was 
a  pupil  until  the  age  of  fifteen  years.  Subse- 
quently he  had  some  private  instruction,  but  his 
later  education  has  been  mainly  acquired  in  the 
hard  school  of  experience.  His  first  busi- 
ness engagement  was  in  the  employ  of 
Bradstreet's    ^lercantile    Agency    in     1870    and 


1871.  In  the  latter  year  he  remov'ed  to  Chicago, 
where  he  was  employed  in  the  local  fire  insurance 
agencies  of  R.  S.  Critchell,  C.  H.  Case  and  Fred 
S.  James,  from  1871  to  1880.  January  15, 
1880,  he  engaged  as  bookkeeper  with  the  Western 
department  of  the  Niagara  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany, under  the  management  of  David  Bever- 
idge,  who  was  succeeded  in  the  management  of 
the  company  April  i,  1881,  by  I.  S.  Blackwelder. 
October  i,  1891,  Mr.  Moodey  was  made  the  assist- 
ant manager  of  this  company,  and  served  in  that 
capacity  until  he  was  elected  secretary  and  mana- 
ger of  the  Minnesota  Fire  Insurance  Company, 
January  I,  1894.  He  then  removed  to  Minneapo- 
lis, where  he  established  the  fire  insurance  agencv 
of  James  C.  Moodey  &  Co.  Mr.  Moodey  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics,  and  while  he  takes  no  active  part 
in  political  campaigns,  his  vote  is  generallv  cast 
on  the  Democratic  side.  He  has  always  taken  an 
active  interest  in  athletic  sports,  and  for  six  years, 
from  1886  to  1892,  was  president  of  the  Chicago 
City  League  of  amateur  baseball  clubs,  and  an 
active  member  of  the  "West  End'  club  of  that 
organization.  '\\r.  Moodey  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  On  January  7,  1894,  he 
married  Bertha  Tausig,  of  Chicago.  They  have 
one  daughter,  ^Fay  Critchell,  born  March  19.  1895. 


172 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HIRA.M   lAlRClllLI)  .ML\EXS. 

Hiram  Fairchikl  Stevens  is  a  leading  mem- 
ber of  the  legal  profession  in  St.  Paul.  He  excels 
as  an  orator,  and  is  frequently  sought  for  to  make 
patriotic  addresses.  He  is  eloquent  and  scholarly 
in  his  speech,  clear  and  forcible  in  thought 
and  graceful  in  action.  He  is  a  native  of 
the  Green  Mountain  state,  having  been  born 
at  St.  Albans,  X'ennont,  September  ii,  1852.  His 
father  was  Dr.  Hiram  Fairchikl  Stevens,  an  emi- 
nent physician,  widely  known  and  highly  re- 
spected. He  was  at  one  time  president  of  the 
\'erniont  Medical  Society  and  was  twice  elected 
to  the  \'ermont  legislature.  He  also  served  as 
a  surgeon  in  tlie  army.  Mr.  Stevens'  mother, 
before  marriage,  was  Miss  Louise  I.  Johnson,  of 
St.  Albans.  I'pon  the  death  of  his  father  in  1866, 
as  the  eldest  of  four  children  he  was  obliged  to 
seek  employment  in  a  store.  He  had,  however, 
prepared  himself  for  teaching,  and  by  teaching 
school  and  working  on  a  farm  he  was  enabled 
to  complete  his  education  in  the  I'niversity  nf 
\'ermont,  having  previously  graduated  from 
Kimball  Union  Academy  at  Meriden,  New 
Hampshire,  lie  read  law  in  the  ofifice  of  Judge 
John  K.  P(jrter,  of  Xew  Ytjrk  City,  and  was 
graduated   from  ("ohmib'a  Law  School  in    1874. 


He  formed  a  law  partnership  at  St.  Albans,  \''er- 
mont,  under  the  name  of  Davis  &  Stevens,  and 
in  1876  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  L'nited 
States  district  court  of  \'ermont.  Though  yet 
a  young  man  he  had  obtained  an  enviable  repu- 
tation as  a  lawyer,  and  quite  an  extensive  prac- 
tice. He  removed  to  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  in  De- 
cember, 1879,  and  formed  a  partnership  under 
the  style  of  Warner,  Stevens  &  Lawrence.  In 
December,  1886,  he  withdrew  from  that  firm  and 
was  employed  as  counsel  of  the  St.  Paul  Title 
and  Insurance  Company,  which  position  he  still 
hokls.  and  in  connectinn  with  \vhich  he  conducts 
a  large  and  general  practice,  as  a  member  of 
the  legal  firm  of  Stevens,  O'Brien,  Cole  & 
Albrecht.  Mr.  Stevens  was  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  American  Liar  Association,  \vhen  it  was 
founded  at  Saratoga,  in  August,  1878,  and  is  vice 
president  for  Minnesota  of  that  body.  He  was 
also  one  of  the  first  members  and  first  secretary 
of  the  X'ermont  State  L!ar  Association,  organized 
in  C)ctober  of  the  same  year.  He  also  helped 
to  organize  the  St.  Paul  Bar  Association  and  has 
served  as  its  president,  and  also  as  first  secretary 
of  the  Minnesota  State  Bar  Association,  organ- 
ized in  June,  1883,  and  is  now  its  vice  president. 
^Ir.  Stevens  has  always  taken  an  active  interest 
in  public  affairs,  and  for  many  years  was  a  lead- 
ing member  of  the  St.  Paul  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. In  January,  1888,  he  was  appointed  one 
of  the  park  commissioners  of  St.  Paul,  and  served 
several  years  as  president  of  the  board.  He  is  a 
Republican  and  participates  actively  in  politics, 
serving  on  campaign  ciimmittees,  and  giving  to 
his  part}-  the  benefit  of  his  counsel  and  personal 
efifort.  He  was  elected  representative  for  the 
Twenty-seventh  district  in  1888.  and  upnn  the 
organization  of  the  house  was  appointed  chair- 
man of  the  judiciary  committee.  Among  the 
im])ortant  legislation  of  which  he  was  either  the 
author,  or  to  which  he  gave  his  support,  was  a 
bill  for  the  sanitarv  inspectinn  of  factories,  a 
bill  creating  a  pension  fund  for  disabled  ]K)licc- 
men  and  their  widows,  a  bill  re(|uiring  employers 
of  females  in  stores  to  furnish  seats  ior  their  em- 
ployes, the  present  law  of  mechanics'  liens,  tlie 
Australian  election  law  and  a  re-apportionment 
bill  which  doubled  tlic  repri'sentation  of  Kamsey 


PROGRESvSIVE  MKN  OF  MINNIiSOTA. 


173 


County  in  the  senate  and  increased  the  represen- 
tation in  the  general  asseniljly  forty  per  cent.  In 
1890  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  from  the 
Twenty-eighth  senatorial  district,  and  was  re- 
elected in  1894.  He  is  chairman  of  the  judiciary 
committee  and  one  of  the  most  influential  mem- 
bers of  that  body,  and  has  added  fresh  laurels 
to  his  record  as  a  legislator.  .Mr.  Stevens  is  a 
lecturer  in  the  state  university  on  the  law  of  real 
propert\-.  He  is  a  Mason,  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  N'eimont,  and  prelate  of 
Damascus  Commandery  of  Knights  Templar,  St. 
Paul.  He  is  also  an  Odd  Fellow  and  a  Knight  of 
P}'thias.  He  has  taken  an  interest  in  military 
affairs,  and  was  for  five  years  a  member  oi  the 
Vermont  National  Guard,  serving  in  the  Ransom 
Guards,  a  company  distinguished  for  its  pro- 
ficiency in  drill  and  general  excellence.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Laura  A.  Clary,  daughter  of  Joseph 
E.  Clary,  of  Massena,  Xcw  York,  January  26, 
1876. 


FRANK  ELAIORE  liL^SELL. 

Frank  Elmore  liisscll  is  a  physician  in  gen- 
eral practice  at  Litchfield.  He  was  born  at  Hart- 
ford, Wisconsin,  December  27,  1845,  the  son  of 
Cyrus  Bissell  and  Amanda  Case  (BisselL).  His 
parents  were  farmers  and  descended  from  the 
French  Huguenots.  They  moved  from  New 
England  to  Western  Reserve,  thence  to 
Wisconsin  in  the  year  of  his  birth,  while 
it  was  yet  a  territory.  The  great-granrl- 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  on  his 
mother's  side  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary 
W'ar.  Frank  attetided  the  common  schools  of 
Hartford,  and  continued  his  studies  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wooster,  ( )hio,  his  parents  having  re- 
sided for  a  time  in  that  vicinity  on  the  Western 
Reserve.  He  graduated  in  1869  from  the  Charity 
Hospital  Medical  College  at  Cleveland,  and  after 
two  years  spent  in  southern  Wisconsin  he  moved 
to  Minnesota  in  1871,  locating  at  Litclifield.  He 
has  been  a  resident  of  Litchfield  ever  since  and 
engaged  in  the  general  practice  of  medicine,  the 
only  intervals  being  about  two  vears  spent  in 
Stearns  County,  and  about  four  months  spent  in 


traveling  in  Europe,  visiting  the  hospitals  in  those 
countries,  and  studying  for  his  profession.  \\'hen 
Dr.  Bissell  was  seventeen  years  of  age  he  en- 
listed in  the  L'nited  States  navy,  at  Cincinnati, 
and  served  on  the  L'nited  States  steamer  Lex- 
ington. Fie  received  an  honorable  discharge  in 
1865  as  surgeon's  steward.  He  has  always  been 
a  Republican,  and  his  first  presidential  vote  -was 
cast  for  L^  S.  Grant  in  1868.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Minnesota  legislature  in  1878  and  1879, 
served  several  terms  as  alderman  and  president  of 
the  city  council  of  Litchfield,  and  is  at  present 
mayor  of  that  city.  Dr.  Bissell  is  a  member  of 
the  State  ]\ledical  Society:  also  a  member  of  the 
G.  A.  R.,  and  Past  Commander  of  Frank  Dag- 
gett Post.  He  is  also  past  medical  director  of 
the  Minnesota  Department  G.  A.  R.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Trinity  Episcopal  church,  and  one 
of  its  vestrymen.  He  was  niarrietl  in  1875  ^o 
Aliss  Addie  F.  Simons.  Thev  have  two  children. 
Emily  M.  and  I'Vank  S.  Dr.  Bissell  has  achieved 
success  in  his  profession  by  faithful  and  diligent 
application  to  its  duties,  and  pays  high  tribute 
to  the  Christian  character  of  his  revered  parents 
who  instilled  in  him  in  early  youth  the  love  of 
virtue  and  tlie  principles  of  upright  manhood. 


174 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


.>      ^ 


ROBERT  KOEHLER. 

Robert  Koehler  is  director  of  the  Min- 
neapolis School  of  Fine  Arts.  Mr.  Koehler  is 
a  native  of  Hamburg,  Germany,  where  he  was 
bom  November  28,  1850.  His  father,  Theodore 
Alexander  Ernest  Koehler,  was  a  mechanic  of 
especial  skill.  He  was  a  native  of  Berlin,  re- 
ceived his  early  education  at  Pottsdam,  and,  after 
having  learned  his  trade,  entered  upon  his  "wan- 
derjahre,"  as  was  then  the  custom  in  Germany, 
his  wanderings  leading  him  into  various  parts  of 
Europe,  including  St.  Petersburg,  Copenhagen. 
etc.  His  wife,  Charlotte  Christine  Louise  Bueter, 
daughter  of  Xicolaus  liasilins  liueter,  a  master 
builder  of  Hamburg,  was  a  lady  of  artistic 
tastes  and  attainments  and  a  teacher  of  artistic 
needlework  to  many  of  the  ladies  of  Hamburg. 
In  1854  Ernest  Koehler  came  to  America 
with  his  family  and  settled  in  Milwaukee.  He 
desired  that  his  children  should  have  liettcr  edu 
cational  advantages  than  he  had  enjoyed,  and, 
not  satisfied  with  tlie  pulolic  schools  of  Milwau- 
kee, sent  them  to  a  private  school  where  Robert 
received  his  early  education.  Besides  English, 
German,  French,  Latin  and  Greek  were  taught, 
and  much  attention  given  to  other  s|)ecial  studies, 
including  chemistry,  literature,  drawing,  etc.  Tn 
drawing,  Rrjbert,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  easily 


excelled,  and  when  it  came  to  the  choice  of  a 
profession  his  tastes  led  him  to  that  of  lith- 
ographer. In  due  time  he  became  apprenticed 
to  a  lithographing  firm.  But  the  work  of  a  com- 
mercial engraver  did  not  satisfy  his  ambition.  He 
desired  to  devote  himself  seriously  to  the  art  of 
drawing,  for  which  purpose  he  decided  to  go  to 
Europe  and  enter  an  academy  of  art  there.  It 
was  necessary  for  him  to  rely  upon  his  own  re- 
sources, and,  encouraged  by  his  private  teacher 
of  drawing,  H.  Roese,  he  began  preparing  him- 
self, devoting  his  leisure  time  to  fresco  painting, 
when  suddenly  his  teacher  died.  His  only  hope 
now  rested  upon  his  skill  as  an  engraver.  In 
1871  he  accepted  a  position  in  this  capacity  m 
Pittsburg.  During  this  time  difficulty  with  his 
eyes  necessitated  an  operation  in  New  York.  He 
secured  employment  in  a  small  engraving  estab- 
lishment, sharing  his  fortunes  with  a  former  fel- 
low apprentice,  and  worked  hard  with  the  hope 
of  better  things.  In  the  course  of  a  year  and  a 
half  he  had  saved  sufTicient  money  to  carry  out 
his  long  cherished  scheme  of  going  to  Europe 
fcir  the  purpose  of  studying.  Though  at  first  re- 
fused admission  to  the  Royal  Academy  at 
Mtmich,  because  the  time  for  admitting  students 
had  expired,  the  superiority  of  his  work  sub- 
mitted secured  his  acceptance,  and  he  became  a 
student  of  the  antique  class,  advancing  to  the 
portrait  class  the  first  term.  Having  exhausted 
his  resources  at  the  end  of  two  years,  he  was 
compelled  to  return  to  America.  He  had  de- 
termined, however,  upon  the  career  of  an  artist, 
and  refused  a  brilliant  offer  from  a  lithographic 
establishment  for  commercial  work.  He  went  to 
New  York,  where  the  Art  Students'  League  had 
been  organized,  and  after  having  hard  work 
maintaining  himself  through  four  years  of  con- 
stant toil  and  stud\-,  he  was  quite  unexpectedly 
provided  by  George  Ehret  with  the  means  for 
continuing  his  studies  in  Europe,  lie  returned 
and  continued  his  studies  there  for  nearly  four 
}cars.  He  again  returned  to  .\merica  on  a  visit, 
authorized  at  the  same  lime  liy  tlie  Munich 
.\rtists"  Association,  to  enlist  the  co-operation  of 
American  artists  for  the  grand  international  art 
exhibition  to  be  held  in  iXS^.  whieli  ]iroved  very 
successful.  In  1887  he  was  again  sent  to  America 
in  the  same  capacity,  but  not  being  alile  to  remain 


I'KOCKIsSSIVE  MEN  OF   M INNHSOTA. 


175 


here  long  enough  to  attend  in  the  work  per- 
sonall)-,  he  left  it  in  the  hands  of  a  cunnnittee  of 
leading  artists  of  New  York,  wlio  allowed  it  to 
fail.  Nothing  daunted,  Mr.  Koehler  proceeded 
to  orgjuiize  an  exhibition  of  the  work  of  Amer- 
icans studying  in  Tuu'ope,  and  for  his  energy  and 
labor  was  awarded  tlie  cross  of  the  (  )rder  of  St. 
Michael  by  tlie  Prince  Regent  of  liavaria.  About 
this  time  Mr.  Koehlcr  took  charge  of  a  private 
art  school  in  Munich  and  was  also  engaged  with 
his  own  brush  upon  work  which  was  exhibited  at 
the  Munich  International  E.xhibition  and  at  other 
European  and  American  cities.  At  the  i'aris 
Universal  E.xhibition  in  i88y  he  received  honor- 
able mention,  and  the  year  following  he  ex- 
hibited at  the  I'aris  salon,  t_'hamp  de  Alars. 
Among  other  purchasers  of  his  pictures  were 
Mr.  George  I.  Secney  and  the  Temple  Col- 
lection at  the  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  hine 
Arts.  December,  1892,  he  returned  to  America, 
but  had  hardly  got  fairly  located  at  the  Van 
Dyke  Studio,  in  New  York,  when  he  was  offered 
the  directorship  of  the  Minneapolis  School  of 
Fine  Arts.  He  was  married  since  his  return  to 
America  to  Miss  Marie  Fischer,  of  Rochester, 
New  York.  Though  maiidy  occupied  with 
teaching,  Mr.  Koehler  has  found  tiiue  since  com- 
ing to  Minneapolis  to  produce  several  pictures 
and  portraits,  to  appear  upon  the  lecture  plat- 
form on  numerous  occasions,  and  to  contribute 
to  the  American  and  German  periodicals  on  art 
topics.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Munich  Art  As- 
sociation and  the  Munich  Etching  Club,  and 
president  of  the  Studio  Clul)  in  Minneapolis  and 
of  the  Minneapolis  Art  League,  recently  formed. 
He  also  had  the  position  of  president  of  the  Amer- 
ican Artists'  Club,  of  IMunich,  four  times,  and 
served  as  a  member  of  the  jury  at  the  Interna- 
tional Art  Exhibition  at  Munich,  in  1883. 


THOIMAS  ERVIX  KEPNER. 

The  ancestry  of  T.  E.  Kepner  is  of  good  old 
New  England  stock.  On  his  father's  side  the 
family  came  from  Pennsylvania,  and  on  his 
mother's  side  from  New  York.  He  was  born 
October  29,  1867,  in  Olmstead  County,  Minne- 
sota, the  son  of  G.  W.  Kepner,  a  farmer  in  that 


J         -«^ 


<^      *• 


.1 


count}',  and  Cynthia  Hallenbeck  (Kepner). 
Thomas  received  his  early  education  in  the  com- 
mon school.s,  later  taking  a  course  in  the  Roches- 
ter (Minnesota)  Academy,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated in  1886.  After  his  graduation  he  worked 
for  four  years  as  cashier  and  bookkeeper  with  the 
firm  of  Leet  &  Knowlton,  dealers  in  wholesale 
and  retail  dry  goods,  at  Rochester.  During  this 
time,  however,  in  his  leisure  hours,  he  read  law 
under  the  direction  of  H.  A.  Eckholdt.  After 
leaving  Leet  &  Knowlton  he  worked  for  a  time 
in  the  office  of  Mr.  Eckholdt,  but  came  to  Min- 
neapolis in  1892,  entering  the  law  department  of 
the  University  of  Minnesota.  He  graduated  from 
that  department  in  the  class  of  '94,  and  imme- 
diately engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession 
in  Minneapolis.  For  the  short  period  of  practice 
since  then,  Mr.  Kepner  has  been  highly  success- 
ful. He  has  made  a  specialty  of  insurance  law 
and  is  local  attorney  for  a  number  of  insurance 
companies.  He  has  also  contributed  somewhat 
to  law  publications,  and  is  at  present  engaged 
by  the  West  Publishing  Company  to  write  a 
text  book  on  insurance  law  for  their  Hornbook 
Series.  Mr.  Kepner  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and 
in  college  was  a  member  of  the  Phi  Delta  Phi. 
He  is  a  member  of  Hennepin  .Avenue  iL  E. 
church. 


176 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


- 

^ 

^^^^^^B.^- 

31 

JUDSON    NEWELL    CROSS. 

Judson  Xewell  Cross  was  born  January 
i6,  1838,  at  I'og^ueland,  Jefferson  County,  New- 
York,  on  a  farm  bought  by  his  grandfather,  The- 
odore Cross,  in  1818,  of  Le  Ray  de  Chauniont, 
the  agent  of  Joseph  Bonaparte,  whose  American 
estate  was  in  that  region.  Judson  was  the  son  of 
Rev.  Gorham  Cross,  who  was  called  the  father  of 
Congregationalism  in  Northern  New  York,  and 
of  Sophia  Murdock  (Cross).  On  his  father's  side 
he  is  descended  from  a  long  line  of  sturdy 
New  England  men,  the  family  being  readily 
traceable  back  to  1640,  when  the  first  member, 
by  the  name  of  Cross,  settled  on  the  Merrimac 
river,  near  Lawrence,  Massachusetts.  The  old 
Cross  homestead  still  belongs  to,  and  is  occupied 
by,  a  member  of  the  family.  Among  the  members 
of  the  Cross  family  were  several  Revolutionary 
soldiers.  Judson's  mother  belonged  to  the  Mur- 
dock  family,  of  Townsend,  Vermont.  Her  grand- 
fathers were  Revolutionary  soldiers  and  among 
her  relatives  were  John  Reed,  of  Boston,  said 
to  have  been  the  greatest  law\'er  that  America 
produced  before  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  Rev. 
llollis  Reed,  of  Townsend,  Vermont,  who  was 
the  first  missionary  to  India,  first  translated  the 
Bible  into  the  Indian  language,  and  who  wrote 
"India  and  Its  I'eople,"  "God  in  History,"  etc. 
In  1855,  January  16,  the  day  he  was  seventeen 
years  old,  Judson  left  honie  for  (  )liciliii.  (  )hin. 


He  remained  at  (Jberlin  College  till  the  fall  of 
that  year,  when,  on  account  uf  limited  means,  he 
went  to  Boonville,  New  York,  to  work  in 
a  store  for  his  uncle.  In  the  fall  of  1856 
he  taught  school  near  .Sandusky,  Ohio,  re- 
turning to  L)berlin  the  following  spring 
to  continue  his  studies,  and  pursued  this 
course  of  stud_\-ing  in  the  summer  at  CJberlin 
and  teaching  in  the  winter  at  various  places  until 
he  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  April,  1861.  When  the 
news  of  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter  came.  Professor 
and  State  Senator  Alunroe  went  from  Columbus 
to  Oberlin  to  enlist  a  company.  A  large  church 
was  crowded  .Saturday  night,  April  20,  1861,  and 
at  the  end  of  an  inspiring  speech.  Prof.  Munroe 
called  for  volunteers.  Young  Cross  tried  to  get 
to  the  pulpit  first,  but  the  crowd  in  the  aisle  was 
so  great  that  he  was  forced  to  be  second  on  the 
roll.  Company  C  of  the  Seventh  (Jhio  Infantry 
was  immediately  filled,  and  Cross  was  made 
first  lieutenant.  The  regiment  went  with  ]Mc- 
Clellan  into  West  Virginia  and  Cross  served 
through  the  West  Mrginia  campaign  of  1 86 1  un- 
der McClellan,  Rosencranz,  Cox  and  Tyler.  At 
the  battle  of  Cross  Lanes,  August  26,  1861,  he  was 
severely  wounded  in  the  arm.  He  was  taken  pris- 
oner, but  was  recaptured  and  sent  home  for  sur- 
gical treatment.  He  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Captain  of  Company  K,  Seventh  (  Miio  Infantry, 
N(.ivember  25,  1861,  served  as  a  recruiting 
officer  for  a  time,  and  rejoined  his  old  regiment 
in  January,  1863,  but  on  account  of  his  old  woimd 
was  obliged  to  resign.  He  then  began  the  study 
of  law  at  Albany,  where  he  remained  until  June 
13,  1863,  when  he  was  again  commissioned,  first 
lieutenant  in  the  Fifth  \'.  R.  C,  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  captain  October  28,  1863,  and  in  April, 
1864,  was  made  adjutant  general  of  the  military 
district  of  Indiana.  In  July,  1864,  he  was  ordered 
to  Washington  and  appointed  assistant  provost 
marshal.  He  served  in  the  same  capacity  at 
Georgetown,  was  appointed  one  of  the  five  cap- 
tains to  nnister  for  ])ay  eighteen  thousand 
returned  Andrrsiinvillc  prisoners  at  Annapo- 
lis, nl  which  he  was  occupied  until  the 
end  I  if  the  war.  .\ftrr  the  war  he  rt'- 
sunieil  his  law  slmlics  ;U  ('ulunibia  i.aw  Schonl, 
graduating  at  All)an\-  \\\  the  spring  of  1866. 
He  then  located  at  Lnous,  Iowa,  where  he  prac- 
ticed law  for  nearly  ten  years.  In  1875  he  came 
to  Miimeapolis  and    formed    ;i    law    p.artnership 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


177 


with  Judge  Henry  G.  Hicks,  to  which  tiiin  hraiik 
H.  Carleton  was  afterwards  admitted,  and  stUl 
later  his  son,  Norton  M.  Cross.  He  has  been 
connected  with  much  imiiortant  Htipation,  both 
for  private  indivi(hials  ancl  corporations.  In  1879 
he  urged  in  the  local  press  the  construction  of  the 
"Soo"  railroad,  an  idea  which  was  afterwards  car- 
ried out  by  (jeneral  Washburn.  While  City  At- 
torney of  Minneapolis  in  1884  he  framed  the  pa- 
trol limits  ordinance  and  defended  the  same  be- 
fore the  supreme  court.  He  also  inaugurated  the 
litigation  which  resulted  in  the  lowering  of  the 
railroad  tracks  on  hourth  avenue  North.  Mr. 
Cross  has  always  been  a  Republican.  He  was 
elected  mayor  of  Lyons,  Iowa,  in  1871,  and  in 
1883  city  attorney  of  Minneapolis,  and  held  the 
office  until  1887.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first 
park  commission  of  Jilinneapolis,  and  in  1891  was 
appointed  United  States  Immigration  Commis- 
sioner to  Europe.  Captain  Cross  is  a  member  of 
the  George  N.  Morgan  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  the 
Loyal  Legion,  the  Loyal  League,  Commercial 
Club  and  of  Plymouth  Congregational  church. 
He  was  married  at  Oberlin,  Ohio,  .September  11, 
1862,  to  Clara  Steele  Norton,  of  Pontiac,  Michi- 
gan, a  descendant  of  John  Steele,  first  official  of 
Connecticut.  They  have  four  children  living, 
Kate  Bird,  wife  of  United  States  Engineer  P'ran- 
cis  C.  Shenehon,  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie;  Norton 
]\Iurdock,  Nellie  JMalura,  wife  of  Theodore  !\Iac- 
Farlane  Knappen,  and  Clara  Amelia. 


GERSHOM  BENNETT  WARD. 

Gershom  Bennett  Ward  is  cashier  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Alexandria,  a  position  he  has 
held  since  it  was  organized.  Mr.  Ward  is  the 
son  of  George  Ward,  a  well-to-do  farmer,  and  one 
of  the  first  settlers  of  ^NIcHenry  County,  Illinois; 
also  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Bank  of  Alex- 
andria, ^Minnesota.  ^Mr.  Ward's  great  grand- 
father, John  Ward,  served  throughout  the  Rev- 
olutionary War  in  a  Connecticut  regiment. 
George  Ward's  wife's  maiden  name  was 
Betsy  Bennett,  a  native  of  Onondaga  County, 
New  York.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born 
in  McHenry  County,  Illinois,  April  10,  1852.  He 
attended  the  common  schools  of  the  village  of 
Harvard.  He  then  spent  one  year  at  Hedding 
Seminarv,    .Abingdon,    Illinois,    and    afterwards 


three  years  at  the  Northwestern  University  at 
Evanston,  Illinois.  In  1873  Mr.  Ward  took  the 
Mann  prize  for  oratory  at  the  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity. In  1870  he  came  to  Minnesota  and  was 
employed  in  teaching  school  during  the  winter 
of  1870-1871  near  Alexandria,  and  received  the 
first  money  of  his  own  earning  in  that  capacity. 
He  then  returned  to  college  for  three  years,  after 
which  he  again  took  up  his  residence  at  Alex- 
andria. He  was  employed  in  the  Bank  of  Alex- 
andria from  1876  to  1883,  when  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Alexandria  was  organized.  3ilr.  \^'ard 
became  its  cashier,  which  position  he  now  holds. 
He  has  always  been  a  Republican,  and  is  a 
meml^er  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  state 
normal  school,  president  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion of  Alexandria,  of  which  body  he  has  been  a 
member  for  twelve  years,  and  president  of  the 
public  library  board,  of  which  he  has  been  a 
member  for  fifteen  years.  Mr.  Ward  is  a  member 
of  tlie  Masonic  Order,  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  chairman  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  the  Congregational  society.  He 
was  married  in  1877  to  Miss  I\Iary  W.  Wester- 
field.  They  have  three  children,  George  W.,  Reba 
W.  and  Percy  A'.  H.  Mr.  Ward  was  honored 
with  appointment  on  the  staff  of  Governor  Nel- 
son, with  the  rank  of  colonel,  and  holds  the  same 
position  on  Governor  Clough's  staff. 


178 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ALPHEUS  BEEDE  STICKNEY. 

Alpheus  Beede  Stickney  is  president  of  the 
Chicago  Great  Western  railroad  and  resides  in 
St.  Paul.  Mr.  Stickney  is  a  descendant  of  an  old 
family  of  Maine,  his  father,  Daniel  Stickney, 
having  been  born  at  Hallowell  in  1804.  In  his 
early  manhood  Daniel  Stickney  was  a  mechanic, 
then  he  became  a  school  teacher,  and  subse- 
quently a  clergyman  of  the  Universalist  denom- 
ination. Then  after  about  thirty-one  years  he  was 
the  editor  and  pulilisher  of  a  paper  called  the 
Loyal  Sunrise,  published  at  Presque  Isle,  ]\[aine,  a 
paper  which  accpiired  considerable  prominence 
and  influence  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  The 
mother  of  Alplieus  was  I'rsula  Maria  Beede.  She 
was  born  in  Sandwich,  New  Hampshire,  in 
1813.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  belongs  to  the 
ninth  generation  of  the  descendants  of  William 
Stickney,  of  Frampton,  Lincolnshire,  England, 
who  settled  in  Holly,  Massachusetts,  the  latter 
part  of  the  Sixteenth  century.  Judge  ISeede,  a  ma- 
ternal ancestor,  received  a  grant  of  land  from  the 
crown,  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  War.w  liich  was 
located  in  the  interior  of  New  Hampshire  and 
where  most  of  the  descendants  lived  until  about 
the  middle  of  the  present  century,  at  a  town  called 
Sandwich,  in  Carrol!  County.  Alpheus  B.  Stick- 
ney never  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  college 


education,  his  schooling  being  confined  to  the 
common  schools  of  New  Hampshire  as  they 
were  about  fifty  years  ago.  Having  obtained  a 
good  common  school  education,  and  while  yet 
only  seventeen  years  of  age,  he  began  teaching 
school  to  obtain  money  to  prosecute  his  studies 
still  further.  About  1858  he  began  the  study  of 
law  with  Josiah  Crosby,  at  Dexter,  ^Maine.  Three 
years  later  he  moved  to  JMinnesota  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  that  year  at  Stillwater.  He 
continued,  however,  in  the  profession  of  teacher 
for  about  two  years,  when  he  commenced  the 
practice  of  law  and  continued  it  until  1869.  In  the 
latter  year  he  removed  to  St.  Paul,  and  shortly 
afterwards  commenced  the  business  of  building 
railways,  and  has  been  engaged  ever  since  in  their 
construction  and  and  operation.  He  built  the 
road  from  Hudson  to  New  Richmond,  which  has 
since  been  incorporated  in  the  Omaha  system. 
In  187J  he  took  charge  of  a  small  road  running 
eastward  from  St.  Paul,  in  Wisconsin,  which  he 
had  built,  and  operated  it  until  it  was  incorjsor- 
ated  into  the  C,  St.  P.,  AI.  &  ( ).  system.  In  1880 
he  was  emi)loyed  by  the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis 
&  Manitoba  Railroad  Company  as  superintendent 
of  construction.  In  1882  he  built  a  short  line  of 
about  eighty  miles  in  Minnesota,  which  is  now 
owned  and  operated  by  the  Rock  Island  Com- 
pany. In  1883  he  connuenced  the  construction 
of  the  road  of  which  he  is  now  president,  and 
which  has  been  operated  under  several  different 
names,  the  present  title  being  the  Chicago-Great 
Western.  Mr.  Stickney  began  to  develop  business 
(jualifications  at  a  very  early  age.  He  worked  in 
a  shoemaker  shop,  and  the  monev  necessary  to 
purchase  an  algebra,  which  cost  seventy-live 
cents  was  earned  by  drying  "windfalls"'  from  his 
grandfather's  apple  orchard  and  selling  them  at 
two  and  one-half  cents  a  pound.  He  is  a  gentle- 
man of  broad  character  and  pmgressive  thought, 
and  tile  author  of  a  work  on  railroads  and  their 
relation  to  the  public  which  has  a  wide  sale,  and 
has  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention  on  account 
of  the  courageous  and  candid  manner  in  which 
he  argued  the  responsibilities  and  duties  of  rail- 
road corporations  to  tlie  pulilic.  A  notable 
featurt-  of  liis  policy  as  a  railroad  manager  has 
been  liis  interest  in  the  condition  and  prosperity 
of  the  people  along  his  line  of  roads,  and  in  the 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OE   MINNESOTA. 


17!) 


methods  which  they  pursued,  particularly  in  agri- 
culture. For  the  furtherance  of  these  methods 
he  has  contributed  largely  in  practical  demon- 
stration as  well  as  in  suggestion,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  the  advantage  of  the  railroad  company 
over  which  he  presides.  In  1886  .Mr.  Stickney 
organized  in  Chicago  an  enterprize  of  great 
importance.  He  purchased  about  four  thousand 
acres  of  land  near  that  city  for  the  jnirpose 
of  concentrating  there  the  freight  departments  of 
the  ditTerent  railroads  and  facilitating  the  distribu- 
tion of  freight  and  the  settlement  and  exchange  of 
traffic,  much  upon  the  same  plan  as  settlements 
between  banks  are  made  in  the  clearing  houses. 
This  property  he  conveyed  to  the  Chicago  Union 
Transfer  Company  at  the  net  cost,  plus  six  per 
cent  interest.  Mr.  Stickney  was  married  in  1864 
to  Kate  W.  Hall,  daug-hter  of  Dr.  Samuel  Hall,  of 
Collinsville.  Illinois.  They  have  seven  children, 
Samuel  C,  Kalherine,  Lucilic,  Ruth,  Charles  A., 
Emily  and  Jean. 


CHRISTOPHER  D.  O'BRIEN. 

C.  D.  O'Brien,  a  prominent  attorney  of  St. 
Paul,  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  the  son  of  Dillon 
O'Brien,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  Irish- 
American  citizens  of  the  Northwest.  Dillon 
O'Brien  came  to  America  with  his  family  in 
1856.  He  was  a  man  of  wide  education  and 
of  much  literary  talent.  He  took  an  active  part 
in  advancing  the  interests  of  the  Irish-Americans, 
and  was  much  loved  by  the  people  of  Irish 
nationality  in  this  part  of  the  country.  His  son 
Christopher  was  born  in  Galway  County,  Ire- 
land, on  December  4,  1848,  and  was  but  eight 
years  old  when  the  family  removed  to  America. 
His  education  was  l^egun  at  the  government 
schools  at  La  Pointe,  Wisconsin,  where  his 
father  was  for  some  years  a  teacher.  Later  when 
the  family  moved  to  Minnesota,  he  attended  the 
schools  at  St.  Anthony,  where  he  completed  his 
education.  In  January,  1866,  lie  moved  to  St. 
Paul,  and  in  1867  entered  the  law  office  of  Gor- 
man &  Davis,  afterwards  studying  with  the  Hon. 
Cushman  K.  Davis,  now  United  States  Senator 
from  IMinnesota.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
at  St.  Paul  in  January,  1870.  Soon  after  his  ad- 
mission he  was  appointed  .\ssistant  District  At- 


torney, and  continued  in  this  position  for  three 
years,  at  the  same  time  being  a  member  of  the 
law  firm  of  Davis  &  O'Brien.  In  1874  the  firm 
became  Davis,  O'Brien  &  Wilson;  in  1880, 
O'Brien  &  Wilson,  and  in  1887,  C.  D.  &  T. 
D.  O'Brien.  In  1874  Mr.  O'Brien  was  elected 
county  attorney  and  ser\^ed  in  that  capacity  for 
four  years.  From  1883  to  1885  he  was  mayor 
of  St.  Paul.  He  is  now  a  lecturer  on  criminal 
law  and  [procedure  in  the  law  department  of  the 
L'niversity  of  Minnesota.  Mr.  O'Brien  has  had 
remarkable  success  in  the  practice  of  law.  He 
is  noted  for  his  skill  in  eliciting  evidence,  his 
tact  in  the  management  of  cases,  and  his  lucid 
and  logical  arguments.  He  has  unusual  facility 
for  imparting  ideas,  and  a  very  clear  conception 
of  law.  His  eloquent  addresses  in  the  courts  in 
which  he  practices  are  justly  regarded  as  models 
of  oratory  in  their  class.  In  politics  3\Ir.  O'Brien 
is  a  Democrat,  and  has  a  high  place  in  the  coun- 
cils of  his  party.  His  ability  as  a  speaker  has 
brought  him  into  great  demand  during  the  cam- 
paign season.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  In  October,  1872.  Mr.  O'Brien 
was  married  to  Miss  Susan  E.  Slater.  Thev  have 
eight  children.  Susan  E.,  Richard  D.,  Sarah, 
Christopher  D.  Jr..  Arthur,  Charles.  Mar^-  D,  and 
Gerald  R. 


180 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


RijJJLRT  CAMPBELL  DUNN. 
Robert  Campbell  Dunn  is  the  state  auditor 
of  Minnesota.  Ke  was  elected  to  represent  a 
principle,  that  of  fair  and  honest  administration 
of  that  important  office,  and  devotes  his  every  eri- 
ergy  to  the  best  interests  of  the  state.  Mr.  Dunn 
was  born  Februan,-  14,  1855,  at  Plumb  llridge, 
County  Tyrone,  Ireland.  His  father,  Robert 
Dunn,  owned  his  own  land,  aliout  two  hundred 
and  fifty  acres,  and,  besides  carrying  on  agri- 
culture quite  extensively  for  that  country,  was 
a  storekeeper.  He  is  still  living,  a  hale  and 
hearty  old  gentleman  of  seventy-seven.  He 
is  an  Episcopalian  and  a  liberal  Protestant,  but 
never  affiliated  with  the  Orangemen.  Rob- 
ert's mother's  maiden  name  was  Jane  Camp- 
bell. .She  is  descended  from  an  old  Scotch  fam- 
ily of  strict  Presbyterians.  Two  of  her  uncles, 
Col.  Robert  Campbell  and  Hugh  Campbell,  were 
among  the  best  known  residents  of  St.  Loins,  the 
former  settling  there  when  it  was  only  a  small 
village  of  tw^o  hundred  people.  Mr.  Dunn's  eldest 
Ijrother,  Sanuiel,  is  a  magistrate  in  Ireland,  and 
his  youngest  brother,  William,  is  a  graduate  of 
the  Glasgow  medical  college,  and  a  successful 
physician  in  London.  Two  of  Mr.  Dunn's  uncles. 
Andrew  and  Samuel,  were  among  the  first  wliitr 
settlers  of  Columbia  County,  Wisconsin.  .Mr. 
Dunn,  when  a  lad,  in  Ireland,  attended  the  com- 
mon national  school  frnm  the  time  he  w-as  old 
enough  to  be  admitted  mitil  he  was  fourteen.  This 


school  was  conducted  continuously  throughout 
the  year,  with  the  exception  of  one  month.  That 
was  all  the  schooling  he  received.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  dry  goods  mer- 
chant at  Londondery,  about  twenty  miles  from 
home.  To  him  it  seemed  like  five  hundred 
miles.  He  was  bound  for  five  years,  but 
the  man  to  whom  he  was  apprenticed 
proved  to  be  a  hard  task  master,  very 
strict  in  his  requirements,  and  young  Robert 
found  his  situation  very  uncomfortable.  After 
six  months,  by  the  aid  of  a  brother  at  home,  he 
succeeded  in  raising  money  enough  to  pay  for  a 
second  cabin  passage  across  the  Atlantic,  and  be- 
fore his  parents  knew  he  had  left  Londondery  he 
was  with  his  uncle,  Samuel  Dunn,  in  Wisconsin. 
He  remained  on  his  uncle's  farm  for  nearly  a 
year,  then  went  to  St.  Louis  in  search  of  his  for- 
tune, and  from  there  to  Mississippi,  where  he  was 
employed  in  a  store  in  the  Yazoo  \^alley  for  six 
or  eight  months.  He  then  returned  to  St.  Louis 
and  learned  the  printer's  trade.  He  remained 
there  till  1876,  when  he  came  to  Minnesota  and 
settled  in  Princeton,  where  he  conunenced  the 
publication  of  the  Princeton  Union,  in  .the  fall  of 
that  vear.  He  has  been  the  editor  and  publisher 
of  that  paper  ever  since,  and  it  is  in  a  flourishing 
condition.  In  1878  Mr.  Dunn  was  elected  town 
clerk  of  Princeton,  the  fees  of  which  oflice 
amounted  to  the  princely  sum  of  three  hundred 
dollars  a  year.  This  amount,  however,  was  valu- 
able to  the  publisher  of  a  country  weeldy,  and  Mr. 
Dunn  held  the  office  for  eleven  years.  In  the 
meantime  he  was  elected  county  attorney 
of  Mille  Lacs  County  in  1884,  and  was 
re-elected  in  1886.  In  1888  he  was  elected 
to  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature  from 
the  districts  composed  of  the  counties  of  Todd, 
Crow  Wing,  Morrison  and  Mille  Lacs.  Lie  was 
elected  again  in  1890,  but  his  seat  was  contested 
and  he  was  thrown  out.  He  was  renominated  by 
the  Republicans  in  1892  and  was  elected.  Mr. 
Dumi  was  a  mcml;er  of  the  l\epul)lican  National 
Convention  in  1892  from  the  Sixth  Congressional 
district  of  Minnesota;  was  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee on  credentials,  and  worked  and  voted  for 
James  G.  Blaine.  In  his  second  term  in  the  leg- 
islature Mr.  Dumi  led  a  mox-cmtnt  for  reform  in 
the  administration  of  llie  land  interests  of  the 
state,  and  was  so  successful  in  jirott'cting 
the     state  and    so   completelv   demonstrated   the 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


181 


necessity  of  reform  in  that  particular  that  the 
people  elected  him  to  the  ot'tice  of  state  auditor  in 
1894,  and  connnitted  the  land  interests  of  the  state 
to  his  charge.  He  has  fully  justified  the  conli- 
dence  which  was  reposed  in  him,  and  has  admin- 
istered the  office  to  which  he  was  elected  with  dis- 
tinguished ability.  Air.  Dunn  was  married  to 
Lydia  Mclvenzie,  of  Spencer  Brook,  Isanti 
County,  I'ehruary  14,  1887,  and  they  have  two 
children,  George  R.,  and  Grace.  He  is  thor- 
oughl}'  devoted  to  his  little  family,  and  when  not 
engaged  in  his  official  duties,  can  always  l)e  found 
with  them  in  their  present  home  at  Hamline, 
where  he  resides  (hu'ing  his  term  of  office. 


FRANK  M ELLEN  NYE. 

Frank  Mellen  Nye  is  county  attorney  of 
Hennepin  Comity.  His  parents  were  both  natives 
of  jMaine.  His  father,  Franklin  Nye,  was  for- 
merly a  lumberman  in  that  state,  but  removed  to 
Wisconsin  in  1853  and  engaged  in  farming.  His 
mother  was  Eliza  AI.  Loring.  I'rank  M.  Nye  was 
born  in  Shirley,  Maine,  March  7,  1852,  and  came 
with  his  parents  to  Wisconsin  and  settled  near 
River  Falls.  He  grew  up  on  a  farm  and  com- 
menced his  education  in  the  common  schools, 
afterwards  attending  the  academy  at  River  Falls. 
He  follow^ed  the  course  often  pursued  by  young 
men  of  limited  means  and  larger  ambition,  teach- 
ing school  several  terms  while  he  pursued  the 
study  of  law.  Li  1878  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
at  Hudson,  Wisconsin,  and  soon  aftenvard  located 
in  Polk  County,  the  same  state,  for  the  practice 
of  his  profession.  He  was  elected  district  attor- 
ney and  held  that  office  two  terms.  Fie  was  also 
chosen  by  the  people  of  Polk  County  to  the  lower 
house  of  the  legislature.  In  the  spring  of  1886 
he  removed  to  Minneapolis,  where  his  talents 
soon  attracted  attention.  He  took  an  active  part 
in  politics  and  made  an  enviable  reputation  as  a 
speaker.  When  Robert  Jamison  was  elected 
county  attorney  he  appointed  Mr.  Nye  as  his 
assistant.  In  the  fall  of  1892  he  was  elected  to 
succeed  Mr.  Jamison,  and  was  re-elected  in  the 
fall  of  1894,  and  is  now  serving  his  second  term 
in  that  office.  Mr.  Nye's  legal  practice  has  been 
largely  in  the  department  of  criminal  law,  where 
he  has  met  with  remarkable  success.    Among  the 


important  cases  prosecuted  by  him  was  that 
of  the  Harris  murderers,  wliere  under  peculiar 
difficulties  he  succeeded  in  unraveling  the  mys- 
terious plot  and  in  procuring  the  conviction  of 
the  criminals.  He  also  prosecuted  the  famous 
Hayward  case,  and  won  new  laurels  as  a  criminal 
lawyer.  This  was  one  of  the  most  famous  trials 
in  the  history  of  criminal  prosecutions  in  this 
country,  and  the  ability  with  which  the  case  was 
conducted  attracted  general  attention.  His  repu- 
tation as  a  prosecutor  is  not  confined  to  his  own 
state,  and  he  has  been  called  upon  to  assist  in  im- 
portant cases  in  other  courts.  A  notable  instance 
was  that  of  the  prosecution  of  Alyron  Kent,  in 
North  Dakota,  for  the  murder  of  his  wife.  Mr. 
Nye  made  the  principal  address  to  the  jury,  and 
the  trial  resulted  in  the  conviction  of  the  accused. 
He  has  also  rendered  important  services  to  the 
county  in  the  conduct  of  its  civil  business,  and  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  capable  men  who  has 
ever  served  it  in  that  capacity.  He  has  secured 
the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens 
to  such  a  degree  that  he  has  been  urged  to  accept 
higher  preferment  in  the  public  service,  but  has 
thus  far  chosen  to  confine  himself  to  the  practice 
of  his  profession.  Mr.  Nye  w-as  married  in  the 
spring  of  1876  to  Carrie  M.  Wilson,  of  River 
Falls,  Wisconsin,  and  has  a  family  of  four  chil- 
dren. 


1S2 


PROGRESSIVE  MEX  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES  HIX.MAX  GRA\ES. 

The  subject  of  tliis  sketch  is  a  resident  of 
Duluth,  where  he  has  figured  very  prominently 
in  the  development  of  that  growinq-  cit\-  for  over 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  His  father,  H.  A.  Graves, 
was  a  Baptist  clergyman,  editor  of  the  Christian 
Watchman  and  Reflector,  of  Boston.  His 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Alary  Hinman,  a 
daughter  of  Scoville  Hinman  of  New  Haven, 
Connecticut.  On  both  sides  of  the  family  he  is 
descended  from  old  Xew  England  stock;  the 
Graves  ancestors  came  over  from  England  in 
1645,  3nd  Royal  Hinman  was  an  carlv  governor 
of  Connecticut.  Charles  Hinman  Graves  was 
born  at  Springfield,  Afassachusetts,  August  14, 
1839.  He  attended  the  cimimon  schools  of 
Springfield  and  Litchfield  Academy.  In  July, 
1861,  he  enlisted  in  the  I'nion  Arm\'  and  was 
engaged  in  all  tlie  battles  oi  the  .\rmy  of  the 
Potomac  and  Army  of  the  James,  including  the 
first  battle  of  lUill  Run,  Williamsburg,  I'air  Oaks, 
Malvern  Hill,  I'redericksburg,  Chancellorsvillc, 
I'.randy  Station,  .Mine  Run,  Second  Bull  Run, 
Chantilly,  Gettyslnirg  fwhcre  he  was  severely 
wounded),  Dei'p  BniiMm,  1  V-lcrsburg.  I'^rl  iMsher 
Cwhcrc  he  was  jiromotcd  to  the  rank  of  major  and 
assistant  adjutant  general  I'nited  States  \'olun- 
teers  for  gallantry  in  the  assault )  and  Wihniiiglnn. 
Colonel    Graves    enlisted    as    a    private    soldier. 


became  corporal,  sergeant,  second  lieutenant,  first 
lieutenant  and  captain  of  the  Fortieth  Xew  York 
\'olunteers;  captain  and  assistant  adjutant  gen- 
eral, and  major  and  assistant  adjutant  general 
United  States  Volunteers;  brevet  major,  lieu- 
tenant colonel  and  colonel  of  Volunteers;  first 
lieutenant  and  captain  L'nited  States  Regular 
Infantry;  brevet  major  and  lieutenant  colonel 
United  States  Army,  and  by  detail,  inspector 
general  of  the  Department  of  Dakota,  and  judge 
advocate  of  the  Department  of  Dakota.  In  1870 
he  resigned  his  position  in  the  army  and  engaged 
in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  business  in 
Duluth.  Subsequently  he  went  into  the  whole- 
sale salt  and  lime  business.  He  then  engaged 
in  the  grain  business  as  an  operator  of  elevators 
and  built  all  the  large  elevators  now  in 
Duluth.  In  1893  l^s  returned  to  his  original 
business  of  real  estate  and  insurance.  He  is  pres- 
ident of  the  Graves-Manley  Insurance  Agency, 
wrote  the  first  fire  insurance  policy  written  in 
Duluth,  and  has  been  actively  identified  with  the 
development  of  that  city.  He  has  been  a  director 
of  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  Railroad;  stockholder 
and  officer  in  the  Duluth  Iron  Company,  which 
made  the  first  pig  iron  that  was  made  in  Duluth 
or  in  the  State  of  .Minnesota;  was  the  first  sub- 
scriber to  and  a  director  of  St.  Luke's  Hospital, 
Duluth.  He  has  also  been  honored  b}-  many 
public  offices.  Was  elected  mayor  of  Duluth  for 
two  terms  by  the  Republicans  of  that  city:  has 
been  state  senator  for  four  years;  representative 
and  speaker  of  the  Minnesota  house  for  one  term; 
was  leader  in  the  reform  of  the  state  treasury 
management  in  1876.  He  was  active  in  framing 
and  passing  the  first  law  establishing  a  railroad 
commission  in  Minnesota,  and  as  a  member  of  the 
legislature  represented  the  district  which  at  that 
time  comprised  all  the  northeastern  portion  of 
the  state,  consisting  of  nine  counties,  a  district 
three  hundred  miles  lung  1)\  luie  hundred  miles 
wide.  I\lr.  (iraves  was  delegate-at-large  to  the 
National  Republican  Convention  of  1888, 
has  been  a  delegate  to  many  slate  and 
district  conventions  in  Minnesota,  and  has 
been  prominent  in  the  Kepublican  ])art\'  of 
the  state  since  1875.  He  has  ri-presented  Duluth 
in  various  commercial  conventions,  and  has  taken 
an  active  part  in  the  movements  for  the  establish- 
ment of  deep  waterwa\s  frum  I  )uluth  tfi  the  sea 
coast  whicli  ha\'e  I'l-snlted  in  "re.'it  beiieht  tn  the 


PKOOKEssivE  mi-:n  OI'  minnhsota. 


183 


northwest.  IMr.  Graves  is  past  commander  uf  the 
WilHs  A.  Gorman  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Duluth; 
past  senior  vice  commander  of  .Minnesota  Com- 
mandery  Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States;  is 
a  member  of  the  Army  and  Navy  CUib  of  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.;  of  the  Minnesota  Chib  of  St.  I'anl, 
and  ex-president  of  the  Kitchi  (lannni  Chilj  of 
Dukith.  He  was  married  in  1873  to  AJiss  E. 
Grace  Totten,  daughter  of  the  late  Major  General 
J.  G.  Totten,  chief  of  engineers  of  the  rnitcij 
States  Army.    Thev  have  no  chiklren. 


EDGAR  WEAVER. 

Edgar  Weaver,  or  as  he  is  always  called  by  his 
friends,  Ed.  Weaver,  is  mayor  of  Mankato  and 
president  of  the  .Minnesota  State  Agrici;ltural 
Society.  He  was  born  in  .Milton,  Rock  County, 
Wisconsin,  in  1852.  On  his  father's  side  he  is 
of  Welsh  origin,  while  his  mother  came  of  Dutch 
ancestry.  The  line  of  descent  is  American  on 
both  sides,  however,  for  more  than  a  centm-y. 
His  father's  great  grandfather  emigrated  from 
Wales  to  the  American  colonies,  and  his  sons 
and  grandsons  were  born  in  the  state  of  New 
York.  Mr.  Weaver's  father's  mother,  Zolieida 
Morehouse,  was  the  daughter  of  a  Revolutionary 
soldier.  His  mother's  grandfather,  whose  name 
was  Van  Antwerp,  came  from  the  city  of  Ant- 
werp, and  was  of  a  family  which  traced  its  line 
back  to  the  founding  of  that  city.  This  Van  Ant- 
werp married  Miss  Betsy  Connor,  whose  father 
originally  owned  the  General  Herkimer  estate  in 
Central  New  York.  This  connection  brought  an 
Irish  strain  into  the  family.  Mr.  Weaver's  father, 
Asa  ^^'eaver,  moved  from  New  York  to  jMilton, 
Wisconsin,  in  1845,  and  was  one  of  the  early  set- 
tlers in  that  part  of  the  state.  His  occupation 
was  that  of  builder  and  contractor.  His  young 
son,  Edgar,  grew  up  at  Milton  and  attended  the 
schools  of  that  vicinity,  completing  his  education 
at  Milton  College.  In  1879  he  moved  to  Man- 
kato and  became  the  general  agent  of  the  J-  E 
Case  Threshing  ^Machine  Company,  a  position 
which  he  still  holds.  ^Ir.  Weaver  may  1)e  said  to 
have  inherited  his  Republican  political  tenden- 
cies. His  father  was  an  ardent  Republican,  as 
were  all  the  members  of  his  family.  But  Mr. 
Weaver's  business  interests  would  not  allow  him 


v.- 


^m 


to  take  puljlic  otiicc  until,  in  1893,  he  was  elected 
mayor  of  Mankato.  He  sei-ved  with  efficiency, 
and  was  re-elected  in  1895  without  opposition. 
In  1896  he  was  prominently  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  congressional  nomination,  but 
refused  to  have  his  name  used  in  opposition  to 
that  of  Congressman  McCleary.  Prior  to  this 
his  name  was  prominently  used  as  a  gubernator- 
ial candidate,  which  he  refused  also.  ]\Ir.  Weaver 
has  always  been  active  and  progressive,  and  has 
taken  a  leading  part  in  all  the  enterprises  which 
have  advanced  Mankato  from  the  rank  of  a 
country  village  to  that  of  the  leading  city  in  south 
central  Minnesota,  and  a  prosperous  manufactur- 
ing and  conmiercial  center.  His  active  part  in 
promoting  the  development  of  the  agricultural 
resources  of  the  state  brought  him  into  the  work 
of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  and  in  1894  he 
was  elected  first  vice  president  of  that  organiza- 
tion. In  1895  h^  succeeded  to  the  presidency, 
and  the  fair  held  that  year  was  the  most  success- 
ful in  the  history  of  the  state.  He  was  re-elected 
in  1896.  In  1895  he  became  a  member  of  the 
state  board  of  control  of  Earmers'  Institutes,  and 
was  elected  its  secretary.  He  is  a  thirtv-second 
degree  Mason,  a  Knight  Templar  and  a  member 
of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  In  18S9  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Kittie  ^^"ise,  daughter  of  John  C.  ^^'ise,  of 
Mankato. 


1S4 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WILLIAM     RLSH     MERRIAM. 

William  Rush  IMcrriam,  governor  of  Alin- 
nesota  froni  January,  1889,  to  January,  1893. 
has  left  behind  him  an  admirable  record  in 
that  honorable  position.  He  comes  of  a  distin- 
guished ancestry,  who  settled  at  Concord,  New- 
Hampshire,  long  before  Minnesota  was  inhabited 
by  the  while  man.  His  father,  Hon.  John  L. 
Merriam,  lived  at  Wadham's  Mills,  Essex 
County,  New  York,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
business  as  a  merchant  when  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born.  July  26,  1849.  Hon.  John  L. 
Merriam  was  of  English  descent,  his  wife,  JMahala 
Delano  (Merriam,)  of  French  ancestry.  Gov. 
Merriam  traces  his  ancestry  to  William  Merriam, 
who  was  born  at  Bedford,  Massachusetts,  in  1750, 
and  served  as  a  private  in  Capt.  Jonathan  Wil- 
son's company  of  minute  men  of  the  town  of  lied- 
ford,  Massachusetts.  He  took  part  in  the 
fight  of  Concord  r.ridgc,  .Xprii  19,  1775. 
and  in  the  pursuit  of  the  riritish  forces 
on  their  retreat  frtjm  C'oncord  to  Charles- 
ton. He  was  chairman  of  the  board  of 
selectmen  in  Bedford,  1777,  and  rendered  im- 
portant service  in  procuring  enlistments  to  the 
Continental  Army.  Gov.  I\fcrriam's  father  catuc 
with  his  family  to  Minnesota  in  1861,  and,  in  con- 
nection with  J.  C.  Burbank,  engaged  in  the  stage 
and  transportation  business.     It  was  before  the 


days  of  railroads,  and  their  business  became  an 
extensive  one.  The  elder  ]\Ierriam  was  identified 
with  many  enterprises  in  the  development  of  the 
state  and  took  a  large  interest  in  politics,  serving 
in  the  state  legislature  and  as  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  1870  and  1871.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  an  anil)iti<jus  la<l,  who 
entered  the  academy  at  Racine,  Wisconsin,  at  the 
age  of  fifteen.  Later  he  entered  Racine  College, 
and  upon  his  graduation  was  chosen  vale- 
dictorian of  his  class,  and  acquitted  himself  with 
honor.  When  he  returned  to  his  home  in  St. 
Paul,  he  devoted  himself  diligently  to  business  as 
a  clerk  in  the  First  National  Bank.  Here  he  rap- 
idly developed  unusual  business  ability,  and  when 
only  twenty-four  }'ears  of  age  was  elected  cashier 
of  the  Merchants  National  Bank.  This  was  in 
1873.  In  1880  he  was  made  vice-president,  and 
four  years  later  became  the  president  of  the  bank. 
In  the  meantime  Mr.  ^lerriam  had  developed  an 
active  interest  in  politics  and  had  become  an 
active  worker  in  every  political  campaign. 
He  was  chosen  to  represent  his  district  in  the 
general  assembly  of  Minnesota  in  1882,  and 
served  his  constituents  witli  distinguished  ability. 
In  1886  he  was  again  elected  to  the  lower  house 
of  the  legislature  and  was  honored  with  the  oiifice 
of  speaker,  where  Ins  father  had  presided  sixteen 
years  before.  He  made  an  admirable  presiding 
officer,  and  governed  the  body  with  courteous 
self-possession  and  with  a  firm,  yet  generous,  au- 
thority. He  was  chosen  vice-president  of  the 
.State  Agricultural  Society  in  1886  and  president 
in  1887,  and  contributed  greatly  to  the  success  of 
the  state  fair,  held  under  the  auspices  of  that  or- 
ganization. In  1888  Mr.  Alerriam  was  nominated 
by  the  Republican  party  as  a  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor against  Hon.  Eugene  M.  Wilson,  a  Demo- 
crat, of  Minneapolis,  and  was  elected.  Here,  in 
his  official  capacity,  he  applied  the  business  meth- 
ods to  the  administration  of  public  affairs  that  he 
has  made  so  successful  in  his  private  interests. 
He  was  honored  with  a  renomination  and  re- 
election in  1S90,  and  served  until  January,  1893. 
Gov.  Merriam  is  a  gentleman  of  very  pleasing  ad- 
dress and  cordial  maimers,  and  has  the  faculty  of 
attaching  men  to  him  in  warm  personal  friend- 
ship. Tie  is  a  student  of  affairs,  and  a  financier  of 
recognized  al)ility.  His  contributions  to  the  cur- 
rent literature  of  the  country  on  the  subject  of  na- 
tional finance  have  been  inipoiiant  anrl  valuable. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


183 


He  has  stood  tirinl)'  and  ably  by  liis  ideas  of 
sound  finance  and  has  done  much  to  shape  the 
sentiment  of  his  party  in  this  regard  in  this  state. 
Gov.  Merriam  is  a  member  of  the  University  Club 
of  New  York,  the  Metropolitan  Club  at  Wash- 
ington, and  the  Minnesota  Club  at  St.  Paul.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  church 
in  the  city  of  St.  Paul.  He  was  married  in  1872 
to  Laura  Hancock,  daughter  of  John  Hancock, 
and  niece  of  the  late  Gen.  Winfield  Scott  Han- 
cock, a  lady  of  rare  accomplisliments  and  gra- 
cious manners,  who  presides  over  the  home  of 
her  distinguished  husband  with  dignity  and 
grace. 


FRANKLIN  STAPLES. 

No  man  is  capable  of  rendering  more  valuable 
services  to  the  people  of  the  community  in  which 
he  lives,  or  making  a  larger  and  warmer  place 
for  himself  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  than  a 
capable,  careful  and  tnistworthy  family  physician. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  sustains  such  a  rela- 
tion to  many  of  the  people  of  Winona.  Franklin 
Staples,  M.  D.,  is  a  native  of  Raymond,  (now 
Casco),  Cumberland  County,  j\Iaine,  where  he 
was  born  November  9,  1833.  He  was  the  son  of 
Peter  and  Sarah  Alaxwell  Staples,  and  grandson 
of  Peter  Staples,  Sr.,  an  early  settler  in  that 
county.  The  Staples  family  is  of  English  descent, 
the  first  members  of  the  family  in  this  country 
having  originally  settled  in  Kittery,  Maine.  Dur- 
ing his  early  boyhood  Dr.  Franklin  Staples'  fam- 
ily resided  in  Buxton,  York  County,  Alaine.  He 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  at  Lim- 
erick,, Parsoniield  and  Auburn  academies,  Elaine. 
He  taught  in  the  district  schools  and  in  Port- 
land, beginning  the  study  of  medicine  in  the 
office  of  Dr.  C.  S.  D.  Fesscndcn,  of  Portland,  in 
1855.  The  following  year  he  was  a  student  in  the 
medical  department  of  Bowdoin  college,  was  one 
of  the  first  students  in  tlie  Portland  school  for 
medical  instruction,  and  in  1861  entered  the  Col- 
lege of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  New  York 
city,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  March, 
1862.  Dr.  Staples  was  then  demonstrator  of 
anatomy  in  the  ^Nlaine  medical  school,  but  soon 
after  decided  to  remove  to  the  west  and  locate  in 
Minnesota,  where  he  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Winona.     There  he  has  lived  and 


worked  until  the  present  time.  iJr.  Staples  has 
witnessed  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
North  Star  state  from  its  earliest  beginnings,  and 
has  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  the  results 
attained.  Li  1871  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
Minnesota  .State  Medical  Society;  in  1874  he  was 
appointed  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of 
Health,  which  position  he  still  holds.  He  has 
been  president  of  the  Board  of  Health  since  1889. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  American  Public  Health 
Association  and  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion, and  of  the  local  societies  of  his  immediate 
neighborhood.  I'rom  1883  to  1887  Dr.  Staples 
held  the  chair  of  the  practice  of  medicine  in  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Minne- 
sota. He  has  been  noted  especially  for  his  sci- 
entific attainments  and  his  practical  work  as  a 
surgeon,  and  has  had  a  part  in  the  progress  which 
has  been  witnessed  in  this  department  of  scientific 
work,  especially  in  the  last  quarter  of  a  century. 
His  contributions  to  current  literature  relating  to 
medical  science  have  been  numerous.  Of  late 
years  his  attention  has  been  given  largelv  to  sani- 
tary science  and  to  practical  work  in  that  direc- 
tion. Dr.  Staples  was  mamed  Tune  4.  1863.  to 
Helen  M.  Harford,  daughter  of  the  late  Ezra 
Harford,  of  Portland.  Elaine.  Of  the  four  daugh- 
ters born  to  them  two  are  living.  Gertrude,  (Mrs. 
Seward  D.  Allen,  of  Duluth.")  and  Helen  F..  who 
resides  with  her  parents  at  \\"inona. 


186 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


STEPHEN  BROWX  LO\'EJOY. 

S.  B.  Lovejoy,  or  as  his  friends  like  to  call 
him,  "Steve"  Lovejoy,  is  one  of  the  substantial 
business  men  of  [Minneapolis,  and  is  prominent 
in  local  and  state  politics.  Mr.  Lovejoy  came  to 
■Minneapolis  when  a  small  boy  with  his  father 
and  mother  who  emigrated  in  1854  from  [Maine. 
The  family  is  an  old  one  and  carried  an  honor- 
able name  through  the  Revolution  and  the  War 
of  1812.  Mr.  Lovejoy 's  great-grandfather,  Abial 
Lovejoy,  lived  at  Sidney,  [Maine.  He  was  a  ship 
owner  and  lumber  manufacturer.  The  ship  land- 
ing at  that  place  is  still  called  "Lovejoy's  Land- 
ing." His  son,  William,  was  also  a  ship  owner, 
and  ser\-ed  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  War  of  1812. 
His  son,  John  L.  Lovejoy,  father  of  Stephen  B., 
was  a  lumber  manufacturer  in  Calais,  Maine.  He 
married  IMiss  Aim  M.  Albce,  who  was  descended 
from  William  Albce,  a  lieutenant  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, who  rendered  his  country  distinguished 
service  as  commandant  of  the  fort  at  Machias, 
Maine,  in  repulsing  a  P.ritish  man-of-war  which 
tried  to  ascend  the  river.  .Mrs.  Lovejoy's  ances- 
tors were  largely  interested  in  lumbering  opera- 
tions. Upon  his  .settlement  in  St.  Anthony,  now 
a  part  of  Minneapolis.  Mr,  Lovejoy  commenced 
the  manufacture  of  lumber  in  partnership  with 
John  L.  Brockway,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Lovejoy  &  Brockway.    Tic  died  in  i860.    Steph- 


en B.  Lovejoy  was  born  at  Livermore,  Maine,  on 
the  Lovejoy  farm  on  January  19,  1850.  He 
came  West  with  his  parents  in  1854  and  grew  up 
in  Minneapolis,  surrounded  by  the  influence  of 
the  bustling  frontier  town.  When  sixteen  years 
of  age  he  was  sent  East  to  the  Pennsylvania 
Military  Academy  at  Chester,  and  the  following 
year  went  to  the  Clinton  Liberal  Institute  at  Clin- 
ton, New  York.  Here  he  won  the  second  prize 
for  essay  at  the  annual  commencement.  On  re- 
turning from  school  that  year  he  entered  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Minneapolis  and  re- 
mained with  the  bank  for  five  }'ears.  When  he 
left  he  was  head  bookkeeper.  He  left  the  bank 
to  take  a  position  as  manager  of  a  flour  mil!  at 
Manomin,  Minnesota.  In  the  spring  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  1875,  ^^  '^'^"'is  elected  treasurer  and 
agent  of  the  Mississippi  and  Rum  River  Boom 
Company.  This  position  he  held  for  eleven 
years.  Governor  McGill  appointed  Mr.  Lovejoy 
surveyor  general  of  logs  and  lum1)er  in  1877;  he 
held  the  office  for  one  term.  In  1884  Mr.  Love- 
joy formed  a  partnership  with  John  \\^oods  as 
railroad  contractors.  This  partnership  was  dis- 
solved in  1892,  since  which  time  Mr.  Lovejoy 
has  continued  the  business  by  himself.  He  has 
been  a  stockholder  in  several  of  the  large  cor- 
porations and  banks  of  the  city,  and  from  its  or- 
ganization until  it  was  dissolved  in  1895,  he  was 
a  member  of  the  flour  milling  firm  of  Lovejoy, 
Hinrichs  &  Co.  [Mr.  Lovejoy  has  been  very  suc- 
cessful in  business,  and  is  counted  as  one  of  the 
substantial  business  men  of  [Minneapolis.  Since 
voting  for  Grant  in  1872,  iMr.  Lovejoy  has  been 
a  staunch  Republican.  Though  seldom  holding 
office  he  has  been  very  prominent  in  political 
afifairs  in  [Minneapolis,  and  has  been  a  member 
of  the  county  or  city  committees  of  his  party 
frequently  during  the  past  twelve  or  fifteen  years. 
For  four  years  past  he  has  been  chairman  of  the 
congressional  conmiittce,  and  during  the  same 
period  has  been  a  member  of  the  campaign  com- 
mittee. At  the  last  organization  of  the  conunit- 
tee  he  was  reappointed  chairman  for  the  ensuing 
two  years.  He  was  a  memljcr  of  the  old  city 
water  l^oard,  under  appointment  by  [Mayor 
.Ames,  .-\fter  two  months  of  service  he  was 
obliged  to  resign,  not  having  time  to  devote  to 
the  afifairs  of  the  office.  In  i8()5  he  was  elected 
to  the  state  legislaltiro  frrmi  the  'l'hirt\'-first  dis- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


187 


trict.  While  serving  in  llie  house  of  representa- 
tives he  introduced,  and  was  instrumental  in  se- 
curing the  passage  of  the  law  regulating  child 
labor.  Mr.  Lovejoy  was  married  on  October  13, 
1872,  to  Miss  E.  Louise  Morgan,  a  daughter  of 
Brigadier  General  George  N.  Morgan,  who  was 
formerly  colonel  of  the  famous  old  First  Minne- 
sota Volunteer  Infantry.  They  have  four  chil- 
dren, Emma  L.,  Edith  D.,  Ethel  M.,  and  Mar- 
jorie.  Mr.  Lovejoy  is  a  Thirty-second  degree 
Scottish  Rite  Knight  Templar  and  a  member  of 
Zuhrah   Temple. 


FREDERICK  CLEMENT  STEVENS. 

Frederick  Clement  Stevens,  congressman-elect 
from  the  Fourth  district,  is  a  lawyer,  and 
resides  at  Merriam  Park.  Mr.  Stevens'  father 
was  a  physician,  Dr.  John  Stevens,  of  Bangor, 
Maine.  At  the  time  of  the  birth  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  Dr.  Stevens  was  a  resident  of  Bos- 
ton, and  Frederick  Clement  Stevens  was  born 
there  January  i,  1861.  He  began  his  education 
in  the  village  schools  of  .Searsport,  Maine,  and 
graduated  from  the  high  schools  of  Rockland. 
Maine,  1877.  The  following  year  he  entered 
Bowdoin  College  at  Brunswick,  Maine,  where  he 
graduated  in  the  class  of  1881.  Mr.  Stevens  had 
decided  to  adopt  the  profession  of  law,  and  began 
his  preparation  with  Hon.  A.  ^^'.  Paine,  of  Ban- 
gor. Soon  afterwards,  however,  he  came  West 
and  completed  his  law  course  in  the  State  Univer- 
sity of  Iowa,  where  he  graduated  from  the  law 
department  in  18S4.  The  same  year  he  removed 
to  St.  Paul,  and  entered  upon  the  practice 
of  law,  and  has  continued  in  that  business  at 
St.  Paul  ever  since.  He  has  built  up  a  profitable 
practice  and  established  for  himself  an  enviable 
reputation  as  a  lawyer  of  careful  and  conservative 
methods  and  a  safe  counsellor.  ;\lr.  Stevens  has 
also  been  accorded  considerable  political  promi- 
nence by  the  Republicans  of  the  state.  He  has 
been  chairman  of  the  St.  Paul  city  connnittee  and 
the  Ramsey  County  Republican  committee  for 
several  years,  and  since  i8gi  has  been  secretary 
of  the  State  League  of  Republican  Clubs,  and 
is  regarded  as  a  very  successful  organizer.  He 
was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature 


from  the  Twenty-si.xth  district,  in  1889,  and  was 
re-elected  by  both  Republicans  and  Democrats 
in  1891.  Mr.  Stevens  soon  occupied  an  influ- 
ential place  in  that  body,  and  among  the  import- 
ant measures  with  which  he  was  identified  was 
legislation  regarding  reform  in  election  laws, 
municipal  government  and  the  passage  of  the 
constitutional  amendment  prohibiting  special 
legislation.  This  amendment  was  adopted  and 
shuts  off  a  great  deal  of  legislation  of  a  minor 
character  which  has  heretofore  occupied  much 
of  each  legislative  session.  He  takes  a  deep 
interest  in  the  live  questions  of  municipal  gov- 
ernment, and  is  in  sympathy  with  the  best  senti- 
ment of  the  day  in  that  direction.  His  study  of 
municipal  questions  and  general  knowledge  of 
the  subject  made  him  a  valuable  member  of  the 
Ramsev  County  delegation  when  it  devolved 
upon  him  and  a  few  others  to  formulate  the  Bell 
charter,  whicli  practically  saved  the  city  of  St. 
Paul  from  great  financial  embarrassment.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Commercial  Club,  of  St.  Paul, 
and  is  identified  with  that  element  which,  through 
public  spirit  and  loyalty  to  the  interests  of  the 
city,  contribute  most  to  its  progress  and  advance- 
ment. He  was  married  at  Lansing.  Michigan,  in 
1889,  to  Ellen  J.  Fargo.    They  have  no  children. 


188 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CASPER    HEXRY    TRL'ELSEN. 

Mayor  Henr}-  Truelsen,  of  Duluth,  was  born 
October  20,  1844,  in  Schleswig,  Germany.  His 
father  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  died  at 
the  age  of  thirty-seven  from  the  resuhs  of  a  fall 
into  a  vat  of  boiling  water.  His  mother  was 
Magdelena  Dienhofif,  and  for  some  years  previ- 
ous to  her  marriage  was  cook  for  the  household 
of  the  Duke  of  Schleswig-Holstein.  After  the 
death  of  her  husband  she  supported  the  family, 
consisting  of  four  children  and  her  father  and 
mother-in-law,  by  cooking  at  large  gatherings, 
weddings,  balls  and  similar  occasions.  In  this 
capacity  she  was  famous  all  over  the  dukedom. 
As  a  boy  Mr.  Truelsen  went  to  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  city,  and  was  confirmed  in  the 
Lutheran  church  when  fifteen  years  of  age.  He 
made  his  first  money  as  waiter  and  shoe  boy  in 
a  hotel  at  Schleswig  when  fourteen  years  of  age. 
That  year  he  worked  mornings  and  evenings  and 
went  to  school  during  the  day,  receiving  twelve 
dollars  a  year  and  board  for  his  services.  Tlie 
next  year  he  was  I^ound  as  an  apprentice  to  a 
grocer  to  serve  five  years  without  any  compensa- 
tion except  his  board.  This  was  a  hard  experi- 
ence. He  worked  from  six  in  the  morning  till 
ten  at  night,  on  his  feet  all  the  time,  and 
with  no  fire  in  the  store  in  winter.  Tittle 
time     was     given      for     rest     and      recreation. 


After  his  hard  term  of  apprenticeship  was 
over  he  obtained  a  better  situation,  but  in 
1866  decided  to  emigrate.  Upon  coming 
to  this  country  he  went  first  to  Eagle  River, 
Michigan,  where  he  became  bookkeeper  for 
John  H.  Hansen.  Three  years  later  he  was  at- 
tracted by  the  fame  of  the  young  town  of  Duluth, 
and  thinking  that  it  had  a  great  future  before  it, 
he  resigned  his  position,  and  with  his  wife  and 
baby  took  up  his  residence  in  the  Zenith  City. 
He  was  married  in  1866  to  Miss  Henriette  Han- 
sen at  Eagle  River.  Duluth,  when  ?ilr.  Truel- 
sen first  saw  it,  on  May  8,  1869,  was  a  mere  ham- 
let. But  the  act  authorizing  the  construction  of 
the  Lake  Superior  and  Mississippi  River  Rail- 
road had  been  passed  and  the  future  of  the  place 
was  assured.  There  being  no  boarding  house  in 
the  town  Mr.  Truelsen  was  obliged  to  stop  in 
Superior  until  he  could  build  on  Minnesota  Point 
a  small  cabin  of  two  rooms.  He  had  neither 
money,  friends  nor  acquaintance  in  the  place 
so  he  took  the  first  job  which  offered — that  of 
mixing  mortar  for  a  plastering  firm.  During 
the  first  summer  he  mixed  mortar  diligently. 
Li  the  fall  he  went  to  work  on  the  railroad 
grade  and  later  in  a  stone  quarry.  As  he  came 
from  a  mining  country  it  was  supposed  that 
he  understood  drilling  and  blasting,  and  he 
was  given  important  work,  while  in  fact  he  had 
never  handled  a  quarryman's  tools  before.  He 
managed  to  do  the  work  until  a  premature  blast 
led  him  to  think  that  some  other  employment 
would  be  safer.  A  short  time  after,  in  June, 
1870,  he  went  into  partnership  with  Michael 
Pastoral  and  carried  on  the  grocery,  and  later 
the  general  merchandise  business  for  manv  years. 
This  business  was  continued  until  1885,  when  he 
sold  out.  Meanwhile,  in  1880,  he  had  acquired 
an  interest  in  the  Dtduth  Fish  Company,  and 
did  a  very  large  business  until  1886,  when  he 
sold  to  A.  Booth  &  Son.  Mr.  Truelsen  has 
been  uniformly  successful.  About  the  time  that 
Mr.  Truelsen  entered  business  he  also  entered 
politics.  He  was  alderman  for  four  terms,  was 
elected  sheriff  of  .St.  Louis  County  in  1886  and 
served  as  such  for  one  term,  was  appointed 
member  of  the  Ijoanl  of  public  woi-ks  in  i8c)r, 
and  served  as  president  until  1804.  During  the 
latter  year  the  people  of  Duluth  voted  to  buy 
the  water  works  jilant  at  what  Mr.  Truelsen 
considered  nn  excessive  price.     He  attacked  the 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


189 


legality  of  the  election  and  wtm  in  the  snpreinc 
court.  In  1896  he  was  elected  as  mayor  on  the 
issue  of  city  ownership  of  water  works  by  build- 
ing, and  triumphed  over  the  Republican  candi- 
date by  a  majority  of  seven  hundred  and  seventy- 
nine  votes,  and  after  one  of  the  hottest  campaigns 
the  city  had  ever  seen.  In  this  fight  all  the 
dailies  in  the  city  were  arrayed  against  him.  Mr. 
Tnielsen's  wife  died  on  May  26,  1895.  They  have 
had  nine  children,  of  whom  five  are  living.  These 
are  Magdelena,  Henry,  Ida,  August  and  Mary. 


LOUIS  EDWARD  GOSSMAN. 

Louis  Edward  Gossman  is  descended  from 
a  line  of  patriots  who  served  their  country  with 
fidelity  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  He  was 
born  in  Burr  Uak  township,  Winnesheik  County, 
Iowa,  December  3,  1864.  His  father  was  Anthony 
Gossman,  a  native  of  Morgan  County,  Ohio, 
where  he  resided  until  1859.  He  then  re- 
moved to  Iowa  and  lived  there  on  a  farm  till 
1894,  when  he  retired  from  farming  and  took  up 
his  residence  in  Canton,  Minnesota.  He  is  in 
comfortable  financial  circumstances,  having  made 
a  success  at  farming.  His  wife's  maiden  name 
was  Elizabeth  Snyder  who  was  born  in  Perry 
County,  Ohio.  Louis  Edward's  grandparents  on 
his  father's  side  came  to  this  countr)-  from  Baden, 
Germany,  when  quite  young,  locating  first  in 
Pennsylvania,  then  in  Morgan  County,  L)hio.  r)n 
his  mother's  side,  his  grandparents  were  natives  of 
Pennsylvania.  Nicholas  Snyder,  his  mother's 
paternal  grandfather,  came  from  Mayence,  Ger- 
many, about  1778,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years. 
He  was  brought  to  America  by  other  Germans, 
who  came  over  to  assist  in  the  cause  of  the 
Colonies.  He  joined  Washington's  army  in 
Pennsylvania  as  a  drummer  boy  and  served  to  the 
end  of  the  war.  After  the  war  he  returned  to 
his  native  country,  but  came  over  again  in  a  few 
years  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania.  Louis  Ed- 
ward, the  third  in  a  family  of  eight,  was  brought 
up  on  a  farm,  and  attended  the  countn,'  school 
in  the  winter  as  other  farmers'  boys  do.  During 
the  winter  of  1880  and  1881  he  attended  school 
at  St.  Joseph's  College,  Dubuque,  Iowa,  and  dur- 
ing the  winters  of  1881-82,  1882-83  and  1884-85 


attended  school  at  the  Decorah  Institute,  De- 
corah,  Iowa.  In  the  winter  of  1883-84  he  was 
engaged  as  a  teacher  at  Harmony,  Minnesota. 
In  the  fall  of  1885  iNIr.  Gossman  entered  the  law 
department  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  where 
he  graduated  with  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  in  June, 
1887.  Having  made  up  his  mind  to  take  the 
literary  course  in  the  university,  he  entered  this 
department  in  the  fall  of  1887,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  June,  1890,  with  the  degree  of  B.  L. 
In  August,  1890  Mr.  Gossman  started  for  Crook- 
ston,  Minnesota,  with  the  purpose  of  locating 
there  to  practice  law.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  October,  1890.  While  for  the  first  two 
years  clients  and  money  were  not  abundant,  Mr. 
Gossman  having  no  personal  acquaintances  at 
Crookston  or  influence  to  assist  him  by  perse- 
verence  and  industry  has  built  up  a  fair  prac- 
tice and  gained  the  confidence  of  the  people.  In 
the  spring  of  i8()3  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of 
city  justice  an  office  which  he  held  for  two  years. 
In  the  fall  of  1894  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of 
county  attorney  on  the  People's  party  ticket,which 
office  he  now  holds.  Mr.  Gossman  is  a  member 
of  the  Catholic  church,  and  was  married  in  April, 
1892,  at  Canton,  Minnesota,  to  Martha  A.  Glenn, 
of  Decorah.  Iowa.  They  have  two  children,  Dor- 
itt  and  Anthonv  Bvron. 


190 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


FREDERICK  A.  DL'XS.MUUR. 

Dr.  Dunsmoor  is  an  eminent  physician,  sur- 
geon and  gynaecologist  practicing  his  profession 
at  JMinneapohs.  ]J)r.  Dunsmoor  is  a  native  of  Min- 
nesota, and  was  bom  Alay  28,  1853,  ^t  Richfield, 
in  Hennepin  County,  the  son  of  James  A.  and 
Alniira  ]\Iosher  Dunsmoor.  His  parents  were  na- 
tives of  Maine,  and  came  to  Hennepin  County, 
Minnesota,  in  1852.  Frederick  Alanson  received 
liis  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Richfield, 
Minneapolis  and  at  the  University  of  Minnesota. 
His  professional  training  began  in  the  office  of 
Doctors  Goodrich  and  Kimball,  of  Minneapolis, 
and  was  continued  in  the  Bellevue  Hospital  Medi- 
cal College,  New  York  city,  where  he  received  the 
degree  of  AI.  D.  in  March,  1875.  He  also  received 
private  instruction  from  Doctors  Frank  H.Hamil- 
ton, Alfred  G.  Loomis,  Austin  Flint,  Sr.,  E.  G. 
Janeway  and  R.  Ogden  Doremus.  He  began  his 
practice  at  Minneapolis  in  partnership  with  Dr. 
H.  H.  Kimball,  and  was  associated  with  him  one 
year.  Dr.  Dunsmoor  has  been  active  in  hospital 
work,  having  assisted  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Minnesota  College  Hospital  in  1881,  and  serv- 
ing as  vice  president  and  dean  of  the  medical 
college,  professor  of  surger\-  and  attending  sur- 
geon to  the  hospital  and  disjjensarv  for  eight 
years.  In  1889  the  Hosi)ital  College,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  other  schools  of  medicine  in  .'-^t.  T'a\il 


and  Minneapolis,  was  reorganized  in  the  medical 
department  of  the  University  of  Minnesota.  Dr. 
Dunsmoor  served  as  professor  of  surgery  in  the 
St.  Paul  medical  college  in  1877  and  till  1879,  in 
the  medical  department  of  Hamline  University 
1879  to  1881,  Minneapolis  Hospital  College 
from  1881  to  1888,  and  in  the  medical  department 
of  the  University  since  its  organization.  He  was 
county  physician  for  Hennepin  County  during 
1879.  He  was  also  active  in  organizing  Asbury 
Methodist  Hospital,  which  was  opened  Septem- 
ber I.  1892,  and  which  became  the  chief  clinical 
field  for  the  medical  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity and  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons of  [Minneapolis.  Dr.  Dunsmoor  has  also 
been  in  active  service  as  surgeon  to  St.  Mary's 
Hospital  since  1890,  to  St.  IJarnabas  Hospital 
since  1879,  g}naecologist  to  the  City  Hospital 
since  1894,  to  the  Asbury  Hospital  since  1892,  to 
the  State  Free  Dispensary  since  1889,  and  to  the 
Asbury  Free  Dispensary  since  1889.  He  has  de- 
voted his  attention  to  surgerv  and  gynaecology, 
operating  every  morning,  and  enjoys  a  wide 
reputation  as  a  skillful  and  successful  operator. 
For  many  years  his  services  have  been  in  demand 
by  the  railway,  milling,  accident  and  insurance 
companies.  Dr.  Dimsmoc^r  is  a  memberof  a  num- 
l)er  of  professional  and  scientific  societies,  among 
them  the  International  ^Medical  Congress,  the 
North  Dakota  State  IMedical  Society,  The 
American  Medical  Association,  the  National  As- 
sociation of  Railway  Surgeons,  the  Minnesota 
Academy  of  Medicine,  the  Minnesota  State  ^led- 
ical  Association,  the  Hennepin  County  JNIedical 
Society  and  the  .Societv  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons of  Minneapolis.  His  membership  in  so- 
cial and  beneficiary  societies  includes  the  Nu 
Sigma  Nu  Society,  the  ]Masonic  order,  the  Good 
Templars,  the  Druids,  the  Alinneapolis  Club  and 
the  Commercial  and  Athletic  Club.  C)f  the  latter 
two  lie  was  a  charter  menilier.  He  is  also  an 
active  member  of  the  Hennepin  Avenue  Metho- 
dist cluuTh,  where  he  has  served  for  years  in  an 
iiffieial  capacity.  He  is  a  diligent  student  of  the 
science  of  medicine  and  surgery,  and  spends  a 
]wrtion  of  each  winter  in  medical  study  in  some 
I  if  the  great  scientific  centers,  and  enjoys  the  ac- 
qnaintanccof  and  professional  association  withthe 
most  famous  snrgcfins  in  the  cotmtry.  ?Ie  is  a 
eontributi  ir    \i>    dilTerent     medical    and     surqical 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


191 


journals,  ami  is  rccognizt-d  as  an  ;uuli(jrily  in  his 
])articnlar  branch  of  the  practice.  lie  is  a  man 
of  genial  manners  and  happy  temperament,  and 
an  enthusiastic  jiatron  of  nnisic  and  the  fme  arts. 
Dr.  Dunsmoor  was  married  .September  5,  1876, 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Ennna  Jlillings,  daughter  of 
the  late  Surgeon  George  E.  Turner,  U.  S.  A. 
They  have  three  children  living,  Marjorie  Alljiort, 
Elizabeth  Turner  and  Frederick  Laton. 


LOUIS  FREDERIC  LAMMERS. 

L.  F.  Lammers  is  an  attorncy-at-la\v  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Heron  Lake,  Minne- 
sota. He  is  the  son  of  Fred  W.  Lammers  and 
Helen  C.  Nelson  (Lammers.)  F.  W.  Lammers 
is  a  native  of  Germany,  coming  to  this  country 
in  his  early  youth.  He  came  to  the  St.  Croix 
valley  from  St.  Louis  in  1846,  in  connection 
with  the  old  Marine  Lumber  Company,  and  dur- 
ing his  early  life  was  engaged  in  lumbering. 
Afterward  he  settled  on  a  farm  ricar  Taylor's 
Falls.  He  died  F"ebruary  12,  i8q6,  having  raised 
a  family  of  twelve  children,  all  of  whom  have 
reached  their  majority.  His  wife  was  of  Swedish 
extraction,  and  is  still  living.  Louis  F.  was  born 
at  Taylor's  Falls,  Minnesota,  December  14,  1855. 
His  early  life  was  spent  on  a  farm,  attending  a 
district  school  in  the  winter  and  working  on  the 
farm  in  the  summer,  until  he  attained  the  age  of 
seventeen  years,  when  he  commenced  teaching 
school.  This  he  followed  for  about  three  years,  in 
the  meantime  pursuing  his  studies.  In  1875  he 
took  a  course  in  the  St.  Paul  Business  College. 
He  \\'as  then  engaged  as  a  bookkeeper  for  several 
years  for  Isaac  Staples  and  other  prominent  lum- 
bermen of  Stillwater.  In  1880  he  removed  to 
Heron  Lake,  where  he  still  resides.  He  first 
acted  as  a  bookkeeper  and  clerk  in  a  general 
store,  but  from  1883  to  1887  was  engaged  in  the 
general  merchandise  business  as  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Lammers,  L^re  &  Co.  In  the 
fall  of  1886  he  was  elected  by  the  Republicans 
of  Jackson  County  to  the  office  of  county  super- 
intendent of  schools,  which  office  he  filled  for 
four  years,  having  been  re-elected  in  1888.  He 
closed  out  his  interest  in  the  firm  of  Lammers, 
Ure  &  Co.  in  the  meantime  and  devoted  all  his 
spare  time  to  the  study  of  law.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  June  iq,  18S8,  and  entered  upon  the 


practice  of  his  profession.  He  enjoys  a  lucra- 
tive and  successful  practice  in  southwestern  Min- 
nesota, and  has  an  extensive  clientage.  Mr.  Lam- 
mers has  held  many  minor  offices  at  Heron  Lake, 
having  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  village  council,  as  village  attorney 
(which  position  he  still  holds),  and  has  been  a 
member  of  the  school  board  continuously  for 
the  past  ten  years,  and  is  at  present  president  of 
the  board.  In  Januan,-,  1896,  he  was  appointed 
by  the  county  commissioners  of  Jackson  County 
as  county  attorney,  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  that  office. 
Mr.  Lammers  is  the  owner  of  about  two 
thousand  acres  of  fine  farm  lands  in  the 
vicinity  of  Heron  Lake,  which  he  has  un- 
der thorough  cultivation,  and  which  yields 
him  a  handsome  annual  income.  In  poli- 
tics Mr.  Lammers  has  always  affiliated  him- 
self with  the  Republican  party,  and  has  been  an 
active  supporter  of  its  principles.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  has  taken  all 
the  degrees  in  the  branch  of  York  Rite  ^lasonry, 
including  the  Shrine,  and  is  a  member  of  Osman 
Temple,  of  St.  Paul.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Odd  Fellows.  Modern  Woodmen  and  A.  O. 
U.  W.  In  1883  Mr.  Lammers  was  married  to 
INliss  Hattie  E.  Spaulding.  of  Saratoga,  New 
York.  They  have  had  four  children,  three  of 
whom  arc  living.  Howard  ^ifelvin,  Raymond 
Spaulding.  and  Mildred. 


192 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


DOLSOX  BUSH  SEARLE. 

Mr.  Searle  is  judge  of  the  district  court  of  the 
Seventh  District  of  Minnesota,  and  resides  at  St. 
Cloud.  His  father  was  Almond  D.  Searle,  who 
resided  in  I'ranklinville,  Cattaraugus  County, 
New  York,  and  was  a  prosperous  farmer.  His 
mother  was  Jane  Scott,  of  Scotch  l)irth  and 
a  lineal  descendant  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  On  his 
father's  side,  Mr.  Searle's  grandfather  was  Elijah 
Searle,  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability  and 
force  of  character.  He  took  active  part  in  public 
and  political  affairs.  He  was  formerly  a  resident 
of  Whitehall,  Xew  York,  and  was  a  soldier  in  the 
War  of  1812.  He  also  took  part  in  the  battle  of 
Lake  Champlain.  He  died  about  the  year  1865, 
and  was  then  about  seventy  years  of  age.  Judge 
Searle's  grandfather  (jn  his  mother's  side  was 
John  Scott,  of  Scotch  descent,  and  a  man  of  good 
ability.  He  was  a  farmer  at  Whitehall,  New  York, 
and  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  born  June  4.  1846.  at 
Franklinville,  New  York.  His  early  education 
was  obtained  in  the  connnon  schools  and  the 
academy  of  his  native  town.  He  graduated  from 
the  Columbian  Law  College  of  Washington,  D. 
C,  in  1868,  with  high  honors.  Three  years  later 
he  came  to  Minnesota  and  began  the  practice  of 
law  with  Hon.  E.  O.  Hamlin,  at  St.  Clond,  the 
style  of  the  firm  being  ]T;imlin   i^-   Searle.      Mr. 


Searle  soon  obtained  a  prominent  position  as 
lawyer,  and  also  took  an  active  part  in  state  poli- 
tics as  a  Republican.  He  was  elected  city  attorney 
of  St.  Cloud  for  six  years;  county  attornev  of 
Stearns  County  two  years,  although  in  a  strong 
Democratic  county,  and  his  majority  reached  as 
high  as  eleven  hundred.  He  was  appointed 
L'nited  States  district  attorney  in  April,  1882,  by 
President  Arthur,  and  served  with  consp'icuous 
abilit}-  until  December,  1885,  when  he  resigned  on 
his  own  motion  in  order  to  give  President  Cleve- 
land a  chance  to  appoint  his  successor.  Mr. 
Searle  was  a  member  of  the  state  central  Repub- 
lican committee  in  1886  and  1887,  and  took  an 
active  part  in  the  Republican  national  campaign 
in  the  fall  of  1884.  He  was  appointed  district 
judge  of  the  Seventh  Judicial  District  November 
12.  1887,  by  Governor  McGill,  and  re-elected 
without  opposition  in  the  fall  of  1888,  and  again  in 
1894.  Judge  Searle  was  nominated  for  congress 
from  the  Sixth  District  in  1892.  There  was  a  vig- 
orous contest  for  that  nomination  between  him 
and  H.  Z.  Kendall,  of  Duluth.  Judge  Searle 
made  a  brilliant  campaign  and  ran  ahead  of  his 
state  ticket  and  national  ticket  over  a  thousand 
votes,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  to  him  in  St. 
Louis  Count}",  where  he  received  only  a  bare  ma- 
jority, although  Governor  Nelson  received  about 
fifteen  hundred  majority.  He  was  defeated  at  the 
polls  by  ]Major  Baldwin,  but  by  a  very  small  ma- 
jority. Judge  Searle  has  an  honorable  war  record. 
He  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  I,  Sixty- 
fourth  New  York  Infantry,  in  August,  1861,  and 
served  for  nearly  two  years.  Pie  was  engaged  in 
the  following  battles:  Yorktown,  Seven  Pines, 
Fair  Oaks,  Savage  Station,  ^Malvern  Hill,  the 
seven  days'  fight  before  Richmond,  the  second 
battle  of  Bull  Run,  Antietam,  White  Oak  Swamp, 
Lee's  Mills,  Williamsburg  and  other  notable  en- 
gagements. Mr.  Searle,  having  been  discharged 
from  active  service  in  the  army  in  1863  on  account 
of  disability,  was  at  that  time  appointed  clerk  in 
the  war  department  at  Washington  and  held  that 
position  until  1871.  He  was  during  most  of  this 
period  in  charge  of  an  im])ortant  bureau  in  the 
.Adjutant  General's  olifice.  Judge  Searle  has 
alwavs  been  a  Republican,  and  mitil  he  went  on 
the  bench  was  very  active  in  political  matters,  and 
has  given  his  influence  and  best  judgment  to  the 
proper  conduct  of  tlie  mmiicipal  alTairs  of  his  own 


PROGRESSIVA  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


103 


city.  He  is  a  nicnihcr  of  the  .Masonic  fratcrnil)-, 
being'  a  Master  Mason,  a  Royal  Arcli 
Mason  and  a  Knight  Templar.  lie  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and 
of  Lodge  No.  59  of  the  Elks.  He  is  a  prom- 
inent member  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  and  on  October 
24,  1896,  was  appninted  aid-dc-camp,  with  the 
rank  of  colonel,  ui)on  the  staff  of  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  He 
was  married  in  1875  to  Miss  Mary  Elizabeth 
Clarke,  of  W'orccster,  Massachusetts. 


HENRY  FRANCIS  BROWN. 

Henry  Francis  Brown  was  a  farmer  boy 
in  Maine,  when  the  advantages  of  the  West 
appealed  to  his  ambition  and  invited  him  to  the 
employment  of  his  energies  and  abilities  in  the 
more  promising  field  which  they  had  to  offer. 
His  father  was  Cyrus  S.  Brown,  a  farmer  re- 
garded as  wealthy  at  that  time,  and  was  located 
at  Baldwin,  Maine.  He  was  a  leading  man  of 
the  neighborhood  and  prominent  in  state  politics. 
His  wife  was  Mary  Burnham.  Both  were  of  old 
families  in  that  section.  Cyrus  Brown  was  born 
in  Baldwin,  where  he  always  lived,  and  reared 
a  family  of  ten  children,  all  of  whom  are  living 
and  in  good  health  today.  The  parents  have  died 
but  the  children  have  retained  the  old  homestead 
in  Baldwin  and  go  there  every  year  for  a  family 
reunion.  Henry  F.  Brown  was  born  in  Maine, 
on  his  father's  farm,  October  10,  1843,  and  wlien 
old  enough  was  sent  to  the  Fryburg  Academv 
for  two  years.  He  was  also  at  school  at  theLinicr- 
ick  Academy  for  two  years.  He  came  \\'est 
when  seventeen  years  old,  and  located  in  Alinne- 
apolis  in  1859.  He  engaged  in  the  lumbering 
business  and  has  been  interested  in  that  business 
almost  continuously  ever  since.  He  earned  his 
first  money  at  lumbering  bv  driving  a  team  in 
the  woods  at  twcntv  dollars  a  month.  The  next 
year  he  rented  a  farm  and  taught  district 
school  for  three  winters  in  succession  and 
worked  the  farm  in  the  summer.  His  first 
thousand  dollars  earned  in  this  way  was 
put  in  the  lumbering  business,  but  he  lost  it  all 
the  first  winter  and  foun<l  himself  in  debt  a 
thousand  dollars  more.  He  continued  in  the 
business,  however,  in  a  small  way  and  soon  had 
recovered  from  his  losses  and  has  made  a  large 


amount  of  money  since.  Mr.  Brown  has  also 
been  identified  with  a  number  of  other  important 
enteqjrises.  He  has  a  three-fourths  interest  in 
two  flour  mills  in  Minneapolis.  He  is  president 
and  a  large  stockholder  in  the  Union  National 
Bank,  a  director  in  the  North  American  Tele- 
graph Company  and  one  of  the  largest  stock- 
holders. He  is  also  director  and  a  large  stock- 
holder in  the  Minneapolis  Trust  Company.  He 
sustains  the  same  relation  to  the  Minneapolis 
Street  Railway  Company  and  also  the  ^klinne- 
apolis  Land  and  Investment  Company.  Mr. 
Brown  has  always  taken  a  great  deal  of  interest 
in  the  breeding  of  fine  stock,  and  his  herds  of 
blooded  cattle  are  among  the  finest  in  the 
country.  He  maintains  a  large  stock  farm  near 
the  city  of  Minneapolis,  and  his  fine  herd  of  Short 
Horns  took  the  sweepstake  prize  at  the  World's 
Fair  in  Chicago,  besides  numerous  other  prizes 
for  individuals.  Mr.  Brown  was  married  in  1865 
to  Susan  H.  Fairfield  of  Maine.  They  have  a 
pleasant  home  at  I'ourth  Avenue  and  Seventh 
Street  South,  Minneapolis,  but  have  no  children 
living.  Mrs.  Brown  was  a  member  of  the  World's 
Fair  commission  for  the  state  of  Minnesota,  took 
an  active  part  in  the  management  of  the  woman's 
department  of  the  fair,  and  is  active  in  philan- 
thropic work  in  her  own  city,  where  she  is  held 
in  verv  high  regard. 


194 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JOSEPH  B.  CUTTON. 

One  of  the  best  known  and  most  prominent 
of  the  younger  lawyers  of  Minnesota  is  Joseph 
B.  Cotton,  of  Dukith.  Mr.  Cotton  is  a  native  of 
Indiana.  His  father,  Dr.  John  Cotton,  was  a 
graduate  of  Rush  Medical  College,  of  Chicago, 
and  was  a  relative  of  the  distinguished  Rev.  Dr. 
Phillips  Brooks.  His  mother's  maiden  name 
was  Elizabeth  J.  Riddle  and,  like  Dr.  Cotton, 
she  was  a  native  of  Ohio.  Mr.  Cotton  was  born 
on  a  farm  near  Albion,  Noble  County,  Indiana, 
on  January  6,  1865.  He  worked  on  the  farm 
until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  and  since  then 
has  made  his  own  way  in  the  world.  His  early 
education  was  obtained  in  the  schools  of  the  dis- 
trict in  which  he  w-as  brought  up.  A  high  school 
course  at  Albion  followed  and  afterwards  a  four 
years'  collegiate  course  in  the  Michigan  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  College  at  Lansing.  He 
graduated  from  college  in  1886  with  the  degree 
of  B.  S.  For  the  next  two  years  he  was  tutor 
in  mathematics  at  his  alma  maler,  at  the  .same 
time  studying  law  under  Hon.  h'dwin  Willits, 
then  president  of  the  institution,  and  formerly 
a  member  of  congress  from  Michigan.  On  June 
13,  1888,  Mr.  Cotton  was  admitted  to  the  l)ar 
before  the  supreme  court  of  Micliigan.  He 
almost  immediately  came  to  Dnlutli  ;nid  com- 
menced practice.  He  at  once  plunged  into  politi- 
cal life,  taking  active  part  in  the  Harrison  cam- 


paign which  was  then  on.  Four  years  later  he 
was  nominated  by  acclamation  by  the  Repub- 
licans of  St.  Louis,  Lake  and  Cook  counties  for 
the  office  of  representative  in  the  state  legislature, 
and  in  the  succeeding  election  received  the  larg- 
est vote  cast  for  any  candidate  for  representa- 
tive from  the  district.  In  the  house  he  intro- 
duced and  was  mainly  instrumental  in  passing 
a  bill  for  a  third  judge  for  the  Eleventh  Judicial 
district.  This  measure  was  one  of  the  reasons 
for  his  entering  the  legislature.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  the  fight  for  a  new^  capitol,  and 
helped  secure  the  passage  of  the  bill.  He  was 
also  very  active  in  the  proposed  terminal  ele- 
vator legislation  and  was  largely  instrumental 
in  the  defeat  of  the  bill.  His  committee  service 
was  on  the  judiciary,  grain  and  warehouse,  muni- 
cipal corporation,  and  ta.x  and  tax  laws  commit- 
tees. As  an  ardent  supporter  of  Senator  C.  K. 
1  )avis  he  made  an  eloquent  speech  nominating 
the  Senator  for  re-election,  which  added  much 
to  his  local  reputation  as  an  orator.  In  college 
Mr.  Cotton  was  orator  of  his  class  in  both  junior 
and  senior  years,  and  was  one  of  the  eight  com- 
mencement orators  chosen  by  the  faculty  from 
the  graduating  class  for  high  rank  and  scholar- 
ship. Since  1 891  ]\Ir.  Cotton  has  been  a  member 
of  the  law  firm  of  Cotton  &  Dibell,  recently 
changed  to  Cotton.  Dibell  &  Reynolds.  Since 
leaving  the  legislature  he  has  been  the  attorney 
for  the  Duluth,  Missabe  &  Northern  Railway 
Company  and  the  Lake  Superior  Consolidated 
Iron  Aline,  and  in  addition  to  these  positions 
is  now  the  vice  president  and  managing  owner 
of  the  Bessemer  Steamship  Company  and  vice 
president  of  several  mining  companies  operating 
on  the  Missabe  Range.  For  something  over 
three  years  he  has  devoted  himself  exclusively  to 
corporation  law.  Mr.  Cotton  was  one  of  the 
counsel  for  the  defendant  in  the  AIcKinley  suit 
in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  against  the 
Lake  Superior  Consolidated  Iron  Mines,  involv- 
ing the  McKinlev  mine  on  the  Missabe  range,, 
and  w'as  one  of  the  counsel  for  the  defense  in 
the  famous  Mcrritt  vs.  Rockefeller  litigation, 
now  pending  in  the  l'nitc<l  .States  courts  and 
growing  out  of  mining  transactions  on  the  Mis- 
sabe and  Gogebic  ranges,  immediately  preceding 
and  during  the  panic  of  1893.  Tic  has  been  of 
counsel  cluring  the  last  two  years  in  other  im- 
portant litigation  in  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


195 


JOHN    SARGENT    PILLSBURY. 

John  Sargent  Pillsbitry  is  so  closely  identi- 
fied with  the  history  of  Minnesota  that  to 
write  his  liistory  fuUy  and  completely  would  be 
to  write  the  history  of  the  state  during  the  last 
twenty-five  years.  Mr.  Pillsbury  was  born  at 
Sutton,  New  Hampshire,  July  29,  1828.  His  par- 
ents were  John  Pillslniry  and  Susan  Wadleigh 
(Pillsbury),  and  his  descent  on  both  sides  was 
from  the  original  Puritan  stock.  The  family  on 
his  father's  side  started,  in  America,  with  Joshua 
Pillsbury,  who  received  a  grant  of  land  at  New- 
buryport,  Massachusetts,  a  portion  of  which  still 
belongs  to  the  Pillsbury  family,  and  came  from 
England  in  1640  to  occupy  it.  The  fourth  child 
of  John  and  .Susan  Pillsbury  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  The  opportunities  for  an  education  af- 
forded him  were  limited,  and  in  his  early  teens  he 
began  to  learn  the  painter's  trade,  but  his  natural 
taste  for  trade  and  merchandise  led  him  to  engage 
as  clerk  for  his  brother,  George  A.,  in  a  general 
country  store  at  W^arner,  New  Hampshire.  Soon 
afterwards,  reaching  his  majority,  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  Walter  Harriman  at  Warner, 
and  a  singular  fact  is  that  in  after  life  Harriman 
became  governor  of  New  Hampshire  and  Pills- 
bury governor  of  ^liimesota.  The  experience 
which  he  obtained  in  the  New  England  country 
store  laid  the  foun<.lation  for  his  business  success 
afterward.  After  dissolving  partnership  with 
Harriman,  ]\Ir.  Pillsbury  removed  to  Concord, 
and  for  two  years  was  engaged  in  the  business  of 
merchant  tailoring.  At  this  time  he  was  a  watch- 
ful observer  of  the  de-\-elopment  of  the  North- 
west, and  in  1853  started  on  a  prospecting  trip, 
which  finally  brought  him,  in  June,  1855,  to  ^lin- 
nesota.  He  settled  permanently  at  St.  Anthony, 
persuaded  that  there  would  ultimately  be  a  great 
city.  He  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  with 
George  F.  Cross  and  Woodljury  Fiske.  Those 
were  the  days  of  "wild  cat"  banks  and  depreciated 
currency,  and  with  the  panic  of  1857  the  ability 
and  courage  of  the  young  merchants  were  tested 
to  the  utmost.  Added  to  this  came  a  fire,  which, 
in  a  single  night,  entailed  the  loss  of  forty-eight 
thousand  dollars.  But  this  did  not  discourage 
John  S.  Pillsbury.  He  reorganized  the  busi- 
ness, paid  off  the  debts  of  the  firm,  and 
in  a  few  vears  found  himself  better  off 
than  before.  In  1875  he  sold  his  hard- 
ware business  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  more 
extensively  in  the  milling  business,  in  which  he 


had  embarked  w  ilh  his  nephew,  Charles  A.,  under 
the  firm  name  of  C.  A.  Pillsbury  &  Co.  Early  in 
his  career  Mr.  Pillsbury  had  become  a  leader  in 
local  affairs,  and  in  1858  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  city  council  of  St.  Anthony,  and  was  re- 
tained in  that  position  for  six  years.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  war  he  rendered  efficient  service  in 
organizing  the  First,  Second  and  Third  regi- 
ments, and  in  1862  assisted  in  organizing  and 
equipping  a  mounted  company  for  ser\-ice  in  the 
Indian  outbreak.  One  of  the  most  interesting 
chapters  in  the  history  of  Mr.  Pillsbury  relates  to 
his  services  to  the  state  university.  This  institu- 
tion had  received  a  grant  of  forty-six  thousand 
acres  of  land  in  185 1.  In  1856  this  land  was  mort- 
gaged for  forty  thousand  dollars  for  the  erection 
of  university  Imildings.  In  1857  the  main  build- 
ing w-as  completed  and  a  mortgage  of  fifteen 
thousand  dollars  placed  on  it.  \\'hen  the  crisis 
of  1857  came  the  trustees  were  unable  to 
meet  their  obligations,  and  creditors  were  clamor- 
ous. After  two  or  three  years  of  hopeless  effort 
the  friends  of  the  university  despaired  of  preserv- 
ing it,  and  the  executive,  in  1862  recommended 
to  the  legislature  to  give  all  the  lands  in  settle- 
ment for  all  the  indebtedness  of  the  institution. 
Mr.  Pillsbury,  however,  had  been  making  a  study 
of  the  affairs  of  the  institution,  and  having  been 
appointed  one  of  the  regents  in  1863.  began  an 
investigation  of  its  alYairs  and  adopted  a  plan 
which  finally  resulted  in  fidlv  discharging  all  out- 


196 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MIXNESOTA. 


standing  obligations  saving  to  the  university  up- 
wards of  thirty-three  thousand  acres  of  the  land 
grant,  with  the  grounds  and  buildings,  and  put- 
ting it  on  the  road  to  the  phenomenal  'success 
which  it  has  since  attained.  Gov.  Pillsbury  has 
earned  the  name  of  the  "Father  of  the  University," 
given  him  by  the  grateful  students  of  that  institu- 
tion, and  has  crowned  his  long  years  of  service 
as  regent  with  a  gift  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  made  in  1889.  In  1875.  with- 
out any  effort  on  his  part,  Mr.  Pillsbury  was  nom- 
inated by  the  Republicans  and  elected  governor. 
Following  the  ravages  of  war  the  state  had  suf- 
fered from  a  severe  grasshopper  scourge,  and  pov- 
erty and  discouragement  were  widespread  among 
the  people.  This  was  the  condition  of  things 
when  Gov.  Pillsbury  assumed  the  reins  of  gov- 
ernment. All  the  more  remarkable,  therefore, 
was  his  plea  for  the  honor  of  the  state,  and  his 
insistence  that  the  state  discharge  her  oljligations 
which  had  been  repudiated.  The  distress  among 
the  people,  particularly  in  the  district  ravaged  by 
grasshoppers,  appealed  to  his  sympathy  and  en- 
listed his  aid.  Unwilling  to  trust  the  matter  to 
anvone  else,  he  resolved  to  make  a  personal  in- 
vestigation, accordingly  he  started  incognito  and 
visited  the  affected  parts  of  the  state;  he  found 
conditions  even  worse  than  had  been  reported. 
In  many  cases  the  settlers  had  nothing  but 
twisted  hay  for  fuel,  and  potatoes  and  shorts  for 
food.  Upon  his  return  Governor  Pillsbury  made 
an  appeal  for  aid  and  personally  superintended 
the  distribution  of  supplies.  It  was  during  his 
first  term  as  governor  that  the  famous  raid  of 
the  Younger  brothers  occurred,  and  to  Gov.  Pills- 
bury's  cool  and  practical  judgment  was  due,  in 
large  measure,  the  capture  of  those  noted  outlaws. 
He  was  renominated  and  re-elected  in  1877,  and 
entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  under 
much  brighter  skies  than  when  he  began  two 
years  earlier.  The  grasshopper  scourge  had 
passed,  the  crops  of  the  previous  year  had  been 
abundant  and  the  people  were  encouraged.  ( )ne 
of  the  important  acts  of  his  second  term  was  the 
appointment  of  Henry  M.  Knox  as  public  exam- 
iner, an  ofifice  created  at  Mr.  Pillsljury's  recom- 
mendation. He  renewed  his  recommendation  for 
the  payment  of  the  railroad  bonds,  hut  the  legis- 
lature under  the  influence  of  adverse  public  senti- 
ment failed  to  respond.  A  controversy  had  arisen 
between  the  settlers  on  lands  granted  to  the  St. 


Paul  &  Pacific  Railroad  and  the  Western  Rail- 
road Company  the  successor  to  the  St.  Paul  & 
Pacific  and  Gov.  Pillsbury  spent  eighteen 
months  in  making  satisfactory  settlement  where- 
by he  secured  homes  for  three  hundred  settlers. 
These  and  numerous  other  services  performed  by 
him  not  required  under  the  scope  of  his  ofifice, 
caused  him  to  be  regarded  with  singular  confi- 
dence and  esteem  by  the  people,  who  took  pecu- 
liar satisfaction  in  re-electing  him  to  a  third  term. 
Among  these  extraordinary  services  were  his 
contributions  from  his  private  funds  to  the  aid  of 
the  grasshopper  sufferers,  and  the  advancement 
from  his  own  pocket  of  some  seventy-five  thou- 
sand dollars  to  carry  on  the  state  prison, 
in  order  to  avoid  calling  an  extra  session 
for  the  purpose  of  making  an  appropria- 
tion. Throughout  his  term  of  ofifice  he  worked 
hard  to  secure  an  honorable  adjustment  of  the 
railway  bond  troubles.  It  happened  that  during 
the  early  days  of  the  state,  bonds  had  been 
granted  to  railroads  to  aid  in  construction  work. 
The  companies  failed,  and  their  obligations  to 
the  people  were  unfulfilled.  New  companies 
were  formed  and  they  were  allowed  to  as- 
sume the  grants  of  the  defunct  companies,  but 
no  provisions  were  made  as  to  asstuning 
the  promises  of  the  old  companies.  The  people 
felt  that  they  had  been  deceived  and  so  tried  to 
avoid  payment.  During  his  last  term  Governor 
Pillsbury  finally  effected  a  compromise  settle- 
ment. He  arranged  to  pay  half  the  face  of  the 
bonds  and  interest  on  the  whole  at  four  and  one- 
half  per  cent.  By  this  means  the  honor  of  the 
state  in  the  financial  world  was  re-established. 
It  was  during  his  third  term,  March  i,  1881,. 
that  the  capitol  was  burned.  It  was  within  four 
days  of  the  end  of  the  session  of  the  legis- 
lature. The  governor  acting-  with  characteristic 
promptness  and  sagacity  procured  an  estimate  on 
the  cost  of  rebuilding,  transmitted  the  result  to  the 
legislature  with  an  earnest  recommendation  for 
an  appropriation  and  secured  it  thus  escaping  an 
extra  session  and  a  controversy  over  a  site.  Dur- 
ing his  occupancy  of  the  governor's  chair  Mr. 
Pillsbury  was  required  to  select  three  men  for 
positions  on  the  supreme  bench.  He  nominated 
Hon.  Grcenleaf  Clark,  of  St.  Paul,  Judge  William 
.Mitclicll  of  Winona  and  Judge  Daniel  A.  Dickin- 
son, of  Mankato,  all  lawyers  .of  distinction  and  a 
notable  fart  in  ronncrtinn  with  the  appoint nicnt 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNICSOTA. 


107 


of  Mitchell  and  Dickinson  was  that  they  were 
both  mcnibers  cjf  opposing  political  parties.  Dur- 
ing all  this  time  while  Gov.  I'illsbtiry  was  con- 
ducting the  affairs  of  the  state,  his  private  inter- 
ests were  not  neglected.  At  that  time  was  being 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  great  i'lllsbury  milling 
interests,  the  fame  of  which  is  known  round  the 
world.  He  also  engaged  heavily  in  lumbering 
and  real  estate,  and  became  identified  with  the 
construction  of  railroads,  holding  the  office  of 
director  in  the  ^Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis 
and  the  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul  &  Sault  Ste. 
Marie.  He  has  been  a  director  in  several  of  the 
leading  Minneapolis  banks  and  the  Minneapolis 
Stock  Yards  Company.  He  is  a  man  who  dis- 
charges business  easily  and  without  worry,  and 
has  time  for  the  social  and  public  duties  besides. 
He  is  an  officer  of  the  hirst  Congregational 
church  of  Minneapolis,  to  which  he  has  contrib- 
uted generously,  among  his  gifts  being  the  splen- 
did organ  presented  by  him  and  his  wife.  He  is 
a  man  of  simple  tastes,  quiet  manners,  unostenta- 
tious, sincere  and  earnest.  He  has  impressed  him- 
self upon  the  commonwealth  probably  more  than 
any  other  man  who  has  ever  lived  in  it.  His 
benefactions  have  not  been  confined  to  the  state 
of  Minnesota  or  the  city  of  Minneapolis.  At  Sut- 
ton, Kew  Hampshire,  his  native  town,  he  has 
erected  a  handsome  memorial  hall,  arranged  for 
the  use  of  the  selectmen,  for  the  accommodation 
of  a  library,  and  containing  a  hall  which  will  scat 
three  hundred  people.  Gov.  Pillsbury  was  mar- 
ried in  Warner,  New  Hampshire,  November  3, 
1856,  to  Mahala  Fisk,  a  most  estimable  lady,  who 
has,  by  her  sympathetic  and  helpful  association , 
contril)uted  much  to  his  honor  and  success. 


MARCUS  PETER  HAYNE. 

Marcus  Peter  Hayne,  a  member  of  the 
Minneapolis  bar,  w^as  born  at  Austin,  South  Car- 
olina, April  14,  1857.  His  father  was  Dr.  Marcus 
S.  Hayne,  a  physician  and  a  gentleman  of  con- 
siderable wealth ;  his  mother  was  Elizabeth  A. 
Decker.  Mr.  Hayne  is  related  to  the  Southern 
family  of  that  name,  among  whom  was  the 
famous  Robert  Y.  Hayne,  who  conducted  the 
celebrated  debate  with  Webster.  When  the  war 
broke  out  Dr.  Hayne  removed  his  family  to  New 
York,  although  sympathizing  with  the  Southern 


cause.  Mr.  Hayne's  early  education  began  in  the 
public  schools  of  New  York  City  and  his  college 
course  was  taken  at  Cornell  University,  although 
he  was  not  graduated  by  that  institution.  He 
began  the  study  of  law  in  1875,  in  Newark,  New 
Jersey,  in  the  office  of  Chancellor  Runyon,  late 
ambassador  to  Germany.  From  1877  to  1880 
he  was  city  attorney  of  Newark.  He  then  went 
into  the  Southwest  and  lived  in  Arizona  and  Old 
Mexico,  ]«'acticing  law  and  engaging  in  mining 
enterprises.  From  1881  to  1883,  he  was  city 
attorney  for  Tombstone,  Arizona,  and  lived  there 
during  the  booming  days  of  that  celebrated  min- 
ing camp  when  its  output  of  silver  was  larger 
than  that  of  any  other  camp  in  the  United  States. 
Those  were  lively  times  in  the  Southwest,  and 
during  Mr.  Hayne's  residence  there  occurred 
many  of  the  frightful  Indian  massacres,  together 
with  the  lawless  deeds  of  rough  men  who  were 
then  resorting  to  Arizona  and  Old  Mexico.  Ten 
years  ago  Mr.  Hayne  came  to  Minneapolis,  and 
has  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  here 
ever  since.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the  law  firm 
of  Welch,  Hayne  &  Conlin,  but  was  a  partner  of 
Judge  Jamison  prior  to  the  elevation  of  Mr. 
Jamison  to  the  district  bench  in  1893.  He  is  a 
Republican  and  very  pronounced  in  his  political 
views.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Minneapolis  Club, 
and  the  Commercial  Club  of  Minneapolis.  He 
is  not  married. 


19K 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


f    ;ai  m.^ 


^  1^ 


JOHN   FRANKLIN   CALHUUN. 

J-  F.  Calhoun,  a  prominent  broker  of  Minne- 
apolis, comes  of  a  very  ancient  Scotch  familw 
The  name  of  the  original  family  in  Scotland  was 
spelled  Colquhoun.  The  ancient  family  home 
was  on  the  shores  of  Loch  Lomond.  The  family 
possessions  in  Scotland  date  back  to  the  time  of 
Alexander  II.  of  Scotland,  in  the  Twelfth  cen- 
tury, but  the  family  is  of  much  more  ancient 
origin.  Mr.  Calhoun's  great  grandfather,  David 
Calhoun,  occupied  a  homestead  of  four  hundred 
and  twenty  acres,  which  was  a  part  of  Braddock's 
battle  field,  near  Pittsburgh,  and  is  now  a  part  of 
Homestead,  Pennsylvania.  David  Calhoun  served 
in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  a  member 
of  Captain  James  Rogers'  militia  company,  and 
of  Colonel  Timothy  Greene's  Hanover  rifle  Ixit- 
talion.  During  the  Revolution  he  participated  in 
many  notable  engagements,  including  the  battle 
of  Brandywine,  the  battle  of  Camden  and  the 
battle  of  Guilford  Court  House.  He  saw  Lord 
Comwallis  deliver  up  his  sword  at  Yorktown. 
When  the  war  of  1812  broke  out  Mr.  Calhoun, 
though  then  fifty-five  years  of  age,  enlisted  with 
the  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  under  General 
Richard  Crooks.  C)n  his  mother's  side,  Mr. 
Calhoun  also  comes  of  Revolutionary  stock. 
His  mother's  mother,  Orpha  Bingham,  was  the 
only  daughter  of  Chester  Bingham,  wlio  served 
in  the  Rcvolutionarv  war.     Mr.  Bingliarn  was  a 


descendant  of  Deacon  Thomas  Bingham,  of 
Norwich,  Connecticut,  who  married  Mary  Rudd 
on  December  12,  1666.  The  weddhig  ceremony 
was  performed  by  Governor  John  Winthrop,  on 
the  banks  of  a  little  rivulet,  on  the  boundary  line 
between  ^lassachusetts  and  Connecticut,  which 
was  afterwards  called  Bride's  Brook.  The  story 
of  Bride's  Brook  became  a  matter  of  history,  and 
it  is  said,  in  legal  authority,  has  established  the 
boundary  line  Ijetwcen  the  two  states.  The  Bing- 
ham family  is  traced  back  for  twenty  generations, 
and  is  supposed  to  have  been  of  Saxon  origin. 
J.  F.  Calhoun  is  the  son  of  David  and  Caroline 
Calhoun.  He  was  born  in  Licking  County, 
Ohio,  on  April  28,  1854.  While  he  was  still  a 
small  child  his  parents  removed  to  Illinois,  and 
the  only  schooling  which  lie  ever  received  was 
obtained  at  a  little  school  house  in  Mercer 
County  of  that  state.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he 
left  his  home  and  went  to  the  neighboring  village 
of  Keithsburgh,  to  which  he  walked  barefooted 
with  a  straw  hat  on  his  head  and  not  a  cent  in 
his  pocket.  After  repeated  applications  for  work 
he  at  last  obtained  employment  as  a  printer's 
"devil"  in  the  office  of  Theodore  Glancey,  pub- 
lisher of  the  Keithsljurgh  Observer.  This  situa- 
tion, which  furnished  him  an  income  of  three 
and  one-half  dollars  a  week,  was  broken  up  after 
a  very  few  days,  when  the  paper  went  into  the 
hands  of  the  sheriff.  Young  Calhoun  ne.xt  got 
employment  in  a  carpenter  shop,  where  he  was 
employed  in  turning  a  grind  stone,  and  remained 
in  this  position  for  eight  months.  He  then  went 
into  a  clothing  store,  and  after  a  while  obtained 
a  better  ]>osition  in  a  large  dry  goods  house, 
where  he  worked  for  eight  years.  When  he  left 
this  position  it  was  to  engage  in  the  mercantile 
business  on  his  own  account.  In  18S1  Mr.  Cal- 
houn moved  to  Minneapolis  and  engaged  .in 
Icianing  money  on  real  estate.  During  the  past 
fifteen  years  he  has  done  a  large  business,  both 
in  buying  and  selling  ^linneapolis  and  North- 
western ])ro])erlv  and  placing  loans  for  Fastern 
clients.  He  has  been  identified  with  many  of  the 
enterprises  of  the  city,  and  has  talcen  a  iirominent 
place  among  the  business  men  in  his  line.  Air. 
Calhoun  was  a  menil^er  of  the  first  Ciiamber  of 
Commerce  of  IMinncapnHs.  Since  1885  he  has 
been  a  member  of  tlie  Minneapulis  Chili  and  he 
has  been  a  memlier  of  the  Commercial  Club  since 
its  organization.     In  the  Masonic  body  he  has 


PKOCKRSSIVE  MEN  01-    MINNESOTA 


loy 


been  prominent,  taking  all  of  the  degrees,  includ- 
ing the  Thirty-third,  and  last  degree.  He  was 
married  on  January  20,  1879  at  Galesburg,  Illin- 
ois, to  Miss  Clara  Zenora  Edwards,  daughter  of 
the  Hon.  John  Edwards,  who  was  a  member  of 
the  first  Indiana  legislature.  They  have  three 
children,  John  Edwards,  Frederic  I  )avi(l  and 
Beatrice  Zenora. 


ALBERT  JEFl'REY  COX. 

Dr.  A.  J.  Cox,  of  Tyler,  Minnesota,  is  a  native 
of  Wisconsin,  and  traces  his  ancestry  back  to 
Colonial  times.  His  mother,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Minerva  J.  Cook,  was  descended  di- 
rectly from  Peter  Lozier,  of  France,  and  Fran- 
cis Cook,  who  settled  at  the  Plymouth  colony 
in  Massachusetts.  Her  father,  Rev.  Nelson 
Cook,  was  a  prominent  minister  of  the  Free 
Methodist  and  Wesleyan  church.  She  was  first 
married  to  Zebulon  M.  Viles,  a  nephew  of  John 
Hancock.  Mr.  \'iles  died  shortly  after  their  mar- 
riage, and  his  widow  subsequently  became  the 
wife  of  James  Cox,  who  was  a  native  of  England. 
Mr.  Cox  came  to  this  country  when  but  eight 
years  of  age.  He  has  always  been  a  farmer,  and 
has  acquired  a  competency.  His  son,  Albert, 
was  born  in  Trempealeau,  Wisconsin,  on  .March 
2,  1862.  The  boy  attended  school  at  a  neighbor- 
ing schoolhouse,  known  in  the  vicinity  as  "the 
red  schoolhouse."  A  feature  of  school  life  in  the 
country  districts  in  those  days  was  the  spelling 
school,  brought,  with  other  customs,  from  New 
England.  The  "red  schoolhouse''  which  young 
Albert  attended,  usually  held  the  championship 
of  the  vicinity  over  all  comers.  In  1880  he  en- 
tered the  scientific  course  of  Galesville  University 
at  Galesville,  Wisconsin,  and  graduated  from  the 
academic  department  in  1883,  having  covered  the 
three  years'  course  in  two  years  of  actual  study. 
He  was  unable  to  attend  continuously  on  account 
of  lack  of  funds.  For  three  years  he  was  first 
sergeant  in  the  cadet  corps  of  the  institution. 
After  leaving  Galesville  he  taught  school  and 
studied  medicine  under  Dr.  Cyrus  H,  Cutter,  of 
Trempealeau,  Wisconsin.  In  the  course  of  a  year 
he  found  himself  in  a  position  to  enter 
the  medical  department  of  the  ^Michigan 
University,  and  by  hard  work  and  close  applica- 
tion succeeded    in    making    the    freshman    and 


junior  studies  during  one  year.  He  had  intended 
to  graduate  from  the  medical  department  at  Ann 
Arbor  but  his  old  preceptor  advised  him  to  go 
to  Rush  Medical  College  in  Chicago,  and  accord- 
ingly he  went  there  and  graduated  February  16, 
1886.  Upon  graduation  Dr.  Cox  went  at  once 
to  Tyler,  Minnesota,  where  he  has  since  lived, 
practicing  his  profession.  During  the  following 
spring  he  formed  a  partnership  with  J.  W.  Ken- 
dall, and  for  three  years  was  interested  with  that 
gentleman  in  the  drug  business  at  Tyler.  In 
1890  he  purchased  Mr.  Kendall's  interest  in  the 
business,  and  has  since  conducted  it  himself  with 
the  aid  of  two  clerks.  When  Dr.  Cox  went  to 
Tyler  the  countiy  was  newly  settled,  but  popula- 
tion has  constantly  been  added,  and  though  the 
work  of  building  up  a  practice  has  been  slow,  it 
has  been  continuous.  Dr.  Co.x  was  married  to 
Aliss  Mary  J.  Bigham  on  June  23,  1887,  at  Tyler. 
They  have  two  children,  Floyd  Albert  Cox  and 
Howard  Bigham  Cox.  Dr.  Cox  is  a  member  of 
the  Congregational  church.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Southwestern  Minnesota  Medical  So- 
ciety. His  political  faith  is  Republican.  For  the 
past  two  years  he  has  been  secretarv  of  the  Re- 
publican county  central  committee.  In  the  order 
of  the  A.  O.  l^  W;  he  has  held  the  ofSce  of 
financier  of  Tyler  Lodge  No.  109,  ever  since  its 
organization  in  1888  he  being  one  of  the  charter 
members. 


200 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ISAIAH  HENRY  URADl-ORU. 

1.  H.  Bradford  is  a  banker  of  Hubbard, 
Hubbard  County,  jNIinnesota.  JMr.  Bradford  has 
the  satisfaction  of  tracing  his  ancestral  hue  back 
to  the  famous  Plymouth  colony,  he  being  a 
direct  descendant  of  Governor  Bradford.  His 
ancestry  was  also  prominent  in  the  Revolution- 
arj'  War  and  the  War  of  1812.  James  Bradford, 
his  father,  was  born  in  Gushing,  Maine,  Septem- 
ber 21,  1805,  and  he  emigrated  to  Wisconsin 
when  a  young  man,  settling  at  Monroe.  After 
living  in  several  localities  in  Wisconsin,  he 
moved  to  Iowa  in  1864,  establishing  himself  at 
Nashua  and  engaging  in  the  business  of  wagon 
manufacturing.  His  wife  was  ]\liss  Sarah  Hud- 
son, who  is  a  native  of  Sardinia,  New  York. 
She  is  a  descendant  of  Henry  Hudson.  Her 
family  was  for  many  years  prominent  in  Rhode 
Island.  She  is  still  living  with  a  daughter  at 
Hubbard.  Her  husband  died  at  Nashua  on 
July  13,  1877.  I.  H.  r.radford  was  born  on 
June  5,  1857,  in  the  town  of  Washington,  Green 
County,  Wisconsin.  His  early  education  com- 
menced in  the  public  schools  of  Milford,  Wis- 
consin. When  the  family  moved  to  Iowa  he 
entered  the  public  schools  of  Nashua  and  made 
rapid  jjrogrcss  in  his  studies.  In  1874  he  grad- 
uated with  honors  from  the  Nashua  High  school 
and  then  entered  the  I'lJUer  Iowa  T'niversit\'  at 


Fayette,  as  a  student  in  the  commercial  and 
college  courses.  From  this  department  he 
graduated  on  January  18,  1876,  at  the  head  of 
the  class.  On  March  28,  1876,  he  was  offered 
a  position  of  cashier  of  the  banking  house  of 
the  Hon.  A.  J.  Felt,  of  Nashua.  This  position 
he  at  once  accepted.  He  was  the  youngest 
cashier  at  that  time  in  the  United  States,  who 
had  full  charge  and  management  of  the  bank. 
Mr.  Bradford  contmued  in  charge  of  this  bank- 
ing house  until  it  closed  out  its  affairs  by  sale 
in  1878,  to  the  First  National  Bank  of  Nashua. 
He  was  then  employed  bv  the  I'irst  National 
Bank  in  making  out  a  set  of  abstract  books  for 
Chickasaw  County.  A  short  time  afterwards  he 
associated  himself  willi  Moses  Stewart,  Ir.,  of 
Nashua,  in  organizing  the  Bank  of  A'erndale, 
in  Wadena  County,  Minnesota.  This  was  in 
October,  1880.  ^Ir.  Bradford  became  cashier 
of  the  new  bank  and  continued  in  that  position 
for  two  years  when  he  resigned  and  joined 
Isaac  Hazlett  and  E.  S.  Case  in  organizing  the 
Wadena  County  Bank  of  \'erndale.  He  was 
cashier  of  this  institution  until  1883.  In  De- 
cember, 1885,  he  accepted  the  position  of  cashier 
and  manager  of  the  banking  house  of  James 
Billings,  of  Hubbard,  and  continued  in  tliis  po- 
sition for  six  years  Avhen  the  liank  was  sold  to 
other  parties.  Besides  managing  }ilr.  Billings' 
interests,  Mr.  Bradford  had  the  general  super- 
intending of  a  large  farm,  loan  and  land  business 
and  of  a  large  flouring  mill  at  Hubbard.  Under 
his  management  the  volume  of  banking  business 
increased  to  over  three  million  dollars.  He 
now  carries  on  a  banking  business  at  Hubbard 
on  his  own  account.  He  has  a  large  eastern 
clientage  and  is  engaged  in  ])lacing  loans  on 
western  securities.  He  is  the  local  land  agent 
for  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and  during 
tlie  last  sixteen  years  has  placed  over  three 
hundred  settlers  and  sold  about  si.x  thousand 
acres  of  railroad  lands.  He  has  been  instru- 
mental in  bringing  tlionsands  of  (loll;irs  in  capi- 
tal into  his  section  of  the  slate  for  in\-estment, 
as  well  as  inducing  a  large  number  of  settlers 
to  locate  in  Hubbard  Comity  as  tlu'ir  |ilace  of 
residence.  .Mr.  Bradford  was  one  of  the  i)ro- 
moters  and  iucorjiorators  of  the  l)\ilutli  & 
Great  Western  Raih-oid  ( 'oui|);niy.  He  is  treas- 
urer   of   the    corporation,    and    is    now    lalioring 


PROGKESSIVR  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


201 


hard  with  eastern  capitalists  for  the  success  of 
the  enterprise.  In  politics  he  is  a  staunch  re- 
publican, and  (luring  the  campaign  of  1896  an 
advocate  of  sound  money.  He  is  a  member  nf 
the  Alediodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  which  he 
has  held  various  offices.  Though  nut  an  office 
seeker,  he  was  first  Clerk  of  Courts  of  Ilubljard 
County  and  has  been  influential  in  the  comity 
politics.  In  .September,  i8(Sj,  Air.  I  badl'iird  \\;is 
married  to  Miss  Christina  A.  Ilolton,  of  \'ern- 
dale,  -Minnesota,  daughter  of  the  late  George 
Bolton.  Thev  have  had  three  children,  (jeorge 
Miles,  Dilla  Carrie,  who  died  on  .Se])tcnibir  i. 
1893,  and  \\'ealthy. 


TI.MOTHV  EDWARD   liYRNES. 

Probably  no  man  in  the  Xortli  .Star  State 
has  been  more  active  in  campaign  work  in  the 
interests  of  his  party,  than  the  man  whose  name 
stands  at  the  head  of  this  sketch.  "Tim"  llyrnes, 
as  he  is  familiarl\-  called  by  his  friends  is  of 
Irish  parentage.  iJoth  his  parents  (Daniel  and 
Hannora  Byrnes)  were  Ijorn  in  Ireland,  emi- 
grating to  this  country  when  children.  His 
father  followed  the  occupation  of  farming  and 
was  fairly  successful  in  life.  Timothy  was  born 
at  Bellow's  Falls,  \'ermont,  November  22, 
1853.  He  came  to  ^Minnesota,  while  yet  a  lad, 
with  his  parents,  and  his  early  education  was 
acquired  in  the  common  schools  of  this  state. 
.Subsecjuently  he  attended  the  Cniversity  of  Min- 
nesota, taking  the  scientific  course,  and  graduat- 
ing from  this  institution  in  Ji-me  1879.  Having 
then  a  desire  to  take  u])  the  study  of  law.  he 
entered  Columbia  Law  School  in  New  ^<irk 
City.  After  having  been  admitted  to  the  bar,  he 
began  the  practice  of  his  prc)fession  in  the  city 
of  Minneapolis.  In  this  he  has  been  very  suc- 
cessful. Mr.  Byrnes,  however,  did  not  acquire 
his  wide  reputation  so  much  through  his  law 
practice  as  in  the  lield  of  politics.  He  has  always 
been  a  Republican,  and  from  the  first  an  active 
supporter  of  his  party  principles.  In  1887  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee of  the  National  Republican  League  from 
Minnesota,  and  has  remained  a  member  of  this 
committee  since  that  time.  Mr.  Byrnes  has 
never  been  a  candidate  for  any  elective  office, 
but  at  this  time  he  took  a  deep  personal  interest 
in  the  work  of  organizing  the  league  in  this  state. 


and  upon  its  organization  was  made  president, 
which  office  he  filled  until  1891.  During  that 
year  he  was  also  organizer  of  the  national  league, 
and  rendered  very  efficient  service.  In  1889  he 
was  given  the  post  of  the  chief  of  the  appoint- 
ment division  of  the  I'nited  States  Treasury 
Department  under  Secretary  Windom,  and  for 
two  years  was  Mr.  \\'indom's  most  trusted 
assistant.  During  this  time  Mr.  Windom  gave 
him  practical  control  of  the  entire  ])atronage  of 
the  department,  making  all  his  appointments 
upon  the  recommendations  of  Mr.  Byrnes.  The 
Republican  National  Conmiittee  in  1896,  recog- 
nizing -Mr.  Byrnes'  extensive  ability,  appointed 
him  sergeant-at-arms  for  the  National  Conven- 
tion, held  at  St.  Louis  that  year.  Mr.  Byrnes 
devoted  all  his  time  to  making  the  arrangements 
as  perfect  as  possil)le  and  that  the  national  com- 
mittee's confidence  was  not  mis])laced,  may  be 
judged  ])y  the  fact  that  they  declared  that  this 
convention  was  the  best  managed  of  any  in  the 
history  of  the  party.  In  all  political  campaigns 
Mr.  Byrnes  has  been  ver\-  active,  and  probably 
has  given  more  time  to  national  part\^  work 
than  any  man  in  the  state.  He  has  an  extensive 
and  intimate  acfpiaintance  with  men  of  promi- 
nence and  national  reputation  in  this  country. 
On  May  15.  1883,  he  was  married  to  Clara  M. 
Goodrich.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Byrnes  have  three  chil- 
dren, George  G.,  Clifford  H.  and  I-"rederick  E. 


202 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES  WAYLAND  DREW. 

Among  the  many  from  the  Green  Alountain 
state  who  have  contributed  to  the  development 
of  Minnesota  is  Charles  W.  Drew,  of  Minneap- 
olis. Dr.  Drew  was  born  at  Burlington,  \'er- 
mont,  on  January  1 8,  1858.  His  father.  Homer 
C.  Drew,  was  a  contractor  and  builder  in  mod- 
erate circumstances.  Both  parents  were  from 
old  New  England  stock  and  had  lived  in  the 
state  of  \'ermont  for  several  generations.  Dr. 
Drew  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
Burlington  and  in  the  I'niversity  of  \'ermont, 
which  he  entered  at  the  age  of  fifteen.  The  nat- 
ural bent  of  his  mind  was  toward  the  sciences, 
especially  chemistry,  and  during  the  four  vears 
at  the  imiversity  a  large  share  of  his  time  was 
devoted  to  this  and  kindred  studies.  He  grad- 
uated in  1877  and  received  the  degree  of  Bach- 
elor of  ]'hilos('])hy  and  an  election  to  the  hon- 
orary Phi  Beta  Ka])pa  Society.  Following  his 
graduation  about  eighteen  months  were  s])ent 
in  work  and  study  in  various  laboratories  in 
New  York  and  Brooklyn,  and  afterward  he  be- 
came a  student  in  the  .Medical  Department  of 
the  University  of  \'ermout.  I  fe  graduated  in 
1880  and  received  the  highest  honcjrs  in  a  class 
of  about  sixty,  taking  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine,  the  first  prize  for  general  ])ri)ficiencv. 


and  alsij  the  prize  for  the  most  meritorious 
thesis.  The  year  following  graduation  was  spent 
in  Brattleboro,  \'ermont,  in  association  with  one 
of  the  best  known  physicians  in  the  state,  and 
at  the  end  of  which  time  Dr.  Drew  came  to 
Alinnesota  and  soon  established  himself  in  medi- 
cal practice  in  Alinneapolis.  In  the  following 
year  he  was  appointed  as  Professor  of  Chemistry 
in  the  [Minnesota  Hospital  College,  and  con- 
tinued in  that  position  for  seven  years,  when  the 
school  was  merged  with  others  to  form  the  Medi- 
cal Department  of  the  State  University.  In  1883 
Dr.  Drew  was  appointed  City  Physician.  In  1886 
he  made  an  exhaustive  investigation  of 
"Food  Adulterations  in  !\linnesota,"  and  pub- 
lished a  monograph  upon  the  subject,  and  in 
the  same  year  he  was  appointed  State  Chemist 
to  the  Dairy  and  Food  Department.  This  posi- 
tion he  held  for  six  years,  during  that  time 
doing  a  large  amount  of  work  ak.mg  the  lines 
of  chemistry  of  foods  and  sanitary  chemistry  in 
general.  He  established,  in  1886,  a  private  school 
of  pharmacy  under  the  name  of  the  ^^innesota 
Institute  of  Pharmacy,  which  school  is  still  in 
existence  and  has  been  attended  by  more  than 
seven  hundred  students.  At  the  present  time, 
of  all  the  legally  qualified  pharmacists  in  the 
state,  twenty-five  per  cent  have  been  its  students. 
Dr.  Drew  was  appointed  in  1895  as  chemist  to 
the  City  of  Min.neapolis,  a  ptjsition  which  he 
still  holds.  His  medical  practice  was  discon- 
tinued in  i88q,  his  time  since  then  being  fully 
occupietl  in  his  various  lines  of  cheiuical  inves- 
tigation and  in  teaching.  His  work  in  chem- 
istn-  covers  a  wide  field,  and  owing  to  his  high 
professional  standing  and  wide  reputation  as  a 
chemist  he  is  fre(|uentlv  called  to  dift'erent  parts 
of  the  Northwest  as  r.n  expert  in  this  branch 
of  science  and  in  Chemico-legal  and  Toxico- 
logical  lines.  In  politics  Dr.  Drew  has  always 
been  a  Republican,  but  though  he  has  taken  an 
active  iJart  in  the  affairs  of  his  party,  all  j^osi- 
tions  which  he  has  held  have  been  of  a  pro- 
fessional character.  He  has  been  a  nu-mber  of 
various  professional  societies,  including  the 
Minnesota  Medical  Society,  the  Hemiepin 
County  Medical  Society,  the  American  Medical 
Association,  the  American  Chemical  Society  and 
others.  He  was  made  a  ]\lason  in  Washington 
Ufidge,    No.    3,    Burlingtiiii,    \'ermont.    in    1870,. 


FKOORESSIVH  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


203 


afterward  affiliated  with  Khuruin  Lodge,  Min- 
neapolis, which  he  left  to  become  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  Miiineiiaha  Lodge,  of  which  he  is  Past 
Master.  lie  is  at  present  a  mein1>er  of  Ark 
Lodge,  \'o.  176.  He  is  also  a  member  of  St. 
John's  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  of  Zion  Conimandery, 
Knights  Templar,  and  of  Zuhrnh  Temijle  of  the 
Mystic  ."-^hrine.  lie  attends  the  Episcopal 
Church,  but  is  not  a  member.  He  was  married 
on  September  18,  1884,  in  Brattleboro,  X'ermont, 
to  Annah  Reed  Kellogg,  daughter  of  Henry 
Kellogg,  of  I'.oston,  Massachusetts.  They  have 
two  children,  Julia  Kellogg,  born  in  August, 
l8(p,  and  Charles  \\'ayland,  jr.,  born  in  June. 
1896. 


WILLIAM  FRANK  SCHILLING. 

In  1853  William  .Schilling  came  with  his 
parents  from  Philadelphia  to  Carver  Count)-,  Min- 
nesota, and  settled  on  a  farm.  A  few  years  later 
he  located  in  business  in  St.  Paul,  and  was  re- 
siding there  when  the  war  broke  out.  He  offered 
his  services  to  the  country  as  a  member  of  Com- 
pany H,  Fifth  Minnesota,  and  served  continuously 
until  the  war  closed,  gaining  the  rank  of  first 
lieutenant.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  St.  Paul, 
where  he  was  married  to  Miss  ^^lary  Catherine 
Lallier.  Shortly  after  they  moved  to  Hutchinson, 
Alinnesota,  where  to  them  was  born,  November 
II,  1872.  William  F.  Schilling,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  William  attended  the  schools 
of  Hutchinson,  where  he  was  under  the 
tutelage  of  Hon.  X\'.  W.  Pendergast,-  now  state 
sujK'riiitendent  of  ]:)ublic  instruction.  During 
the  vacations  of  his  last  three  years  at  school  he 
learned,  in  the  Hutchinson  Leader  office,  the 
printer's  trade.  It  was  there  he  earned  his  first 
dollar,  folding  papers  for  an  old  Washington  hand 
press.  After  about  a  year  spent  in  St.  Paul,  he 
returned  to  Hutchinson,  and  was  employed  for 
eighteen  months  on  the  Leader.  Again  he  re- 
turned to  St.  Paul,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the 
printing  business  until  August  20,  1891,  when 
he  was  employed  to  take  charge  of  the 
mechanical  department  of  the  Appleton 
Press.  He  remained  there  for  over  a  year, 
serving  also  as  assistant  editor  and  solicitor. 
On    April    6,  1895,   he   was    employed    as    fore- 


man of  the  Northfield  News,  in  connection  with 
which  paper  there  was  conducted  one  of  the 
largest  job  printing  establishments  in  the  state. 
Mr.  Schilling  was  placed  in  cliarge  of  this  estab- 
lishment as  foreman  until  the  following  Novem- 
ber, when  the  paper  and  its  entire  establishment 
were  turned  over  by  the  proprietor,  Hon.  Joel  P. 
Heatwole,  to  C.  H.  Pierce  and  Air.  .Schilling,  the 
latter  serving  in  the  capacity  of  city  editor,  a 
position  which  he  now  holds.  Mr.  .Schilling  was 
reared  in  the  Catholic  faith,  and  is  an  active 
worker  in  advancing  the  interests  of  that  church. 
He  is  a  man  of  upright  character  and  exemplary 
habits,  a  great  lover  of  bixjks  and  the  possessor 
of  one  of  the  best  reference  libraries  to  be  found 
in  any  private  home  in  the  state.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  While  engaged  in 
the  printing  Ijusiness  at  St.  Paul  he  became  con- 
nected with  the  Typographical  Union  of  that 
city,  and  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  youngest 
meniliers  ever  admitted  to  the  society,  entering 
as  a  full  member  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  When 
Mr.  .Schilling  left  the  Appleton  Press  to  enter  the 
services  of  the  Northfield  News,  the  Press,  in 
congratulating  him  upon  his  advancement,  spoke 
of  him  as  a  young  man  of  more  than  ordinary 
ability  and  industry,  and  as  belonging  to  that  class 
which  invariably  achieve  success. 


204 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


LEWIS  PIERCE  HUNT. 

Lewis  Pierce  Hunt  is  the  president  and 
manager  of  the  Free  Press  Printing  Company, 
of  Mankato.  His  father,  Nathan  V.  Hunt,  was 
a  native  of  \'ermont,  bom  there  in  1811.  While 
he  was  a  lad  he  removed  to  St.  Lawrence  County, 
New  York,  and  was  for  several  years  employeil 
at  the  shoemaker's  trade.  In  1832  he  married 
Caroline  Gates,  a  native  of  St.  Lawrence  County, 
and  to  them  were  born  fifteen  children,  twelve 
of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood, 
and  eleven  of  whom  are  still  living.  The  old 
people  lived  together  for  fifty-eight  years,  the 
father  surviving  until  about  six  years  ago,  and 
the  mother  until  about  two  years  ago.  Nathan 
Hunt,  in  i860,  acc[uired  part  ownership  and  the 
position  of  manager  in  a  large  manufacturing 
plant  in  Edwai'ds,  St.  Lawrence  County,  New 
York,  for  the  mamifacture  of  wagons,  carriages, 
axes,  etc.  A  prosperous  business  was  carried  on 
until  1864,  when  the  ])lanl  was  entirely  destroyed 
by  fire  causing  a  loss  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  This  left  .Mr. 
Hunt  V.  ithout  resources  and  yet  with  a  large  fam- 
ily dependent  upon  him.  He  came  West  with 
his  family  and  located  at  Independence,  Iowa,  re- 
maining there  for  five  years.  He  then  engagcil 
in  farming  near  Icsu|),  but  misfortune  and  fail- 
ing health,  and  a  longing  for  the  scenes  of  his 


younger  and  more  prosperous  days,  induced  him 
and  his  wife  to    return    to    New    York  in  1871, 
where  they  remained  until  they  died.     Mr.  Hunt 
never  recovered  his  fortune,   and  Lewis  Pierce, 
the  subject  of  this    sketch,    who    was    born    at 
Edwards,  in  1854,  while   the   family  still   resided 
on  the  farm  near  Jesup,  was  obliged    to    strike 
out    for   himself   while    yet    a  mere   lad,  and  at 
the  age  of  twelve  years  began  to  learn  the  print- 
er's trade.     He  had  only  received  such  an  educa- 
tion as  a  boy  of  that  age  could  acquire  in  the 
public   schools,   and  chiefly  in  country  schools. 
It  may  be  said,  therefore,  that  the  printing  office 
has  been  his  school  and  the  type  case  his  educa- 
tor.    He  was  only  thirteen  years  of  age  when  he 
took  charge  of  a  country  office,  and  always  there- 
after, until  engaged  in  business  for  himself,  had 
the  foremanship  of  the  mechanical  departments 
or  editorial  charge  of  the  papers  on  w^hich  he  was 
employed.     Mr.  Hunt  not  only  began  his  busi- 
ness  career  early,  but  his  married   life   as  well. 
He  was  not  yet  twenty  years  of  age  when,   in 
1S74,  he  married  Miss  Lizabeth  Putnam,  a  native 
of  New  Hampsliire,  and  his  junior  in  years.     In 
February,   1881,  'Mr.  Flunt  engaged  in  business 
for  himself  by  purchasing,  in  connection  with  F. 
E.  Cornish,  the  Lanesboro,  Minnesota,  Journal. 
In  October,  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  Hunt  purchased 
a  half  interest  in  the  ^lankato  Free  Press,  and  in 
the  following  September  bought  out  his  partner 
and  conducted  the  business  alone,  publishing  a 
weekly  paper  until  1887,  when  he  formed  a  stock 
company  and  started  a  daily  edition.    This  paper 
has   met  with   continued  and   flattering   success, 
under  his  direction,  and  in   1895  he  built  a  hand- 
some business  block  for  its  occupancy,  said  to 
be   the  model  country  printing  office  of  Minnesota, 
Mr.  Hunt  has  always  been  a  Republican,  but  the 
only  office  which  he  ever  held,  which  could  be  re- 
garded as  political,  was  that  of  postmaster  under 
President  Arthur,  from  March,  1883,     to     ^lay, 
1885,  w-hen  he  was  removed  by  President  Cleve- 
land to  make  room  for  a  Democrat.    In  1896  he 
was  delegate-at-large  to  the  Republican    national 
convention     at     St.     Louis.       Mr.     Hunt     was 
named  as    a  member  of  the  Minnesota  World's 
Fair    Connnission,    and    in     1891     was    elected 
superintendent     of     the     Minnesota     state     ex- 
hibits at  the  World's  Fair.     The  state  had  only 
appropriated     fifty     thousand     dollars,     and     it 
was  generallv  agreed  that  that  was  not  sufficient 


PROGRI-SSIVlv  MUX  OF  MINNESOTA. 


205 


to  make  a  satisfactory  showing  at  the  Exposition. 
Mr.  Hunt  was,  therefore,  authorized  to  soHcit 
subscri])tions  for  a  fund  of  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  to  supplement  the  legislative 
appropriation,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  col- 
lecting this  money  for  nearly  a  year.  He  was  en- 
tirely successful,  and  as  a  result  his  state  was  well 
represented  and  the  guarantors  were  subsequent- 
ly reimbursed  at  a  later  session  of  the  legislature. 
Following  his  success  in  raising  this  fund  his 
time  was  devoted  to  collecting  and  installing  ex- 
hibits and  superintending  the  Minnesota  exhibi- 
tion at  Chicago  until  the  close  of  the  fair  and 
until  the  exhibits  were  returned  to  the  state.  Mr. 
Hunt  is  a  member  of  the  K.  of  P.  and  is  at  pres- 
ent one  of  the  Supreme  Representatives  for  this 
Grand  Domain. 


WILLIAM  CLARENCE  BICKNELL. 

William  Clarence  Bicknell  is  a  lawyer  prac- 
ticing his  profession  at  Morris,  Minnesota.  He 
was  born  June  28,  1855,  at  Parishville,  St.  Law- 
rence County,  New  York.  His  parents  were 
Carlos  B.  Bicknell  and  Louisa  A.  Carpenter 
(Bicknell.)  They  were  farmers  in  comfortable 
circumstances.  Zachary  Bicknell  and  Agnes,  his 
wife,  the  first  of  the  name  in  this  country,  sailed 
from  England  in  the  spring  of  1635,  and  landed 
that  summer  at  Wessaguscus,  now  We)'mouth, 
Massachusetts.  They  came  with  Rev.  Joseph  Hull 
and  one  hundred  and  one  others  from  the 
counties  of  Somerset  and  Dorsett  in  south- 
west England.  From  these  two  have  sprung 
a  numerous  progeny  scattered  over  all  parts 
of  the  country,  but  particularly  in  the 
New  England  states,  New  York  and  Penn- 
sylvania. The  Carpenters  were  also  from  New 
England,  and  originally  supposed  to  have  been 
of  English  Ijirth.  William  Clarence  lived  on  a 
farm  and  attended  the  country  district  school  in 
the  winter  months,  working  on  the  farm  during 
the  summer,  until  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he 
entered  the  state  normal  school  at  Potsdam,  New- 
York,  and  in  one  year  prepared  himself  for  teach- 
ing. After  that  he  worked  his  own  way  by 
teaching  in  winter  and  Avorking  on  the  farm  in 
the  summer  until  he  graduated  from  the  normal 
school  in   1880.     Three  years  later  he  began  the 


study  of  law  in  tlie  law  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Alichigan,  where  he  was  graduated  in 
1885  with  a  degree  of  LL.  B.  Having  completed 
his  legal  studies,  Mr.  Bicknell  came  to  Minnesota 
and  located  at  ]\Iorris,  and  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession.  He  started  out  in  very 
straightened  financial  circumstances,  but  he  has 
adhered  faithfully  to  his  work  and  has  succeeded 
in  building  up  a  satisfactory  practice.  In  1886 
he  was  elected  county  superintendent  of  schools 
for  Stevens  County.  He  is  a  thirty-second  degree 
Scottish  Rite  Alason,  a  member  of  Golden  Sheaf 
Lodge,  of  Morris  and  one  of  its  Past  blasters; 
a  member  of  Mt.  Lebanon  Royal  Arch  Chapter 
and  its  present  high  priest;  a  member  of  Bethel 
Commander}',  and  its  present  captain  general. 
He  received  his  ]\Iasonic  degrees  at  Minneapolis, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  order  at  that  cit}';  also 
a  member  of  the  Shrine  at  St.  Paul.  In  politics 
he  has  always  been  a  Republican,  and  is  now 
county  attorney  of  Stevens  Count}-,  and  ser\'ing 
his  first  term  as  such.  He  is  an  attendant, 
although  not  a  member,  of  the  Congregational 
church.  He  was  married  June  27,  1888,  to  Miss 
Nellie  M.  Finney,  of  Goodhue  County.  They 
have  three  children  now  living,  Clarence  W., 
Agnes  L.  and  Ezra  F.  One  child,  Ira  F.  died 
December  30,  1893. 


206 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES  WHITE  \'AX  TUYL. 

The  name  at  the  head  of  this  sketch  indi- 
cates at  once  that  the  subject  of  it  is 
of  Dutch  descent.  The  \'an  Tuyls  were  orig- 
inally natives  of  Holland,  where  the  name  was 
spelled  van  Tuyll,  and  the  full  family  name  there 
at  present  is  van  Tuyll  van  Serooskerken.  The 
family  is  of  I'risian  origin,  and  Tuyll  was  the 
name  of  a  small  town  in  that  province.  The 
American  branch  descends  from  several  brothers 
who  came  to  America  about  1720  and  has  been 
chiefly  farmers.  The  ancestor  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  settled  in  the  Alnhawk  X'alley,  Xew 
York,  where  his  father,  Ebenezer  \'an  Tuyl,  was 
born.  Ebenezer  has  been  engaged  in  railroad 
business  for  man\'  years,  his  |)resent  official 
position  being  that  of  manager  of  the  Western 
Car  Service  .Association  at  ( )maha.  He  was  a 
soldier  in  the  rnion  army.  ca|.Uain  of  Company 
G,  First  New  York  Infantry,  and  served  in  that 
capacity  two  years.  His  service  included  the 
Peninsular  campaign  and  he  was  also  at  h'ortress 
Monroe  during  the  historic  combat  between  the 
Monitor  and  Merrimac.  He  was  wounded  and 
taken  prisoner  at  Chancellorsville,  which  closed 
his  military  career.  On  his  mother's  side,  Charles 
\'an  'J'uyl's  anccstr\'  is  .Scotch-Irish.  Thev  were 
early  settlers  in  Central  New  Yoik  and  engaged 
in  farming.    The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom 


December  17,  1859,  in  .\ddison,  Steuben  County, 
New  York.  He  attended  the  public  schools  in 
Hornellsville,  the  country  district  school  in 
Tioga  County,  and  the  graded  and  high  schools 
in  Binghamton,  all  in  New  York.  The  Bing- 
hamton  schools  were  of  high  rank  and  were 
the  most  valuable  educational  facilities  which 
he  ever  enjoved.  Air.  \'an  TuyFs  first  employ- 
ment was  in  the  service  of  the  United  States 
Express  Company  at  Binghamton,  in  1875. 
He  was  afterwards  clerk  with  the  New  York, 
Lake  Erie  &  Western  Railway  at  Binghamton, 
but  in  March,  1882,  removed  to  Omaha,  where 
in  the  following  September  he  entered  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Union  Pacific,  and  was  emplijyed  in 
the  freight  auditor's  ofifice.  He  remained  in 
this  office,  being  promoted  step  by  step  to  the 
chief  clerk  of  the  claim  department,  until 
October,  1886,  when  he  was  appointed  assistant 
freight  claim  agent  in  charge  of  the  territory 
west  of  Granger,  Wvoming.  During  this  time 
he  resided  in  Salt  Lake  City,  and  continued 
there  until  December  i,  1887.  Then  there  oc- 
curred one  of  the  periodical  changes  of  man- 
agement to  which  the  I'nion  Pacific  has  been 
subject,  and  Mr.  \'an  Tuyl's  office  was  abolished 
with  scores  of  others,  and  he  returned  to  Omaha 
and  was  again  employed  in  the  general  offices. 
.Subsequently  he  was  again  appointed  chief  clerk 
in  the  freight  claim  department,  which  position 
he  resigned  in  December,  1892,  and  engaged  in 
the  life  insurance  business  as  special  agent  at 
Omaha  for  the  Northwestern  Mutual  of  Mil- 
waukee. That  position  he  resignetl  in  October, 
1893,  to  come  to  Alinnesota  to  take  the  position 
which  he  now  holds,  that  of  general  agent  of 
the  State  Mutual  Life  Assurance  Company,  of 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  at  Miimeapolis.  He  has 
been  successful  here,  as  the  records  of  the  com- 
pany's business  will  show,  notwithstanding  the 
Inisiness  depression.  Mr.  \'an  Tuyl  contril)uted 
an  essay  in  June,  1894,  on  the  value  of  the  Life 
L'nderwriters'  Association,  to  the  underwriters' 
national  convention  at  Chicago,  and  was  so  for- 
tunate as  to  secure  the  prize  offered  for  the  best 
jiroduction.  The  prize  consists  of  a  year's  cus- 
tody of  the  loving  cup,  which  is  annually  the 
subject  of  like  contest  by  the  representatives  of 
the  local  associations  of  the  I'^nited  States.  In 
the    following   Decenil)i'r   Mr.    \';iu    Tuvl     was 


PROr.RKSSlVH  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


207 


elected  president  of  the  Minnesota  Association 
and  served  a  year  in  that  capacity,  declining  re- 
election on  account  of  the  pressure  of  private 
business,  but  has  since  been  elected  president  of 
the  Minneapolis  Association,  which  position  he 
now  holds.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  His 
father  voted  for  Fremont,  and  was  a  conductor 
on  the  famous  underground  railroad.  Mr.  Van 
Tuyl  is  a  member  of  tlie  Commercial  Club,  and 
of  the  Westminster  Presbyterian  churcli,  and  is 
a  director  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  He  was  married 
in  September,  1889,  to  Katharine  J.  Bingham, 
of  Northfield  Minnesota.  He  formed  her  ac- 
quaintance in  Salt  Lake  City,  where  she  was 
preceptress  of  the  Presbyterian  Collegiate  Insti- 
tute. They  have  three  children,  Ruth,  Hugh 
Oliver  and   Rav  Whittier. 


CHARLES  HARCOURT  JOHi\S(3N. 

Dr.  C.  H.  Johnson,  of  Austin,  JMinnesota,  is 
a  Canadian  by  birth.  Pie  was  born  in  the  county 
of  Leeds,  Ontario,  on  January  16,  1858.  His  early 
education  was  ol)tained  at  Almonte,  Ontario,  and 
he  later  took  a  course  in  the  Collegiate  Institute 
of  that  place  under  the  direction  of  the  principal, 
P.  C.  McGregor,  one  of  the  best  masters  in 
eastern  C)ntario.  After  leaving  school  Dr.  John- 
son entered  McGill  University  at  ^Montreal  for 
the  medical  course  and  graduated  in  1884.  In 
June  of  that  year  he  came  to  Austin,  Minnesota, 
and  at  once  stepped  into  a  good  practice.  Since 
then  he  has  made  rapid  advances  and  is  said  to 
have  the  most  extensive  and  lucrative  practice 
in  southern  ^Minnesota.  Though  still  a  young 
man  he  has  already  attained  a  rank  in  the  pro- 
fession which  insures  him  frequent  calls  for 
important  consultations.  For  the  past  tliree 
years  he  has  been  chief  surgeon  for  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad  at  Austin,  which 
is  the  end  of  five  divisions  of  the  line.  In  the 
spring  of  1895  Dr.  Johnson  was  appointed  presi- 
dent of  the  Pension  Examining  board  at  Austin. 
He  has,  however,  been  oljliged  to  resign  this 
position  on  account  of  press  of  other  work. 
Though  so  much  absorbed  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  Dr.  Johnson  has  found  some  time 
for  attention   to  politics,    and    has    long     been 


prominent  in  the  counsels  of  his  party — the  Dem- 
ocratic— at  Austin  and  in  that  vicinity.  For  the 
past  four  years  he  has  been  mayor  of  Austin, 
receiving  the  of^ce  by  a  heavy  vote  at  each  elec- 
tion. During  his  term  of  service  the  sewer  sys- 
tem of  the  city,  the  electric  light  plant,  the  over- 
head bridge,  the  extension  of  the  water  works 
system,  new  fire  apparatus,  high  and  other  pub- 
lic school  buildings,  cement  sidewalks  and 
a  new  reservoir  supplying  artesian  water  are 
some  of  the  things  which  Austin  has  acquired. 
The  term  of  his  service  has  been  marked  by 
continued  progress  and  prosperity  for  the  city. 
Besides  the  numicipal  works  referred  to,  the  city 
has  ac(|uired  new  l^rick  works,  cement  works 
and  a  flax  mill.  Dr.  Johnson  comes  of  a  family 
of  physicians.  Two  of  his  brothers  are  in  the 
medical  profession.  In  personal  character  Dr. 
Johnson  is  companionable  and  generous,  and  his 
charities  are  well  known.  He  has  his  ofifices  in 
a  fine  suite  of  rooms  in  the  center  of  the  town. 
They  are  equipped  with  everything  needful  for 
the  practice  of  his  pnifession.  incUuling  a  large 
library  and  plenty  of  apparatus.  In  religion  Dr. 
Johnson  is  an  Episcopalian.  He  belongs  to  the 
]\Iasons,  Odd  Fellows,  Knights  of  Pythias,  A.  O. 
U.  \\'.  and  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 


208 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


LE  GRAND  POWERS. 

Le  Grand  Powers,  State  Commissioner  of 
Labor,  is  a  son  of  Wesley  Powers,  farmer  and 
manufacturer,  in  comfortable  circumstances  in 
Preston,  Chenango  County,  New  York.  His 
mother  was  Electa  Clark.  Mr.  Powers  traces  his 
ancestry,  on  his  father's  sitle,  back  to  Jost  Pauer, 
who  was  born  in  Naumberg,  Germany,  in  1732. 
and  settled  in  IXichess  County,  New  York,  in 
1752;  on  his  motlier's  side  his  ancestry  is  traced 
back  to  Edmond  Clark,  who  emigrated  from 
England  and  settled  at  Lynn,  Alassachu- 
setts,  in  1636.  Mis  mother's  grandfather, 
William  Clark,  was  born  at  Windham, 
Connecticut,  in  1754.  and  entered  the  Con- 
tinental Army  in  177'').  Mc  took  part  in 
the  battles  of  I-ong  Island  and  White  Plains.  His 
mother's  maternal  grandfather,  Sylvester  ?iliner, 
served  seven  years  in  the  Continental  .\rm\-,  and 
Jost  Pauer  was  recorded  among  the  active  friends 
of  the  patriotic  cause.  ( )thers  of  .Mr.  Powers' 
ancestry,  of  both  his  fatlur's  and  niDther's  family, 
were  prominent  in  the  .stirring  events  of  Colonial 
times,  and  served  in  the  Continental  .Xrmy,  and 
were  signers  of  the  ])atriolic  articles  and  pk'dges 
of  loyalty  circulated  after  the  battles  of  Lexing- 
ton and  Concord.  Those  articles  pledged  the 
signers  to  suppfjrt  the  colonial  cause  and  resist 
the  unjust  demands  of  the  crown.     Mr.  Powers 


was  born  at,  Preston,  New  York,  July  21,  1847. 
His  early  education  was  obtained  in  the  connnon 
schools  of  that  town,  in  the  academy  at  Oxford, 
New  York,  and  in  the  Clinton  Listitute  at  Clinton, 
New  York.  He  entered  Tufts  college,  at  College 
Hill,  [Massachusetts,  in  1868  and  was  there  two 
years.  He  then  came  West  and  finished  his  col- 
lege course  at  the  Iowa  State  University,  Iowa 
City,  in  1872,  graduating  with  the  degree  of  A.  B. 
He  purposed  entering  the  ministry,  and  prepared 
himself  by  private  study  for  that  profession.  He 
was  ordained  as  a  Lniversalist  clergyman  in  1872, 
the  year  of  his  graduation  from  the  Iowa  univer- 
sity. He  was  elected  principal  of  the  Iowa  Uni- 
versalist  Academy  the  same  year,  and  held  the 
position  until  1874.  He  engaged  in  pastoral  work 
from  1874  to  i8go.  During  this  time  he  was  for 
three  years  superintendent  of  churches  for  Illinois. 
His  last  two  pastorates  were  in  ^Minneapolis,  in 
which  city  the  present  edifice  of  All  Soul's  church 
was  erected  under  his  direction  and  largely  owing 
to  his  efforts.  He  was  appointed  conm'.issioner 
of  labor  of  the  state  by  Governor  ^lerriam  in  1891 
and  reappointed  by  Governor  Nelson  in  1893, 
and  again  by  Governor  Clough  in  1895.  Mr. 
Powers  is  a  Republican  and  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  public  questions.  His  careful  study  of 
economic  c|uestions,  his  sympathies  with  the 
masses,  his  special  interest  in  the  problems  con- 
fronting the  laboring  classes,  on  whic.h  topics  he 
has  been  recognized  as  an  able  and  vigorous 
sjjeaker,  suggested  him  for  the  appointment  to 
this  position.  He  has  discharged  the  duties  of 
his  office  with  signal  ability.  His  reports  are 
quoted  throughout  the  country  as  among  the 
most  valuable  compiled  on  this  subject.  His 
work  has  attracted  the  attention  of  economists  in 
this  and  foreign  countries,  and  he  is  regarded  as 
authority  on  the  questions  which  he  has  investi- 
gated in  the  course  of  his  official  duties.  He 
keeps  abreast  of  the  times,  and  when  W.  II.  Har- 
vey's book,  "Coin's  I'lnancial  School,"  began  to 
attract  attention  he  made  a  study  of  it  and  ])re- 
parcd  an  answer,  which  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  able  of  the  many  answers  written  in  reply 
to  Mr.  Harvey.  The  title  of  his  book  was  "b'arm- 
er  Hayseed  in  Tnwn."  It  fdlli  iwnl  mncli  the 
same  plan  adoj^ted  by  Mr.  i  l;irvcy,  the 
dry  facts  and  arithmetical  calculations  be- 
ing spiced  u|)  with  clever  connnenls  of 
the     different      c-|);irricters     wlm     carrv      un      ;in 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


209 


imaginary  discussion  of  Mr.  Harvey's  prop- 
ositions. At  the  time  of  the  famous  debate  be- 
tween Mr.  Horr  and  Mr.  Harvey  at  Chicago,  the 
former  invited  Mr.  Powers  to  sit  willi  him  in  that 
debate  and  assist  him  in  Iiis  work.  .\lr.  I'owers 
has  been  actively  and  prominently  identified  with 
educational  and  philanthroiiic  wmk  in  .Minneap- 
olis, and  is  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic  pnimoters 
of  university  extension  in  this  state.  His  identi- 
fication with  clubs,  societies,  etc.,  consists  of  mem- 
bership in  the  Theta  Delta  Chi,  a  c()lle,s;e  frater- 
nity, the  Masonic  order,  the  Modern  Woodmen, 
the  I'raternal  Aid  Society,  Commercial  Club  of 
AHimeapolis  and  the  I'nion  League  of  Minneap- 
olis. He  is  a  member  of  the  L'niversalist  church, 
and  in  1873  he  was  married  to  Amanda  D.  Kin- 
ney. They  have  had  three  children,  of  whom  two 
are  living,  Irma,  a  daughter,  and  Loren,  a  son. 


NICHOLAS  A.  NELSON. 

Nicholas  A.  Nelson  is  an  editor  and  pub- 
lisher at  Stillwater,  Miimesota.  His  father,  Nels 
Nelson,  is  a  farmer  residing  near  Cyrus,  Pope 
County,  Minnesota.  Nels  was  for  many  }ears 
a  sailor  on  the  Atlantic,  and  later  on  the  great 
lakes,  but  was  forced  to  give  tip  his  chosen  voca- 
tion because  of  an  injury  which  affected  his 
health.  He  came  to  Minnesota  and  engaged  in 
agriculture.  Nicholas  A.  was  born  in  Skien, 
Norway,  November  4,  1868,  and  came  to 
America  with  his  parents  when  little  more  than 
a  year  old.  They  located  at  Alilwaukee,  and  soon 
afterward  his  mother  died.  The  only  school 
education  Nicholas  received  was  confined  to 
the  public  schools  of  Milwaukee,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  give  up  attending  school  at  the 
early  age  of  thirteen,  when  his  father  moved  to 
Minnesota.  Since  that  time  such  education  as 
he  has  had  has  been  acciuired  solely  through  his 
own  efforts.  He  came  to  Minnesota  early  in 
the  summer  of  1881,  his  father  having  purchased 
a  farm  near  Cyrus.  Nicholas  worked  with  his 
father  on  the  farm,  and  while  yet  a  young  lad 
hired  out  with  a  threshing  crew,  in  which  capac- 
ity he  earned  the  first  money  he  ever  possessed. 
The  following  spring,  1883,  he  went  to  the  Black 
Hills,  where  he  led  a  rough  life  among  freighters 


and  cattle  men  until  the  fall.  He  then  obtained 
a  position  in  the  telephone  office  in  Rapid  Citv. 
Subsequently  he  secured  employment  in  a 
printing  office,  learning  the  business  of  type- 
setting and  commenced  the  career  which  he  has 
followed  ever  since.  In  1888  he  went  to  Still- 
\\ater  and  was  engaged  as  a  reporter  on  the 
Democrat.  Later  he  became  city  editor  of  the 
Messenger,  which  position  he  filled  acceptably 
until  the  fall  of  1892.  The  following  March  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  F.  C.  Neumeier  and 
began  the  publication  of  the  Washington  County 
Journal,  of  which  paper  he  is  now  the  editor  and 
part  owner.  He  began  lousiness  with  practically 
no  capital,  but  by  industry  and  careful  manage- 
ment he  has  maile  a  success  of  his  venture.  He 
has  never  been  affiliated  closelv  with  any  politi- 
cal ])arty.  In  national  affairs  he  has  generally 
been  an  advocate  of  Democratic  principles,  but 
in  state  and  local  jjolitics  has  usually  supported 
those  candidates  which  he  considered  best  quali- 
fied for  office,  regardless  of  their  political  rela- 
tions. He  takes  an  active  interest  in  militar\-  mat- 
ters. He  is  a  luember  of  Company  K,  First 
Regiment.  National  (niard,  and  is  third  ser- 
geant of  the  company.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  the  Elks  and  of  the 
Stillwater  Club,  and.  also,  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  that  citv.    He  has  not  married. 


210 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


COLIN  FRANCIS  MACDONALD. 

The  publisher  of  the  St.  Cloud  Daily  and 
Weekly  Times  is  Colin  Francis  Macdonald.  ]\Ir. 
]\Iacdonald  is  of  Scotch  parentage,  the  son  of 
John  A.  ]\Iacdonald,  M.  D.,  who  was  assistant 
surgeon  of  the  Second  Minnesota  Cavalry  dur- 
ing the  Civil  War,  and  Marjorie  ^IcKinley  (j\lac- 
donald).  Both  parents  were  born  in  Scotland 
and  are  now  deceased.  Colin  Francis  was  born 
in  St.  Andrews,  Nova  Scotia,  September  23,  1843, 
and  came  with  his  parents  to  the  United  States 
when  five  years  of  age.  The  family  lived  in  Pitts- 
burg, Pennsylvania,  until  the  spring  of  1856, 
w'hen  they  removed  to  Minnesota  and  settled 
upon  a  pre-emption  claim  the  same  year,  one  and 
a  half  miles  above  Belle  Plaine,  Scott  County. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  education 
in  the  early  Minnesota  schools.  When  seventeen 
years  of  age  he  began  work  in  the  Belle  Plaine 
Encjuirer  office,  where  he  obtained  his  first  ex- 
perience in  newspaper  work.  The  following 
year  he  assisted  his  brother,  John  L.  Macdonald, 
now  of  St.  Paul,  in  establishing  the  Shakopec 
Argus,  for  which  purpose  the  press  and  material 
of  the  old  St.  Anthony  Express  was  purchased  of 
Judge  Isaac  Atwater,  of  Minneapolis,  and  re- 
moved to  Shakopee.  Though  a  boy  of  hardly 
nineteen  years  of  age,  Colin  responded  to  Presi- 
dent Lincoln's  call  for  nun.  and  .August  18,  1862, 


enlisted  with  Horace  B.  Strait,  at  Shakopee,  in 
what  subsequently  became  Company  I,  Ninth 
Regiment  Minnesota  \'olunteer  Infantry.  This 
regiment  was  sent  to  the  frontier  to  operate 
against  the  Sioux  Indians,  and  passed  the  fol- 
lowing winter  at  Fort  Ridgely.  October  3,  of 
the  ne.xt  year  the  regiment  was  ordered  South, 
and  passed  that  winter  in  Missouri,  guarding 
railroads.  The  following  spring  it  was  sent  to 
-Memphis,  Tennessee,  where  it  joined  a  force 
operating  in  Mississippi,  Tennessee  and  farther 
south.  It  participated  in  battles  at  Brice's  Cross 
Roads,  (or  Guntown),  Mississippi;  Tupelo,  Alis- 
sissippi;  Oxford,  Mississippi,  raid;  the  pursuit  of 
General  Price  through  Arkansas  and  across  Mis- 
souri: two  days  battle  at  Nashville;  pursuit  of  the 
defeated  General  Hood;  the  investure  of  ]\Iobile; 
siege  of  Spanish  Fort,  etc.  Mr.  Macdonald 
was  color  bearer  of  his  regiment.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  he  was  commissioned  as  second  lieuten- 
ant. In  1866  he  returned  to  Shakopee  and 
formed  a  partnership  with  ]\Iorris  C.  Russell  in 
the  publication  of  the  Shakopee  Argus.  The  fol- 
lowing spring  he  removed  to  .St.  Paul  and  se- 
cured employment  on  the  Dailv  Pioneer  as  a 
compositor.  He  was  employed  there  until  Janu- 
ary, 1875,  when  he  removed  to  .St.  Cloud  and 
purchased  from  Will  H.  Lamb  the  Weekly 
Times,  which  was  founded  in  1861.  Mr.  Mac- 
donald continued  the  publication  of  the  Weekly 
Times  until  September  27,  1887,  when  he  com- 
menced the  publication  of  the  Daily  Times  in 
addition  to  the  Weekly.  These  two  editions'  he 
is  still  puljlishing.  His  paper  is  Democratic  in 
its  politics,  and  as  Stearns  County  is  strongly 
Democratic,  it  is  influential  and  profitable.  Mr. 
Macdonald  is  and  has  been,  since  his  first  vote, 
a  Democrat.  He  was  elected  to  represent  the 
Stearns  County  district  in  the  state  senate  in 
1876,  and  was  re-elected  in  1878  and  1880.  Dur- 
ing this  period  he  was  a  member  of  the  only  twO' 
courts  of  impeachment  in  the  history  of  the  .state 
— one  fur  the  trial  of  Judgi-  Sherman  Page,  of 
Austin,  and  the  other  for  Ihe  trial  of  Jmlgc  F.. 
.St.  Julien  Cox,  of  St.  Peter,  lie  was  one  cif  the 
four  delegates-at-large  fnmi  Minnesota  to  the 
National  Democratic  Convention  at  Chicago  in 
1884  which  nominated  Grover  Cleveland  and 
Thomas  A.  TTendricks.  He  has  also  for  many 
vcars   sen'ed   as   a   member   of   the    Democratic 


PROGRESSIVK   MlvN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


alt 


State  Central  ami  t'ongressiunal  histricl  t'tJin- 
niittees.  He  was  elected  to  the  office  of  mayor  of 
St.  Cloud  in  1883  and  re-elected  in  1884  and 
1885.  In  recognitidu  of  his  \ahial)le  services  to 
the  Democratic  parts-  President  Cleveland  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Macdcinald  Receiver  of  the  I'uldic 
JNIoneys  at  St.  C'loud  in  1S85  which  office  he 
filled  imtil  l'"ehruary  10,  iS<)<).  lie  was  attain 
a]>pt)inted  to  the  same  position  hy  .Mr.  Cleveland 
March  I,  i8i)4  which  office  he  still  holds,  .Mr. 
Macdonald  has  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in 
the  affairs  of  his  own  city  and  iias  been  connected 
with  all  public  movements  tcndini;-  to  build  u]) 
and  benefit  it.  He  is  a  Catholic  in  his  religious 
belief.  October  27,  1868,  he  was  married  to  Julia 
E.  Lord,  daughter  of  I  )r.  Charles  Lord,  of  Shak- 
opee,  who  dieil  in  January.  1876.  He  was  re- 
married February  U),  1881,  to  l-"lizabeth  .M. 
Campbell  daughter  of  Ldward  Canipliell  of  h'or- 
est  City,  and  sister  of  ex-.Marshal  Campbell,  of 
this  state.  By  the  first  unicjn  fom-  children  were 
born,  two  of  whom  survive — Charles  I"".  Mac- 
donald, city  editor  of  the  Duluth  tierald,  and 
Julia  Macdcinald.  By  the  second  marriage  ft.iur 
children  were  born  three  of  whom  arc  lix'ing — 
Edward  Albert,  Marjoric  Llizabeth  and  Jessie 
Marv. 


MARION  S.   STEVENS. 

Marion  S.  Stevens  is  a  lawyer  living  in 
Graceville,  Minnesota.  He  traces  his  ancestry 
back  to  England,  but  his  parents  and  grand 
parents  were  natives  of  .Summerset  County, 
]\lainc.  His  father,  Elija  Grant  Stevens,  was 
man-ied  to  Miss  Mary  l-iice,  of  Summerset 
County,  in  184c;,  and  during  the  same  year 
moved  to  what  is  now  Pepin  County,  Wisconsin. 
He  was  twice  elected  sheriff  of  Lumi  County, 
Wisconsin,  ami  held  other  jiositions  of  trust  and 
responsibility  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1872.  He  moved  to  Minnesota  in 
1864,  but  after  six  years  returned  to  Pepin 
County,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
days.  His  son  Marion  was  born  in  1854,  in 
Pepin  County.  He  was  one  of  a  family  of  seven 
children,  who  are  all  living.  \Mien  his  father 
came  to  Minnesota  in  1864  young  Afarion  was. 


of  course,  with  the  family,  but  instead  of  re- 
turning to  Wisconsin  he  established  himself  in 
this  state  and  has  lived  here  ever  since.  He 
received  a  common  school  education,  supple- 
mented by  an  academic  c(jurse.  Since  finishing 
his  school  life  he  has  followed  the  early  acquired 
habit  of  reading  and  study  until  he  is  one  of 
the  best  read  men  in  the  state.  Mr.  Stevens  went 
to  Graceville  in  1878  when  the  place  was  first 
settled.  He  studied  law  there  and  was  admitted 
to  practice  before  the  Hon.  C.  L.  Brown,  Dis- 
trict Judge,  in  1889.  L'pon  his  admission  to  the 
bar  he  at  once  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  at 
Graceville,  and  by  his  energy  and  abilitv  he 
soon  worked  up  a  lucrative  practice.  While  liv- 
ing in  Graceville  Mr.  .Stevens  has  done  valuable 
and  effective  work  for  the  Republican  partv  in 
that  section  of  the  state.  Though  having  ex- 
tensive ac(|uaintance  he  has  persislentlv  refused 
to  accept  office.  At  present  he  is  chairman  of 
the  Republican  committee.  In  Masonic,  Pythian 
and  Woodmen  orders  he  is  prominent  and  in- 
fluential. In  i8S()  Mr.  Stevens  married  Sue  L 
Crossnnm,  of  Pun.xsutawney,  Pennsvlvania.  Miss 
Crossmun  was  at  that  time  principal  of  the  high 
school  at  Burlingame,  Kansas.  They  have  a 
daughter,  Marion  Fav,  and  a  son,  Llovd  C. 


212 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


^  ^^\ 


JULIUS  ELLIOT  AIINER. 

The  ;\Iiner  family  is  traced  back  to  Henry 
Bullmaii,  a  miner,  who  in  the  year  1339,  with  a 
company  of  one  hundred  of  his  workmen,  was  of 
great  assistance  to  Edward  III.  in  his  w-ar  with 
France.  For  this  service  King  Edward  changed 
his  loyal  subject's  name  to  Henry  ]\Iiner  (the  sur- 
name being  in  accordance  with  his  occupation), 
and  gave  him  a  coat  of  arms.  The  American 
branch  began  with  Thomas  Miner,  who  was  of 
the  fourth  generation  from  Henry  Miner.  He 
came  to  this  country  in  1630  in  the  "Arabella," 
which  landed  at  Salem.  h'nim  there  he  went  to 
Boston,  thence  to  Charlcstown,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  established  its  first  church.  In  1642 
he  went  to  Pequot  with  five  others,  where  lie 
commenced  the  settlement  of  what  is  now  New 
London.  Amost  Miner,  the  great  grandfather  of 
Julius,  scr\'cd  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  entering 
as  a  private  and  coming  out  as  a  captain.  One 
of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  .Miner 
family  was  Rev.  .Monzn  Ames  ]\Iiner,  who  was 
president  of  Tuft's  College  from  1862  to  1875: 
pastor  of  the  Universalist  School  Street  Church, 
in  Boston,  for  upwards  of  forty-six  years,  and 
one  of  the  most  prominent  leaders  in  the  United 
States  of  liberal  thought  and  temperance  work. 
Joel   Cuild    Miner,   the   father  of  the   subject   of 


this  sketch,  is  of  the  eighth  generation  from  the 
founder  of  the  American  branch  of  the  Miner 
family.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  his 
financial  cirucmstances  were  always  moderate  but 
comfortable.  His  family  consisted  of  twelve 
children,  all  of  whom  are  living  except  one,  who 
died  in  infancy.  For  the  education  of  his 
children  J.  G.  ^Miner  provided  liberally.  His 
wife's  maiden  name  was  Gennett  Christiana  .\llis, 
whose  memory  is  revered  by  her  children.  Julius 
was  bom  at  Fond  du  Lac,  ^^'isconsin,  June  8, 
1849.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  town  until  his  sixteenth  year,  when  he 
entered  the  preparatory  department  of  Hillsdale 
College,  at  Hillsdale,  Alichigan.  After  one  year 
of  study  here,  his  father  removed  with  his  family 
to  Goodhue  County,  Minnesota,  and  bought  a  half 
section  of  wild  lands.  For  the  next  four  years 
young  Julius  worked  at  opening  up  and  improv- 
ing the  farm  during  the  summer  months,  and  in 
the  winter  taught  in  the  district  schools.  In  the 
autumn  of  1870  he  entered  the  state  university. 
He  was  compelled  to  support  himself  during  his 
college  course  by  teaching  and  working  at  such 
odil  jobs  as  he  could  find.  For  two  terms  he 
taught  at  Long  Lake,  in  Hennepin  County,  and 
was  principal  of  the  public  schools  at  Le  Sueur. 
Minnesota,  for  aliout  the  same  length  of  time. 
He  graduated  from  the  university  in  the  classical 
course  in  Jime,  1875.  For  a  year  after  his  gradu- 
ation he  taught  school  at  Le  Sueur  and  then 
entered  the  law  department  of  Union  College,  at 
Albany,  New  York,  graduating  in  the  class  of 
1877.  To  maintain  himself  while  there,  he  secured 
a  position  as  princijial  of  one  of  the  night  schools. 
Returning  to  Minnesota,  he  entered  the  law  offices 
of  John  M.  Shaw  and  Albert  L.  Levi,  in  Minne- 
apolis, and  after  studying  for  nearly  two  years  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  and  commenced  practice  in 
that  city.  Flis  work  professionally  has  been 
largely  oiifice  work,  though  he  has  tried  many 
cases  in  cotnt.  He  was  one  of  the  attorneys  for 
the  defendants  in  the  celebrated  King-Remington 
case;  was  attorney  for  the  receiver  of  the  Minne- 
apolis Engine  and  Machine  \\'^orks,  and  was 
assignee  of  Ezra  Farnsworlh,  Jr.  Mr.  .Miner  has 
always  affiliated  with  the  Rciniblican  jiarty.  fu 
the  fall  of  1892  he  was  elected  alderman  from  the 
Eighth  Ward,  for  a  term  of  four  years.  Soon 
after  taking  his  seat  he  was  appointed  a  member 


i'K()(;ki-;ssivi;  men  of  Minnesota. 


2i;t 


i>[  the  special  conmiittce  which  iiivcstif^ated  tlic 
irregularities  in  the  fire  departiiK-ut.  He  was 
the  only  Republican  alderman  wlm  npposed  and 
voted  against  the  purchase  of  the  lirackctt  i^rop- 
erty  for  a  city  hospital  site,  and  was  chairman  of 
the  special  committee  to  investigate  the  expendi- 
ture of  the  proceeds  of  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  of  bonds  of  the  city  by  the  Board  of  Cor- 
rections and  Charities  for  the  present  city  hospital. 
He  was  successful  in  opposing  the  Oswald  sewer 
contract,  which  would  have  cost  the  city  thirt\- 
thousand  dollars,  and  was  strongly  opposed,  also, 
to  the  effort  made  in  the  council  to  awarcl  tin- 
contract  for  the  Seventh  street  bridge  U>  the 
highest  bidder.  It  is  due  to  his  efforts  that  a 
bridge  was  con.structed  over  the  Hastings  & 
Dakota  tracks  on  Hennepin  avenue,  one  of  the 
most  useful  improvements  made  in  the  city.  He 
served  as  chairman  of  the  conmiittee  on  sewers, 
and  as  a  member  of  the  eonnnittees  on  claims. 
ordinances  and  police.  It  may  be  said  of  Mr. 
Miner  that  he  w^as  one  of  the  most  able  and 
conscientious  men  that  ever  served  in  the  Mimie- 
apolis  City  Council.  He  is  a  Mason  and  a  memlier 
of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
L}ndale  Congregational  Church  and  of  the  Con- 
gregational Club  of  Minnesota.  He  was  married 
in  July,  1877,  to  ]\Iiss  Viola  Fuller.  Mrs.  Miner 
died  in  the  spring  of  1893.  Two  children  were 
the  result  of  this  union,  Robert,  aged  eleven,  and 
\'iola  l'"uller,  aged  four. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  VOREIS. 

Benjamin  Franklin  \'oreis  is  a  lawyer  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Fair- 
mont. His  father,  John  H.  \'oreis,  was  a  native 
of  New  York,  but  subsequently  became  a  farmer, 
owning  a  large  tract  of  land,  about  one  thousand 
five  Inmdred  acres,  in  Marshall  County,  Indiana. 
The  wife  of  John  H.  was  Helen  Jacobs  (\orcis),  a 
native  of  \'irginia.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
born  in  Marshall  County.  Indiana,  December  31. 
1853.  He  attended  the  district  school  and  a  private 
school,  and,  also,  ^lerom  College,  in  southern 
Indiana,  for  four  years.  He  began  the  study  of 
law  with  Judge  Capron,  of  Plymouth,  Indiana, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  June,  1878,  In 
the  following  winter  he  removed  to  ]\linne^ota. 


and  December  10,  1878,  found  him  located  at 
Fairmont.  He  formed  a  partnership  with  Hon. 
M.  E.  Shanks,  which  continued  for  two  years, 
when  it  was  dissolved  liy  mutual  consent.  Mr. 
V'oreis  continued  the  practice  of  law  in  Fairmont 
and  is  at  present  the  county  attorney  of  Martin 
County,  and  serving  his  fourth  term.  During  his 
residence  at  Fairmont,  j\Ir.  Voreis  has  served  the 
people  of  his  town  as  a  member  of  the  village 
council,  to  which  he  has  been  elected  five  times, 
and  also  as  village  attorney.  He  is  a  Democrat 
in  politics,  but  Martin  County  has  a  Repul)lican 
majority  of  from  seven  to  nine  hundred.  Not 
withstanding  this  Republican  majority,  Mr. 
Voreis  competed  successfully  for  public  office. 
At  the  present  time  he  is  chairman  of  the  Demo- 
cratic comity  central  committee,  and  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Democratic  state  central  committee. 
In  May,  1895,  '^^  formed  a  law  partnership  witli 
F.  A.  Mathwig.  ]\Ir.  \"oreis  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  order,  and  has  held  many  important 
offices  in  that  society.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
Osman  Temple  at  St.  Paul.  He  has  never  mar- 
ried. Mr.  \'oreis  may  be  said  to  be  a  self-made 
man.  He  has  relied  upon  his  own  resources  and 
energies  to  a  very  great  extent.  The  first  dollar 
earned  by  him  was  received  for  service  as  a  school 
teacher  in  Indiana. 


214 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JAMES  EDWARD  AiUURE. 

The  idea  fixed  definitely  in  mind  o{  following 
a  certain  line  of  work  as  his  profession  in  life, 
and  devoting  all  his  efforts  to  that  end  in  face 
of  every  obstacle,  in  brief  is  descriptive  of  the  life 
of  Dr.  James  E.  Moore,  of  ^[inneapolis,  who  has 
attained  the  goal  sought  in  early  life — surgery  as 
a  specialty,  and  skill  in  all  its  lines  of  practice. 
Dr.  iMoorc's  paternal  ancestors  were  of  Scottish 
descent.  ( )n  his  mother's  side  he  is  of  German 
descent.  Rev.  George  W.  Aloore,  his  father,  is  a 
retired  Methodist  minister,  who  for  thirty  years 
was  in  active  work  in  the  Erie  conference.  His 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Margaret  Jane 
Zeigler.  She  was  born  in  Mercer  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. Her  father  was  a  farmer  in  that  sec- 
tion, but  in  1S53  he  migrated  with  his  frunily  to 
Iowa,  taking  U])  a  homestead  on  the  prairie  in 
Jones  county,  near  where  Anamosa  now  stands. 
He  ser\'ed  throughout  the  war  as  a  member  of 
the  famous  "Grey  I'.eards."  The  grandparents  of 
Mrs.  Moore  came  to  this  country  from  Germany. 
James  Edward  was  loom  at  (larksville,  Mercer 
county,  Pennsylvania,  M;ucli  2,  1852.  His 
parents  were  indulgent  to  him  and  gave  him  ex- 
ceptional advantages  for  a  good  educational  train- 
ing, which  the  boy  did  not  fail  to  take  advantage 
of.  Until  his  fifteenth  year  he  attended  the  public 
schools,  and  during  his  vacations,  even  from  his 
ninth  year,  never  idled  awav  his  time,  but  worked 


on  the  farm,  sold  books  and  sewing  machines  antl 
worked  in  a  rolling  mill.  I'p  to  his  eighteenth 
year  he  attended  the  Poland  Union  Seminary  at 
Poland,  Ohio — the  same  school,  by  the  way, 
where  William  JtlcKinley  received  his  education. 
He  usually  stood  at  the  head  of  his  classes,  and 
was  reconuuended  by  the  principal  of  the  insti- 
tution to  General  Garfield  for  appointment  to 
West  Point;  but  James'  father  objected  to  his 
receiving  a  militar\'  training.  After  leaving  the 
seminary  he  taught  school  in  eastern  Ohio  for  the 
following  )ear,  and  during  his  leisure  hours  took 
up  the  study  of  medicine.  During  the  year 
1 87 1 -2  he  attended  the  medical  departiucnt  of  the 
L'niversity  of  Michigan,  and  the  following  year 
continued  his  studies  in  liellevue  Hosi)ital  Med- 
ical College  in  Xew  York,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated in  the  spring  of  1873.  Shortly  afterwards 
he  located  at  I'ort  Wayne,  Indiana  and  com- 
menced practice.  It  being  confined  largely  to 
railroad  employes  and  laboring  men,  did  not 
prove  ver\-  encouraging.  After  the  panic  of 
1874-3.  when  his  ]iatrons  could  no  longer  pay 
their  bills.  Dr.  Moore  concluded  to  return  to 
Xew  York  for  further  study.  He  remained  there 
for  nearl}-  a  year,  l)ut  after  having  been  left  pen- 
niless in  the  spring  of  1876,  through  the  failure  of 
a  bank  in  Pittsburg,  he  went  to  the  oil  fields  of 
Pennsylvania,  thinking  he  would  have  good  op- 
portunity here  for  practice  in  his  special  line,  that 
of  surgeon.  He  located  at  Emlenton  and  formed 
a  partnership  with  Dr.  11.  !•'.  Hamilton,  and  for 
three  }ears,  until  the  partnership  was  dissolved, 
enjoyed  a  profitable  ]iractice.  He  continued  to 
l^ractice  alone,  for  three  and  a  half  years  longer, 
till,  desiring  to  enlarge  his  opportunities,  he  con- 
cluded to  remove  to  ^Minneapolis,  which  he  did 
in  August.  1882.  He  formed  a  partnership  with 
Dr.  .\.  A.  .Xmcs.  which  continued  for  four  and  a 
half  years.  Pv  this  i)artnership  he  was  intro- 
duced at  once  to  a  large  practice,  largely  surgical, 
in  a  direct  line  with  his  ambition.  Ever  since 
his  graduation.  Dr.  .Moore  has  ;ilways  kcjit  u])  his 
studies,  and  frec|uently  returned  lo  .\e\\  ^'nrk  for 
the  sake  of  ex]ierience  obtained  in  the  hospitals. 
In  1886  he  went  to  Europe,  attending  Dr.  i'>erg~ 
man's  clinic  in  P.crlin.  lie  also  spent  some  time 
in  the  Charing  Cross  ;nid  Roval  Orthopedtc  hos- 
pitals in  London.  (  )n  rclnrniiig  from  lun^ope 
he  dissolved  partnershii>  witii  Id".  Anus  in  order 
to  ln'  al)lc  to  select  his  practice  tn  his  liking,  grad- 


PROGRESSlVIv  MF.N  OF  MINNESOTA. 


215 


ually  cliniiiiatini;'  iiKilical  piactici'  until  llic  fall 
of  1888,  since  which  time  it  has  been  exclusively 
surgical.  Dr.  Moore  has  done  much  ttj  aid  the 
development  nf  mndern  surgery  in  the  Xnrtli- 
west  and  established  for  himself  a  reputation  not 
confined  to  the  local  center.  In  addition  to  gen- 
eral surgeiy,  he  has  also  a  special  reputation  in 
ortho]iedic  surgery.  lie  is  the  author  (jf  a  book 
on  that  subject,  which  is  now  in  the  hands  of  an 
Eastern  publishing  house.  In  1885  he  was  made 
professor  of  orthopedic  surgery  in  the  Minnesota 
Hospital  Medical  t'ollege;  later  occupied  the  same 
chair  in  the  ."^t.  I'aul  .Medical  College.  When 
the  medical  department  of  the  State  L'niversity 
was  established,  he  was  elected  to  the  same  chair 
in  that  institutitm.  which  he  still  holds,  in  addi- 
tion to  that  of  professor  of  clinical  surgery.  In 
1894  he  represented  the  university  at  the  Inter- 
national Medical  Congress  at  Rome.  Dr.  Moore 
is  also  a  constant  contributor  to  mecHcal  journals 
througliout  the  United  .States.  He  is  a  meni1)er 
of  all  the  local  and  state  medical  societies.  In 
i8cj5  was  elected  a  I'ellow  of  the  American  Sur- 
gical Association,  one  of  the  most  exclusive  na- 
tional societies.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
American  Orthopedic  Association,  Congress  of 
American  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  and  the 
American  Medical  Association.  He  was  ap- 
pointed an  honorary  vice-president  of  the  Pan- 
American  Medical  Congress.  He  is  surgeon  to 
St.  Barnabas  Hospital,  and  consulting  surgeon 
to  the  Northwestern,  St.  Mary's  and  City  Hos- 
pitals. Dr.  Moore  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Minneapolis  Clul).  Flis  church 
connections  are  with  the  Cniversalist  body,  being 
a  member  of  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer.  He 
was  married  in  1874  to  Bessie  Applegate,  wdio 
died  in  1881.  In  1884  he  was  married  to  Clara 
H.  Collins,  who  died  a  year  later,  leaving  a  daugh- 
ter, Bessie  Margaret  Moore.  In  1887  Dr.  Aloore 
was  again  married  to  Louie  Irving. 


CHARLES  W.  MERRY. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  dentist  prac- 
ticing his  profession  at  Stillwater,  Minnesota. 
His  father,  B.  G.  Merry,  served  in  the  civil  war 
in  a  Maine  regiment,  and  was  a  major  when  nuis- 
tered  out  of  service.  He  removed  to  IMinnesota 
in  i86g  with  his  family,  settling  at  Stillwater, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  the  profession  of  den- 


tistry until  his  death,  March  27,  1895.  He  was 
a  prominent  member  of  the  Masons,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  Loyal  Legion  and  the  G.  A.  R.  His 
wife's  maiden  name  was  Charlotte  F.  Coburn. 
Charles  W.  was  born  at  Bath,  Maine,  June  7, 
1864.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Still- 
water until  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age.  He 
then  took  a  course  at  the  Pennsylvania  College 
of  Dental  Surgery,  graduating  with  the  class  of 
1883.  After  graduating  he  worked  in  the  office 
with  liis  father  on  a  salary  for  four  years.  He 
then  purchased  a  half  interest  in  the  business,  the 
partnership  lasting  until  1892,  when  it  was  dis- 
solved by  mutual  consent,  each  going  into  busi- 
ness for  himself.  March  30,  1885,  Dr.  ^Merry 
was  appointed  a  iriember  of  the  state  board  of 
dental  examiners  by  Governor  Hubbard  for  a 
four  years'  term.  He  was  secretary  of  the  board 
for  two  years  and  president  for  one  year.  He  has 
always  taken  an  active  interest  in  state  militia 
affairs,  and  was  a  charter  member  of  Company  K, 
First  regiment,  of  which  company  he  was  a  mem- 
ber for  six  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  ^Masons 
and  is  a  Mystic  Shriner.  and  also  belongs  to  the 
Knights  of  Pvtliias.  Royal  Arcanum,  the  Elks  and 
Sons  of  \"eterans.  He  has  never  united  with  any 
church.  He  was  married  May  17,  1887,  to  Miss 
Ella  McKusick.  daughter  of  Hon.  John  ^Ic- 
Kusick,  and  has  two  children.  Charles  Raymond 
and  Ora  ^IcKusick.  Mrs.  Merry  died  January 
31,  1891. 


216 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES  R.  J.  KELLAM. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bora  August 
i6,  1837,  at  the  Choctaw  Agency,  Indian  Terri- 
tory. His  father  was  a  Baptist  minister  who  was 
sent  as  a  missionary  to  the  Choctaw  Indians  in 
1836,  soon  after  tlieir  removal  from  Georgia. 
He  afterwards  founded  the  town  of  Charles- 
ton, Franklin  County,  Arkansas,  as  a  mer- 
chant, and  also  continued  to  preach  there  as 
long  as  he  lived.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth 
Pierson,  of  Haverhill,  :\lassachusctts,  educated 
at  Newbury  Female  Academy.  Charles  R.  J . 
was  educated  by  his  father  and  mother,  there 
being  no  public  schools  at  the  agency.  He,  how- 
ever, attended  an  occasional  term  in  the  old  \og 
school  until  he  was  twelve  years  of  age.  He 
then  attended  the  academy,  which  afterwards  be- 
came known  as  Iviyclte  College,  at  Fayctteville, 
Arkansas.  His  father  having  died  while  in  his 
second  year  at  college,  Charles  was  compelled  In 
leave  school  and  begin  work  to  su])pnrt  himself. 
While  at  school  he  began  to  study  medicine  wiUi 
a  local  ])hysician.  He  taught  in  the  public 
schools  several  terms  and  in  this  way  earned  the 
first  dollar  which  he  ever  secured  by  his  own 
efforts.  August  16,  1856,  Mr.  K'ellam  was  mar- 
ried to  .Sarah  I-:.  Carter,  of  Peacham,  \'er- 
inont.  Five  children  were  l)orn,  three  of 
whom  arc  still  living.  In  the  fall  of  1850,  an- 
ticipating that  serious  trouble  was  iimnineuL 
from  the  irrepressible  conflict  over  slavery,    Mr. 


Kellam  moved  from  Arkansas  to  \  ermont.  On 
April  15,  1861,  he  enlisted  for  three  years,  or 
during  the  war,  but  owing  to  some  difiicullies  in 
the  organization  of  the  regiment  was  not  mustered 
into  service  until  the  sixth  of  July.  He  went 
at  once  to  the  front  and  was  a  private  in  Company 
C,  of  the  Third  \'ermont  regiment.  He  took  part 
in  nearly  all  the  battles  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  up  to  the  evacuatioi:  of  the  Peninsula. 
October  6,  1862,  he  became  ill  and  was  dis- 
charged, but  afterwards  enlisted  in  the  Xinth  \'er- 
mont  in  1863.  He  was  promoted  to  hospital 
steward,  U.  S.  A.,  and  finally  discharged  at  his 
own  request,  November  6,  1865.  After  leaving  the 
n.iilitary  service  he  spent  the  rest  of  that  year,  and 
l)art  of  1866,  in  Harvard  Medical  College,  Boston, 
and  practiced  medicine  in  A'ermont  and  New 
Hampshire.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  Metlical 
College  in  1868,  soon  afterwards  removing  to 
Lynn,  Massachusetts.  About  this  time  his  first 
wife  died  and  he  was  married  to  ]\lrs. 
Emma  M.  Noyes.  of  Chelsea,  \'ermont.  One 
daughter  was  btirn  as  the  result  of  this 
marriage.  In  1876,  with  broken  health  from  over- 
work in  his  profession  he  reuK.ived  to  Minne- 
sota, locating  at  .St.  C'harles,  where  he  practiced 
niedicine  until  November,  1879.  His  second  wife 
died  at  St.  Charles  and  he  removed  to  Heron 
Lake  in  1879  to  engage  in  the  drug  business. 
Here  he  was  married  the  third  time,  Januarv  I, 
1880,  his  wife  on  this  occasion  being  Mary  C. 
Schermerhorn,  of  .\lbany,  Xew  York,  who  became 
the  mother  of  eight  children,  all  now  living.  By 
close  attention  to  his  affairs  Dr.  Kellam  has  been 
successful  in  building  up  a  profitable  business. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  .^tate  Medical  Society,  and 
ex-president  of  the  Minnesota  Pharmaceutical  As- 
sociation; a  member  of  the  American  Pharma- 
ceutical Association,  a  memlier  of  the  board  of 
education  for  twelve  years,  and  was  recently  re- 
elected imanimously  for  another  term  of  three 
years.  He  has  been  justice  of  the  jieace  at  Heron 
Lake  for  the  jiast  twelve  years,  and  has  just  been 
re-elected  unanimously  for  another  term.  He  is  a 
Royal  .Arcli  .Mason,  an  Odd  I'ellow,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Eastern  .star,  lie  was  first  comm.uider 
of  1'..  \'.  .Sweet  I'ost,  149,  G.  A.  R.,  and  is  its 
present  eonmiander.  He  is  not  a  member  of  any 
religions  bod\,  but  is  in  sympathy  with  the  Uni- 
tarian belief,  lie  is  a  Kei)nblic;m  in  ])olitics.  ;mil 
was  defeated  for  the  legislature  in  1S04  l)\  ,'i 
Combination  of  the  Di'niocr;its,  ro]iulists  and 
I'n  iliiliili<  mists. 


PROORnSSIVE   MEN   OP   MINNKSOTA. 


217 


JOHN  J.  FURLONG. 

There  are  few  happier  and  more  comfortable 
conditions  of  life  than  those  enjoyed  by  the 
prosperous  Southern  Minnesota  farmer.  Tiiat 
section  of  the  state  contains  a  great  many  men 
successful  in  agriculture,  but  probably  none  who 
have  made  a  greater  success  and  have  more  to 
show  for  their  efforts  in  the  way  of  a  fruitful  and 
well-appointed  farm  than  John  J.  Furlong,  of 
Mower  County.  His  farm  is  three  miles  east  of 
Austin,  and  one  of  the  most  attractive  establish- 
ments of  the  kind  in  the  whole  state.  Mr.  l'"ur- 
long  is  the  youngest  son  of  William  and  Sai^ah 
Furlong,  and  was  born  February  2,  1849,  in 
Tipperary,  Ireland.  He  came  to  America  with 
his  parents  when  three  years  old.  His  father  pre- 
empted a  quarter  section  of  the  present  farm  in 
the  fall  of  1856,  and  in  the  following  spring 
moved  his  family  into  the  little  log  house  which 
still  stands  on  the  farm  as  a  monument  of  the 
past.  John's  education  was  begun  in  the  district 
schools  and  continued  in  the  high  school  of 
Austin.  He  grew  up  on  the  farm  and  adopted 
farming  as  his  business;  succeeded  to  the  ances- 
tral estate,  which  he  greatly  enlarged,  and  came 
to  enjoy  an  enviable  reputation  among  all  his 
neighbors,  both  as  a  business  man  and  as  a  citi- 
zen. Naturally  of  an  active  and  progressive  tem- 
perament he  became  interested  in  politics  in  1886, 
and  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  as  repre- 
sentative to  the  legislature.  He  was  elected  in  a 
district  that  had  always  been  largely  Republican, 
and  in  his  first  term  in  the  house  caused  his 
ability  to  be  recognized  and  did  good  work  on 
the  floor  of  the  house,  and  as  a  member  of  the 
committees  on  grain  and  warehouse,  elections 
and  towns  and  counties.  In  1890  he  was  nomi- 
nated by  the  Alliance  party,  endorsed  by  the 
Democrats  and  elected.  In  the  session  of  1891 
he  was  the  leading  candidate  of  his  party  for 
speaker,  and  would  probably  have  been  chosen 
had  he  forced  the  issue;  but  to  secure  harmony 
between  the  Alliance  and  the  Democracy  he 
withdrew  his  name.  He  was,  however,  elected 
speaker  pro  tem  and  filled  the  chair  for  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  session  during  the  illness 
of  Speaker  Champlin.  He  was  at  this  session 
chairman  of  the  most  important  committee  of  the 
house,  the  judiciary' ;  also  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  flax  fibre  and  twine.  In  1892  ^Ir.  Fur- 
long was  again  nominated  by  the  Democrats  to 


the  legislature,  and  elected.  He  was  re-elected 
in  1894,  although  only  by  the  narrow  margin  of 
three  votes.  His  Republican  opponent  contested 
the  election,  but  Mr.  Furlong  retained  his  seat 
after  a  protracted  contest.  He  has  long  been  an 
active  member  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance;  has  held 
official  positions  in  the  local  and  national  organi- 
zations, and  is  now  treasurer  of  the  national  body. 
He  has  been  active  in  securing  cheap  and  reliable 
insurance  for  farmers,  being  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  Mower  County  Mutual  Fire  and  Hail  In- 
surance Company,  and  was  for  many  years  its 
president.  He  is  also  president  for  the  state  of 
the  Alliance  Hail  and  Cyclone  Mutual  Insurance 
Company.  He  was  president  of  the  Mower 
County  Agricultural  Society  for  five  years,  and 
placed  that  society  on  a  substantial  financial  basis. 
In  1801  he  was  elected  a  director  of  the  State 
Agricultural  Society;  was  superintendent  of  the 
dairy  department,  and  later  superintendent  of 
agriculture.  He  was  one  of  the  board  of  World's 
Fair  managers  for  the  state,  and  treasurer  of  the 
board.  These  facts  go  to  show  that  Mr.  Furlong 
has  led  an  active  life,  and  that  his  ability  has  been 
nmch  sought  after  and  employed  in  the  public 
interest.  He  was  married  May  25,  1881.  to  Miss 
Agnes  Ryan.  They  have  four  children:  William, 
IMay,  Charles  and  Loretta.  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Fur- 
long are  noted  for  their  generous  hospitality,  and 
take  great  pleasure  in  entertaining  their  friends 
at  their  beautiful  home. 


218 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ALECK    E.    JoHXStjX. 

Aleck  E.  Johnson  is  one  of  the  best- 
known  names  among  the  Scandinavians  of  the 
United  States.  He  is  the  head  of  the  firm  of  A. 
E.  Johnson  &  Co.,  land  and  immigration  agents, 
whose  business  is  represented  by  agencies  reach- 
ing from  Boston  to  the  Pacific  coast.  Mr.  John- 
son was  bom  in  Sweden  in  1840.  He  came  to 
America  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  in  1856  set- 
tled in  Minnesota.  He  received  his  education 
at  Mount  Carroll  seminary,  in  Illinois,  and  after 
leaving  that  institution  he  engaged  actively  in 
business,  his  first  important  undertaking  being 
that  of  state  immigration  agent,  to  which  position 
he  was  appointed  to  represent  the  state  of  Minne- 
sota at  New  York  and  Chicago  in  1867  and  1868. 
In  1869  he  was  appointed  General  \\'estern  Scan- 
dinavian agent  of  the  Cunard  line.  In  1878  to 
1881  he  was  acting  general  western  manager  for 
this  company.  His  success  in  the  passenger  and 
immigration  business  attracted  the  attention  of 
President  Hill,  of  the  Manitol)a  road,  and  in  1881 
he  was  appointed  Connnissioner  of  Emigration  of 
the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  &  Manitoba  Railroad, 
with  headuarters  at  .St.  Paul.  From  1881  to 
1883,  while  acting  as  emigration  commissioner 
for  that  company,  he  settled  the  Kc<\  River 
valley,    the    Devils    Lake    countrv    and    'I'mile 


-Mountain  region  with  Scandinavians  and  Ger- 
mans. He  then  left  the  service  of  the  railroad 
company  and  established  the  firm  of  A.  E.  John- 
son &  Co.,  land  and  immigration  agents.  This 
firm  was  founded  in  1883,  and  was  composed  of 
A.  E.  Johnson  and  O.  O.  Searle.  At  the  same 
time  Mr.  Johnson  was  appointed  general  Euro- 
pean agent  for  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and 
represented  it  in  connection  with  his  general  im- 
migration business.  The  firm  of  A.  E.  Johnson  & 
Co.  have  offices  in  Minneapolis,  .St.  Paul,  Duluth, 
Chicago,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  are  engaged  in  the  gen- 
eral steamship  and  immigration  business.  Mr. 
Johnson's  firm  also  act  as  general  passenger 
agents  for  the  only  direct  steamship  line  between 
Scandinavia  and  .\merica,  the  Thingvalla.  They 
are  also  the  authorized  European  agents  for  the 
Western  States  Passenger  Association.  Mr. 
Johnson  has  been  eminently  successful  in  his 
business  and  has  identified  himself  with  other 
enterprises.  He  is  vice-president  of  tlie  Wash- 
ington Bank,  of  Minneapolis;  vice-president  of 
the  Scandinavian-.^merican  Bank,  of  St.  Paul; 
vice-president  of  the  Scandinavian-American 
Bank,  of  Seattle;  a  stockholder  in  the  Scandia 
Bank,  of  Minneapolis,  and  in  the  Scandinavian- 
,\merican  Bank,  of  Crookston,  Minnesota,  and  di- 
rector in  the  Western  States  Bank,  of  Chicago.  Pie 
is  also  the  owner  and  publisher  of  the  Chicago 
Hcmlandet.  the  oldest  Swedish  newspaper  pub- 
-lislicd  in  the  liiited  States.  Fhe  paper  was  estab- 
lished in  1842.  ^Ir.  lohusou  is  a  meml^er  of  the 
."Scandinavian  Literary^  Society,  and  of  the  Swedish 
Glee  Club  in  Chicago,  and  one  of  the  founders 
and  first  president  of  the  Working  Women's 
Home,  of  that  city.  He  is  a  director  in  the 
Scandinavian  Sailors'  Temperance  Home,  in 
Brooklyn,  and  as  a  recognition  of  his  many  acts 
of  kindness  and  encouragement  and  [practical  as- 
sistance to  Scandinavians  in  America,  his  majesty. 
King  Oscar,  of  .Sweden  and  Norway,  has  con- 
ferred upon  htm  the  luin<ir  of  membership  in  the 
Knights  of  Wassa.  Mr.  Jolmson  is  a  man  nf 
remarkable  energ\-  ;md  enter])rise,  baclscd  u|)  by 
natural  talents,  whicli  have  given  him  i)romi- 
nencc,  not  only  among  the  ])eople  of  his  own 
nationality,  lint  ha\-e  wnn  for  him  recognition  as 
;i  man  of  superior  l)usiness  qualifications  among 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


21  y 


all  classes  of  business  men.  His  strongest  char- 
acteristic is  liis  tireless  enerfjy,  vvliicli  has  enal)led 
him  to  accomplish  more  in  his  comparatively 
brief  business  career  than  usually  falls  to  the  lot 
of  even  the  most  imlu'^tridus. 


JOHN    W.   ARCTANDER. 

John  W.  Arctander  is  a  native  of  Stock- 
holm, Sweden,  where  he  was  born  in  1849.  <  )n 
his  father's  side  he  is  descended  from  one  o! 
Norway's  oldest  families,  prominent  for  several 
hundred  years  in  Norwegian  history,  while  nn 
his  mother's  side  he  is  closely  related  to  tlie 
Nobels,  of  St.  Petersburg  and  Paris,  who  are 
the  petroleum  kings  of  Eurojje,  and,  perhaps, 
next  to  the  Rothschilds,  the  wealthiest  family  in 
the  world.  ]\lr.  Arctander  graduated  with  first 
honors  from  the  Royal  L'niversity  of  Norway  in 
1867.  He  had  already  gained  a  considerable 
name  by  his  contributions  to  Norwegian  liter- 
ature, and  after  his  gnuhiation  he  became  asso- 
ciated with  the  celebrated  Norwegian  poet, 
Bjornstiernc  Ijjornson  in  jnurnalistic  enterprises 
and  occupied  a  prominent  ])osition  in  the  news- 
paper world  of  Norway.  He  was  very  radical 
in  his  political  tendencies  and  the  vigorous  ex- 
pression of  his  views  soon  brought  him  into 
conflict  W'ith  the  authorities  so  that  in  1870  he 
became  a  political  exile  from  his  own  country. 
Naturally  the  great  republic  of  America  attracted 
him  and  became  his  adopted  country.  From 
1870  to  1874  he  was  connected  witli  Norwegian 
papers  in  Chicago  and  New  York,  but  during 
this  time  sinuiltaneously  pursued  the  study  of 
law.  In  1S74  he  came  to  Minnesota  and 
shortly  afterwards  was  admitted  to  practice  as 
an  attorney.  He  first  settled  in  Minneajiolis, 
but  two  years  later  moved  to  ^\'illnlar  and  for 
ten  years  devoted  himself  mainly  to  criminal 
practice.  He  built  up  quite  a  reputation  in  the 
western  part  of  the  state  as  a  criminal  lawyer, 
and  in  1880  was  by  Governor  Pillsbury  ap- 
pointed district  attorney  of  the  Twelfth  judicial 
district,  especially  created  by  the  legislature,  and 
afterwards  was  elected  to  the  position  by  the 
people.  While  for  four  years  prior  to  this  only 
one  person  had  been  convicted  of  crime  in  the 
entire   district.    Mr.    Arctander   during   the   first 


year  of  his  incumbency  of  the  office  of  district 
attorney  sent  forty  criminals  to  the  state  prison. 
Terror  reigned  among  the  criminal  classes  which 
had  infested  the  border  counties  of  the  state 
and  the  eiTect  was  wholesome  and  gratifying. 
In  1881  he  was  engaged  as  counsel  for  the  de- 
fense in  the  impeachment  trial  of  Hon.  E.  St. 
Julien  Cox,  and  added  considerable  to  his  repu- 
tation by  the  able  manner  in  which  he  presented 
the  cause  of  his  client.  In  1885  Mr.  Arctander 
was  made  a  member  of  the  commission  which 
drafted  the  present  ])enal  code  of  the  state  of 
Minnesota,  the  commission  having  the  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing  their  work  adopted  by  the  legis- 
lature without  a  single  amendment.  In  1886 
Mr.  Arctander  removed  to  Minneapolis  where 
he  has  since  occupied  a  prominent  place  among 
the  members  of  the  bar.  In  1875  he  wrote  a 
practical  hand  Ijook  of  the  laws  of  Minnesota 
in  the  Norwegian  langnage,  A\hich  had  a  large 
sale.  In  1895  '"^  published  a  new  edition  in  the 
same  language  and  re-wrote  it  in  -Swedish.  In 
1803  he  translated  into  English  Henrv  Ibsen's 
'"The  blaster  Guilder."  Mr.  Arctander  has  also 
indulged  in  his  taste  for  literature  in  numerous 
contributions  to  periodical  publications,  and  it 
is  understood  that  he  has  in  preparation  a  work 
somewhat  more  ambitious  than  anything  he  has 
yet  published,  but  is  not  yet  ready  to  an- 
noimce  it. 


220 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


THOMAS  JAMES  McELLIGUTT. 

A  combination  of  Irish  descent  and  American 
birth  and  influences,  has  produced  some  of  the 
foremost  members  of  the  bar  in  tliis  country. 
Such  a  combination  is  found  in  Thomas  J.  ]\Ic- 
Elligott  who,  thougli  a  young  man,  has  already 
taken  a  place  among  the  successful  lawyers  ot 
western  Minnesota.  Mr.  McI*'lligott  was  born 
in  Milwaukee  on  July  28,  1870.  His  parents 
were  both  of  Irish  biitli  but  came  to  America  in 
the  forties  and  are  now  living  on  a  farm  at  Glen- 
coe,  Minnesota.  James  McElligott,  like  so  many 
of  the  Irish-Americans,  made  his  way  success- 
fully. He  is  now-  in  easy  circumstances  and  was 
able  to  give  his  son  a  good  education.  The 
family  moved  to  ( ilencoc  when  Thomas  was  seven 
years  old.  L'ntil  thirteen  years  of  age  the  boy  at- 
tended the  district  school  and  then  went  to  Stevens 
seminary  at  Glencoe  from  which  he  graduated 
with  honors  in  18S8.  During  this  school  life  he 
was  fjbliged  to  walk  four  miles  each  day  to  and 
from  the  farm.  A  year's  tcacliing,  com1)inciI 
with  hard  study,  fitted  the  young  man  to  enter  the 
state  university.  He  decided  to  take  the  scien- 
tific course  and  became  a  member  of  the  fresh- 
man class  in  1880,  Init  in  18(^2  he  concluded  to 
study  law  and  took  up  work  in  the  law  dci)art- 
ment.  Eor  nearly  two  years  the  studies  of  both 
departments  were  kept  up  but   in   the  spring  of 


1893  ^Ir.  McElligott  was  obliged  to  drop  the 
scientific  course  in  order  to  secure  his  diploma 
from  the  law  department.  He  had,  however, 
virtually  finished  the  senior  year.  During  his 
college  life  Mr.  McElligott  developed  a  talent 
for  debating  and  represented  the  Delta  Sigma 
Debating  Society  in  three  annual  debates.  He 
was  also  the  leader  of  the  ^Minnesota  debaters  in 
the  first  intercollegiate  debate  between  the  univer- 
sities of  Minnesota  and  Iowa.  The  Theta  Delta 
Chi  and  Delta  Chi  (law)  fraternities  claim  him  as 
a  member.  After  his  admission  to  the  bar,  im- 
mediately after  graduation  in  June,  1893,  ^^^''• 
AIcElligott  went  to  Appleton,  Minnesota,  where 
he  became  associated  with  the  Hon.  E.  T.  Young 
in  the  practice  of  law.  A  year  later  he  removed 
to  Bellingham,  Minnesota,  and  went  into  practice 
alone.  During  his  college  life  he  had  worketl  his 
way,  among  other  things  carrying  papers — that 
common  resort  of  the  ambitious  college  youth. 
This  or  some  other  influence  predisposed  Mr. 
I\IcEIligott  to  an  interest  in  the  press,  and  at 
LSellingham  he  found  an  opportunit\  of  indulging 
his  talents.  He  became  half  owner  of  the  "Bell- 
ingham Times"  and  conducted  the  editorial  de- 
partment of  the  paper  until  the  sunnner  of  1805. 
An  opening  presented  itself  in  Madison,  Lac  qui 
Parle  County.  Mr.  ^McElligott  moved  there  in 
March,  1895,  3"^  formed  a  law  partnership  with 
kTank  Palmer,  under  the  firm  name  of  Palmer  & 
McElligott.  They  have  been  very  succes- 
ful  and  are  understood  to  have  the  largest 
])ractice  of  any  law-  firm  in  that  section 
of  the  state.  Mr.  .McElligott  has  not  taken, 
as  yet,  any  active  part  in  politics.  His 
first  vote  was  cast  for  Grover  Cleveland  in  1892, 
but  since  then  his  leanings  have  been  toward  the 
Republican  party,  and  in  his  editorial  capacity  on 
the  "Bellingham  Times"  in  1894  lie  supported 
the  Republican  ticket.  He  has  been  devoted  to 
business  and  has  shown  himself  qualified  for  a  suc- 
cessful career  as  a  lawyer.  Commencing  with, 
as  lie  puts  it.  "but  two  dollars  and  a  half  to  my 
name,"  he  has  become  financiall}-  indc])endent. 
V.xQw  his  first  case  was  won.  Though  beaten  in 
the  district  court  he  ai)])eaK-il  to  tlie  su|)rcnic  court 
and  got  a  decision  for  his  client.  While  in  Bel- 
Imgharii,  on  November  T5,  1804,  TMr.  McElligott 
was  married  to  ]\fiss  Maud  Wright,  of  Aiipleton, 
'Minncsot.-i.  T1k'\-  have  one  child,  a  bov.   Mr.  Mc- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MIXNKSOTA. 


221 


Elligott  was  born  \uu,  llic  Catlujlic  church,  and 
yet  belongs  to  tliat  (Icnoniination,  Ijut  he  takes 
an  interest  in  all  Christian  churches  and  is  liberal 
in  his  religious  beliefs.  'I'lu-  only  secret  society 
to  which  he  belongs  is  the  order  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias.  He  is  secretary  of  the  lioard  of  Edu- 
cation of  Madison. 


HENRY  JOHNS. 

Mr.  Johns  is  a  member  of  the  law  linn  of 
Henry  and  Robert  L.  Johns,  of  -St.  Paul.  He 
was  born  at  Johnstown,  New  York,  June  i8, 
1858,  the  son  of  Captain  Henry  'i\  Johns  and 
Martha  Jane  Brown  (Johns).  Captain  Johns 
enlisted  in  Company  C,  Forty-ninth  Massachu- 
setts Volunteers  at  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war, 
and  afterwards  in  the  Sixty-first  Massachusetts 
\'olunteers,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war, 
being  breveted  captain  for  gallant  services  at 
Petersburg.  In  1868  he  moved  with  his  family 
to  Minnesota,  locating  at  St.  Paul.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  he  published  a  book  entitled  "Life 
With  the  Forty-ninth  Massachusetts  Volun- 
teers," one  of  the  few  books  which  portrays  the 
part  taken  by  the  private  soldiers  in  the  defense 
of  the  Union.  While  in  Minnesota  he  gained 
considerable  reputation  by  the  publication  of 
several  pamphlets  upon  the  resources  and  great 
commercial  advantages  of  the  Northwest,  and 
especially  of  the  city  of  Duluth.  He  also  attained 
prominence  as  a  public  lecturer,  and  for  several 
years  helped  the  cause  of  temperance  as  State 
Lecturer  for  the  Minnesota  Temperance  Society. 
From  1873  t"  ^876  he  was  secretary  of  the  St. 
Paul  Chamber  of  Commerce.  In  1878  he  moved 
to  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  where  he 
has  since  resided,  being  engaged  in  government 
service  and  in  various  literary  work.  The  an- 
cestors of  the  mother  .if  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  settled  in  Massachusetts  about  the  year 
1700,  and  several  members  of  her  family  served 
in  the  Revolutionary-  War.  The  ancestors  of  H. 
T.  Johns  were  of  \\'clsh  origin  and  Quakers, 
and  settled  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  in  the 
year  1680.  Henn,-  Johns  received  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  St.  Paul.  While 
attending  the  high  school,  he  contributed  to  and 
edited  several  amateur  papers,  and  took  consid- 
erable part  in  the  literarv  societv.     He  studied  at 


the  National  Law  School  in  the  City  of  Wash- 
ington, from  which  he  graduated  in  1879,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  June  of  that  year. 
In  the  fall  of  187(1  he  came  West  and  located  at 
Burlington,  Joun,  and  entered  the  law  office  of 
General  Tracy,  where  he  remained  about  a  year. 
He  then  came  to  Miimesota  and  located  at  Red 
Wing,  where  he  began  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession and  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  at 
Red  Wing  until  1885,  when  he  moved  to  St. 
Paul.  -Mr.  Johns  has  been  a  successful  practi- 
tioner, and  has  been  engaged  in  a  number  of  im- 
portant cases,  among  which  are  the  Stensgaard 
forgery  case,  the  famous  real  estate  fraud  cases 
and  the  notorious  bank  robbery  cases.  Mr. 
Johns'  political  affiliations  are  with  the  Repub- 
lican party.  He  has  been  an  active  worker  for 
the  success  of  the  party  during  the  past  ten 
years,  and  is  considered  one  of  the  best  political 
organizers  and  campaigners  in  the  state.  He  has 
never  sought  election  to  any  office,  except  the 
Legislatiu^e,  of  which  he  served  as  a  member 
during  the  session  of  1895,  representing  the 
Fourth  ward,  the  Democratic  stronghold  in  the 
city  of  St.  Paul.  At  the  last  election  he  was  re- 
elected to  the  same  office.  In  the  legislature  he 
was  one  of  the  most  active  members  of  the  judi- 
ciary committee,  and  exerted  considerable  influ- 
ence on  the  floor  of  the  house  in  behalf  of  sev- 
eral ini]iortant  measures. 


222 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


GILBERT  H.  RICE. 

By  inheritance  and  personal  experience  G.  H. 
Rice,  the  first  settler  of  Park  Rapids,  Minnesota, 
seems  to  have  been  fitted  for  pioneer  life.  His 
father,  Benjamin  Rice,  was  a  native  of  .St.  Law- 
rence County,  New  York.  He  served  as  a  pri- 
vate soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  receiving  an 
honorable  discharge  at  the  end  of  that  conflict. 
In  1816  he  married  ^Nliss  Mary  Malty,  and  took 
his  young  wife  to  Chautauqua  County,  New 
York,  which  at  that  time  was  a  dense  wilderness. 
Mr.  Rice  made  a  clearing,  building  himself  a 
home  and  became  a  prosiierous  farmer.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Rice  had  five  children.  Gilbert  was  born  in 
Chautauqua  County  on  March  13,  1838.  When 
he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  on  May  11,  1S52, 
his  father  died.  Three  years  later  Mrs.  Rice, 
with  her  children  removed  to  Mitchell  County, 
Iowa,  replacing  the  pioneer  life  of  the  forests  of 
New  York  for  a  lonesome  home  on  the  unbroken 
prairies  of  Iowa.  At  the  time  they  settled  in 
Mitchell  Cf)unty  there  was  not  a  mile  of  railroad 
in  the  state  and  their  postoffice  was  fifty 
miles  away.  Gilbert  received  a  fair  common 
schof)l  education,  and  in  December.  1861.  he  en- 
rolled his  name  as  the  first  student  in  the  Cedar 
\^illcy  Seminary  at  Osage.  Iowa,  in  fact  the 
young  man  had  the  honor  of  naming  the  insti- 
tution.   After  attending  this  sclinol  fcir  one  year 


he  entered  the  milling  business  with  his  brothers 
at  Riceville,  Iowa,  the  town  which  sprung  up 
after  their  settlement  in  Mitchell  County  took  its 
name  from  the  family.  In  1857  ^^^  ^^'^  O'^t  the 
town  site  and  made  the  first  substantial  improve- 
ment. The  land  used  was  the  homestead  origin- 
ally taken  up  by  his  mother,  and  which  she  re- 
ceived from  the  government  for  her  husband's 
services  during  the  war  of  181 2.  In  1866  ]Mr. 
Rice  bought  out  the  interests  of  his  brothers,  F. 
C.  and  Dennis,  in  the  milling  business  at  Rice- 
ville and  sold  a  half  interest  in  the  whole  business 
to  Nelson  Pierce.  A  year  later  he  sold  the  re- 
maining half  interest  in  the  business  to  ^Ir. 
Pierce  and  again  entered  into  partnership  with  his 
Isrothers,  building  a  flour  mill  at  Osage,  Iowa. 
In  1875  he  bought  out  his  brothers'  interest 
again  and  ccntintied  the  business  alone  until 
1 88 1.  It  was,  perhaps,  the  spirit  of  the  pioneer 
that  induced  Mr.  Rice  to  again  seek  out  the  for- 
estrj-.  When  he  came  to  the  present  location  of 
Park  Rapids  in  Jtine,  1881,  his  home  was  fifty 
miles  from  any  railroad  or  postofifice,  and  their 
life  for  a  few  years  was  thoroughly  that  of  a  pio- 
neer, as  had  been  his  mother's  experiences  in  New 
York  and  Iowa.  He  built  a  saw  and  flour  mill 
on  the  lands  which  were,  in  1883,  laid  out  as  the 
town  site.  The  town  was  given  the  name  of 
Park  Rapids,  and  it  has  become  one  of  the  most 
thriving  of  the  younger  towns  of  the  state.  Mr. 
Rice  has  been  thoroughly  identified  with  its  pros- 
perity. He  has  been  continually  in  the  milling 
business  for  thirty-six  years,  and  has  been  uni- 
formly successful.  Mr.  Rice  volunteered  for  the 
service  in  the  Federal  army  in  1863,  but  the  quota 
lieing  full  he  was  not  received.  He  was  commis- 
sioned as  first  lieutenant  in  the  Iowa  militia,^ 
and  helped  to  organize  a  com])any  of  one  hun- 
dred men  to  fight  the  Indians  in  Minnesota  at 
the  time  of  the  Sioux  out-break,  but  the  governor 
of  Minnesota,  however,  refused  to  accept  any 
troops  outside  his  own  state.  In  politics  Mr.  Rice 
has  always  been  a  Republican.  He  has  never 
sought  office,  but  in  1884  was  induced  to  accept 
the  nomination  for  probate  judge:  was  elected 
and  .served  his  first  term  m  Flubbard  County.  He 
belongs  to  the  Sound  Money  Club  of  Park  Rap- 
ids. He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  Shelf 
Prairie  Lodge,  Xo.  131,  at  Park  Rajiids.  His 
cliurch  memljership  is  with  the  hirst  Baptist 
church  of  his  town.    On  September  17,  1866,  Mr. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


223 


Rice  married  Miss  Martha  Pierce.  They  have 
had  four  children;  Edith  E.,  Leonard  H.,  Artliur 
L.  anil  Jithel  L.  Edith  E.  Rice  was  married  on 
August  I),  1888,  to  F.  A.  \'an(leri)oel,  of  Park- 
Rapids.  Leonard  was  married  on  August  16, 
1890,  to  Miss  Cora  I.  l\inia. 


HAROLD  J.  LOIiRr.AUJ'IR. 

Harold  Johan  Lohrbaucr,  of  Minneap- 
olis, is  a  native  of  Christiania,  Norway,  where  he 
was  born  I'^ebruar}-  23,  1858.  His  father,  Johan 
Lohrbauer,  is  the  owner  and  o])erator  of  a  cotton 
mill  at  Christiania,  Norway.  His  mother's  maid- 
en name  was  Trine  Boettgcr.  Johan  Lohrbauer 
and  l;is  wife  are  highly  respected  people  in  the 
conmnmity  in  which  they  live.  They  were  born 
and  reared  in  Christiania,  and  Mr.  Lohrliauer 
has  won,  by  his  own  efforts,  the  competency  and 
position  which  he  occupies,  and  is  now  the  con- 
trolling spirit  of  a  manufacturing  concern  em- 
ploying about  two  hundred  people.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  received  his  early  education  in  one 
of  the  private  schools  of  Christiania  until  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  when  he  spent  a  year  with  his 
father  in  the  factory,  the  intention  being  to  edu- 
cate liim  in  that  line  of  business.  For  the  same 
purpose  he  was  sent  to  Horton,  a  town  about 
fifty  miles  from  Christiania,  to  take  a  course  in 
mechanical  engineering.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
he  entered  a  mercantile  high  school,  the  Chris- 
tiania "Handelsgymnasium,"  in  order  to  acquire 
a  business  education.  He  spent  two  years  in 
that  institution  and  finished  the  fourth  best  in  a 
class  of  forty  students.  This  gave  him  a  thor- 
ough business  education,  including  a  fair  knowl- 
edge of  the  principal  modern  languages.  Harold 
then  embarked  for  himself  and  has  relied  upon 
his  own  resources  and  energies  ever  since.  His 
first  business  engagement  was  in  an  importing 
house  in  Christiania,  where  he  acted  as  corre- 
sponding clerk  in  the  English,  German  and 
French  languages,  later  he  entered  his  father's 
business  with  a  view  as  before  stated  to  succeed 
him  in  the  same.  Then  it  happened  that  an  old 
friend  and  schoolmate  of  his  returned  on  a  visit 
from  America.  His  tale  about  his  own  prosperity 
and  the  easy  progress  any  young  man  with  busi- 
ness education  and  abilit>-  undoubtedly  could 
make  in  that  far  awav  country,  brought  Harold 


to  look  at  his  own  i)rospects  in  a  different  light 
from  what  he  had  done  before.  In  short  he  de- 
cided to  leave  it  to  one  of  his  younger  brothers 
to  take  up  the  path  which  his  father  had  laid  out 
before  him  and  to  follow  his  friend  to  America. 
So  he  came  to  St.  Paul,  .Minnesota,  in  1882,  and 
s  week  after  his  arrival  obtained  a  situation  in 
The  Savings  liank  of  St.  Paul  and  was  em])lo_\ed 
there  for  eighteen  months.  He  then  entered  the 
service  of  a  land  and  immigration  agency,  with 
which  he  was  connected  until  he  started  a  land 
and  immigration  bureau  on  hisownaccount  about 
six  years  later.  He  now  maintains  offices  for  the 
conduct  of  this  line  of  business  both  in  Minne- 
apolis and  .St.  Paul,  and  is  meeting  with  gratify- 
ing success  His  business  is  chiefly  that  of  coli)- 
nizing  lands,  acipiired  either  bv  option  or  pur- 
chase. His  operations  have  been  chietiy  in 
Northwestern  Wisconsin.  He  has  been  the 
means  of  moving  from  the  shojjs  and  factories 
many  men  who  have  found  it  profitable  for  them 
to  become  owners  of  farms,  and  so  far  has  settled 
and  sold  in  this  way  about  fiftv-tive  thousand 
acres,  and  located  between  six  and  seven  hundred 
families,  representing,  probably,  from  twenty-five 
lumdrcd  to  three  thousand  people.  This  extensive 
business  has  required  close  attention,  and  to  it 
Tvfr.  Lohrbaucr  has  given  his  best  energies  and 
superior  business  aliility.  He  was  married  in 
1882  to  Afaren  Strom,  at  Harstad,  Xonvav. 


224 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


I^^i^ 


WILLIAM  EDWIX  LEE. 

William  E.  Lee,  president  of  the  Bank  of 
Long  Prairie,  is  better  known  to  the  people  of 
Minnesota  as  an  active  public  man  and  as  the 
efficient  superintendent  of  the  State  Reformatory 
at  St.  Cloud.  During  the  syiring  and  summer  of 
1896  he  has  been  brought  into  special  promi- 
nence as  a  candidate  before  the  state  Republican 
convention  for  the  nomination  for  governor.  Mr. 
Lee  is  of  English  origin,  though  born  in  this 
counti-y  just  after  his  jiarents  settled  here.  His 
father.  Samuel  Lee.  came  tt.i  America  with  his 
wife  (who  was  Miss  Jane  Green),  from  Bridge- 
water,  Sumniersetshire.  England,  in  1851.  Mr. 
Lee  was  a  contractor  and  builder  and  a  millwright 
by  trade.  During  the  financial  panic  of  1856  he 
suffered  losses  at  .Mton,  Illinois,  where  he  first 
established  himself,  lie  came  to  Minnesota  in 
June,  1856,  and  settled  at  Little  Va.\h.  He  ser\'ed 
in  Company  E,  of  Hatch's  I'.attalion,  Minnesota 
Volunteers,  during  the  war.  Mr.  and  .Mrs.  Lee 
arc  still  living  at  Long  Prairie.  Their  son  Wil- 
liam was  born  at  .Mton  on  January  8,  1852.  He 
received  his  education  in  tlu-  public  schools  and 
from  private  instructors  after  leaving  school. 
While  a  hoy  he  worked  on  a  farm  and  with  his 
father  at  the  millwright  trade.  During  his  ex- 
perience in  this  trade  he  invented  a  wheat  clean- 
ing machine,  known  as  Lee's  wheat  and  cockle 


separator.  ^Ir.  Lee  was  unable  to  manufacture 
the  machine  and  put  it  on  the  market,  but, 
although  he  held  a  patent,  a  Milwaukee  concern 
connnenced  the  manufacture  and  placed  the 
machines  in  nearly  every  flour  mill  in  the  world 
where  spring  wheat  is  grotind.  After  many  un- 
successful attempts  to  secure  a  settlement,  Mr. 
Lee  connnenced  suit  against  users  of  his  machine. 
which  were  prosecuted  successfully  and  became 
famous  among  patent  litigation.  In  company 
with  R.  H.  Harkens,  Mr.  Lee,  when  a  young 
man,  started  a  small  country  store  at  Burnham- 
ville,  Todd  County,  which  was  afterwards  re- 
moved to  Long  Prairie  and  became  one  of  the 
leading  mercantile  establishments  of  the  county. 
In  January,  1882.  he  established  the  Bank  of 
Long  Prairie,  which  was  the  first  bank  in  Todd 
County.  ]\lr.  Lee's  political  service  began  in 
1875,  when  he  w'as  elected  justice  of  the  peace. 
Two  years  later  he  was  elected  register  of  deeds 
of  Todd  County  and  held  the  office  for  four 
years.  In  1885  he  represented  Todd  County  in 
the  legislature  and  took  an  active  part  in  the 
railroad  and  warehouse  legislation  of  that  year — 
the  first  important  legislation  of  the  kind  in 
Minnesota.  He  was  re-elected  to  the  legislature 
in  1887  ^nd  again  in  1893,  when  he  was  chosen 
speaker  of  the  house.  For  twenty  years  he  has 
been  actively  identified  with  the  public  affairs  of 
northern  Minnesota.  Though  of  a  democratic 
family  he  has  been  from  the  time  he  cast  his 
first  vote,  an  enthusiastic  Republican.  In  1894 
Mr.  Lee  was  surprised  by  being  tendered  the 
post  of  superintendent  of  the  State  Reformatory 
at  St.  Cloud.  During  the  nineteen  months  of 
his  term  of  service  at  the  head  of  this  institution 
its  affairs  were  economically  managed  and  many 
improvements  in  the  methods  and  management 
of  the  reformatory  were  introduced.  During  the 
winter  of  1896  the  stockholders  of  the  Bank  of 
Long  Prairie,  desiring  to  organize  the  institution 
into  a  National  Bank,  urged  ATr.  Lee  to  accept 
the  presidency  of  the  reorganized  concern,  and 
he  accordingly  resigned  his  position  as  superin- 
tendent of  the  reformatory  and  returned  to  Long 
Prairie.  In  1875  ^^^-  Lee  was  married  to  Miss 
Eva  A.  Gibson,  daughter  of  Ambrose  H.  Gibson. 
They  have  three  sons,  Rudolph  A.  Lee,  a  student 
at  the  state  university;  Harry  W.  Lee  and  Ray- 
mond A.  Lee,  students  at  the  St.  Cloud  Norma? 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


225 


school.  Mr.  Lee  has  taken  an  active  interest  in 
educational  matters  and  served  six  years  on  the 
state  normal  school  board.  He  has  been  actively 
identified  with  the  building  up  of  the  village  of 
Long  Prairie,  where  he  has  been  engaged  in  the 
banking,  inorcantilr  and  real  estate  business. 


FRED  CA.RLET()X  PILLSHURY. 

The  name  of  Pillsbury  is  inseparably  C(jn- 
nected  with  the  history  of  Minnesota  and  the  de- 
velopment of  her  greatest  manufacturing  inter- 
ests. The  youngest  of  the  four  men  of  this 
name  who  came  to  Minnesota  in  early  days  was 
Fred  C.  Pillsbury.  Fie  was  a  son  of  George  A. 
Pillsbury,  brother  to  Charles  A.  Pillsbury  and 
nephew  of  ex-Governor  John  S.  Pillsbury.  His 
death  in  the  prime  of  life,  on  .May  15,  1892,  de- 
prived the  city  of  a  leading  business  man  and 
an  active  and  useful  member  of  the  community. 
Fred  C.  Pillsl.mrv  was  born  in  Concord,  Xew 
Hampshire,  on  August  27,  1852.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  schools  of  Concord  and  gra<luated 
from  the  high  school  of  that  place.  Fie  did  not 
attend  college.  His  brother  Charles  w^as  a  grad- 
uate of  Dartmouth,  but  Fred's  strong  desire  to 
enter  active  business  life  led  him  to  forego  a 
college  education,  and  in  1870  he  came  to  Min- 
neapolis and  entered  the  store  of  his  uncle,  John 
S.  Pillsbury,  who  at  that  time  carried  on  an 
extensive  wholesale  and  retail  hardware  business. 
The  natural  business  instincts  of  the  young  man 
and  the  careful  training  of  his  uncle  lirought 
him  rapii-Uv  to  a  high  rank  as  a  business  man. 
His  business  judgment,  his  common  sense,  his 
calmness,  and  his  (|uickncss  and  readiness  to  act 
in  business  matters  soon  marked  him  for  a  suc- 
cessful business  career.  In  1876  he  became  a 
partner  in  the  milling  firm  of  Charles  .\.  Pills- 
bury &  Co.  An  experience  of  fourteen  years 
as  an  active  manager  in  the  largest  milling  con- 
cern in  the  world  gave  him  a  masterv  of  the 
business.  Upon  the  sale  of  the  Pillsburv  prop- 
erties to  the  Pillsbury-W'ashburn  Flour  Milling 
Company  he  joined  with  other  gentlemen  in 
Minneapolis  in  organizing  the  Northwestern 
Consolidated  Milling  Company,  of  which  he  be- 
caiue  a  director  and  one  of  the  managing  com- 
mittee. Up  to  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  leading   millers   of     the 


L'nited  States,  and  his  judgment  in  the  milling 
business,  and  in  fact  in  all  business  matters,  was 
regarded  as  of  the  highest  (_|uality.  (  )utside  of 
the  milling  business  he  was  interested  in  many 
of  the  enteq^rises  of  the  city.  He  was  a  director 
in  the  hirst  National  Pank  and  the  Swedish- 
American  Uank.  Mr.  Pillsbury  was  alwa\s 
greatly  interested  in  agriculture.  At  W'ayzata, 
Minnesota,  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Minnetonka, 
he  maintained  a  model  farm  which  was  famed 
for  its  blooded  stock  and  was  the  pride  of  its 
owner.  For  two  years  Mr.  Pillsbury  was 
president  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  and 
gave  much  time  and  personal  attention  to  the 
management  of  the  state  fair.  In  iiolitical  faith  Mr. 
Pillsbury  was  a  Republican,  though  he  never 
held  an  elective  office.  He  was  a  student  of  the 
political  cjuestions  of  the  day  and  alive  to  the 
issues  before  the  people.  As  a  member  of  the 
building  conunittee  of  the  Minneapolis  Club, 
Mr.  Pillsbury  I'.ad  much  to  sav  in  the  construc- 
tion and  furnishing  of  the  beautiful  club  house 
of  that  organization.  He  had  a  taste  for  art  mat- 
ters and  took  great  pleasure  in  building,  and 
ornamenting  with  specimens  of  the  highest  art, 
a  beautiful  home  on  Tenth  Street,  in  Minneap- 
olis. Mrs.  Pillsburv  was  Miss  Alice  Cook,  of 
^Minneapolis.  She  was  married  to  Mr.  Pillsbun.' 
on  October  10.  1876. 


226 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


0- 


*.  - 


HEXRY  XICKEY  RICE. 

Dr.  H.  X.  Rice  is  a  prominent  citizen  of  Fair- 
mont, Martin  County,  Minnesota.  He  is  a  native 
of  Indiana.  His  father,  D.  B.  Rice,  was  born  in 
Oneida  County,  Xew  York,  on  August  2,  1815, 
and  lived  in  that  state  until  1840,  when  he  came 
West  and  estalslished  a  home  in  Indiana.  He 
first  took  up  a  farm  near  Fort  \\'aync.  It  was 
in  that  locality  that  he  married  Miss  Rosanna 
Xickey,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Daniel  Xickey, 
a  German,  wlio  had  emigrated  to  Pennsylvania. 
In  1866  Mr.  Rice  came  to  ^Minnesota,  but  soon 
after  moved  to  Eagle  Grove,  Iowa,  where  he  is 
now  living  in  roliust  health.  He  is  a  self-made 
man,  and  of  that  type  which  always  achieves 
prominence  and  good  will  of  his  fellow  citizens. 
His  wife  died  in  1862.  Of  their  family  of  eight 
children,  two  are  now  living,  Dr.  Rice  and  Ezra 
Rice,  a  banker  in  Luvernc,  Minnesota.  Dr. 
Rice  was  born  in  Whitley  Count\-,  Indiana,  on 
September  2,  1843.  He  obtained  his  education 
in  the  country  schools  of  Whitley  County,  and 
remained  at  home,  giving  his  father  the  benefit 
of  his  services  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age. 
Then,  upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  young 
Rice  responded  to  the  President's  call  for  troops 
and  became  a  member  of  Company  B,  Seventy- 
fourth  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  contin- 
ued with  this  command  until  the  close  of  the  war. 


with  the  exception  of  one  year  of  sicktiess  after 
the  battle  of  Perryville,  Kentucky.  During  this 
year  he  was  at  Quincy,  Illinois.  When  he  re- 
joined his  regiment  it  was  under  command  of 
Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman,  then  stationed  at  Ringgold, 
Georgia.  Dr.  Rice  was  just  in  time  to  partici- 
pate in  the  famous  march  to  the  sea.  During  the 
war  he  was  in  many  hard  fought  battles,  but  was 
never  seriously  wounded,  although  he  was  struck 
in  the  shoulder  during  the  charge  at  Jonesboro, 
at  the  taking  of  Atlanta.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
Dr.  Rice  was  honorably  discharged,  being  mus- 
tered out  on  June  13,  1865,  at  Indianapolis.  He 
at  once  returned  to  his  Indiana  home  and  entered 
the  Commercial  College  at  Fort  Wayne.  He 
spent  a  winter  in  teaching  school,  and  in  1866 
came  to  Minnesota  antl  located  a  homestead  near 
East  Chain  Lakes.  At  that  time  the  vicinity  was 
verv  sparsely  settled,  and  the  land  on  which  he 
located  was  still  in  its  primitive  condition.  After 
a  few  years  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  with 
Dr.  G.  D.  Winch  in  Blue  Eartli  City,  Minnesota^ 
and  in  1872  he  entered  the  medical  college  at 
Keokuk,  Iowa,  where  he  continued  his  studies 
until  fitted  for  practice.  He  then  returned  to 
Fairmont,  where  he  engaged  in  practice  for  the 
ne.xt  ten  years.  Finding  an  opportunity  to  further 
his  studies,  he  entered  Rush  Medical  College 
at  Chicago  and  graduated  from  that  institution 
in  1885.  Since  that  year  he  has  lived  contin- 
uously in  Fairmont.  Aside  from  his  professional 
duties.  Dr.  Rice  has  been  connected  with  the 
business  interests  of  his  locality,  and  has  for  ten 
or  twelve  years  been  owner  of  a  prosperous  drug 
store  at  Fairmont.  He  is  a  noted  owner  of  a 
large  stock  farm  near  the  Silver  Lake  region.  It 
contains  five  hundred  acres  bordering  on  Silver 
Lake,  about  ten  miles  south  of  Fairmont.  It  is 
beautifully  located,  and  a  part  of  it  has  been  fitted 
up  as  a  summer  resort.  In  1866  Dr.  Rice  was- 
married  to  Miss  Sarah  E.  Reed.  Mrs.  Rice  is  a 
woman  of  much  ability,  and  has  been  a  very 
prominent  worker  in  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps, 
and  in  the  Rebecca  Lodge  and  tlic  order  of  the 
Eastern  Star.  They  have  six  children.  Dr.  Rice 
is  a  Republican  and  has  been  honored  with  many 
local  positions  as  well  as  the  election,  in  1876,  to- 
represent  his  district  in  the  State  Legislature. 
For  eight  years  he  served  as  mayor  of  Fairmont. 
The  interests  of  the  city  were  ably  conducted' 
(luritig  his  administration.     In   t88o  he  was  ap- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


227 


pointed  surgeon  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  & 
St.  Paul  railroad,  and  still  holds  that  position,  as 
well  as  being  pension  examiner.  He  is  verv- 
prominent  in  Alasonic  circles,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  of  the  Phil  Kearney  Post,  No. 
i8,  G.  A.  R.,  at  l^iirmont. 


JAMES  A.  PETERSON. 

James  A.  Peters(jn,  county  attorney  of 
Hennepin  County,  owes  what  measure  of  success 
he  has  achieved  almost  entirely  to  his  own 
efforts.  His  father,  Aslak  Peterson,  a  farmer 
in  ordinary  circumstances  in  Dodge  County, 
Wisconsin,  is  still  living  on  the  same  farm  which 
he  patented  from  the  government  under  the 
homestead  law.  Air.  Peterson's  mother  was 
Karen  Marie  Ostenson.  Both  father  and  mother 
were  born  near  Skien,  Telemarken,  Norway. 
They  belonged  to  the  agricultural  classes,  and 
emigrated  from  that  country  in  1849.  In  that 
year  they  settled  in  Dodge  County,  Wisconsin, 
where  they  have  lived  ever  since.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  bom  near  the  village  of 
Alderly,  Dodge  County,  Wisconsin,  January  18, 
1859.  He  attended  the  country  school  until  four- 
teen years  of  age  when  he  went  to  school  in  the 
neighboring  villages  of  Hartford  and  Ocono- 
mowoc.  Mr.  Peterson  was  ambitious  to  obtain 
a  college  education,  and  although  his  parents 
were  unable  to  provide  him  with  means  to  do 
so  he  did  not  hesitate  to  strike  out,  relying  upon 
his  own  resources  to  get  an  education.  He  en- 
tered the  sub-freshmen  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  \\'isconsin  and  prepared  for  college. 
He  entered  the  freshmen  class  in  the  classical 
course  of  the  university  in  the  fall  of  1880,  and 
graduated  from  that  institution  with  a  degree  of 

A.  B.  in  1884.  Mr.  Peterson  taught  school  a 
part  of  the  time  while  he  was  in  college  in  order 
to  pay  his  expenses  and  earned  the  money  to 
pay  for  his  own  e(Uication  through  the  entire 
course,  with  the  exception  of  the  last  year  when 
he  had  help  from  his  father.  He  had  the  legal 
profession  in  view  and  continued  the  study  of 
law  in  the  same  institution,  graduating  from  the 
law  department  in  1887,  with  the  degree  of  LL. 

B.  Mr.  Peterson  had  connnenced  the  study  of 
law  in  1885,  after  graduation  from  the  university, 
with  W.  S.  Field,  of  \'iroqua,  and  while  in  the 


law  school  studied  in  the  office  of  J.  L.  Connor, 
of  Madison.  He  came  to  Minneapolis  August 
18,  1887,  and  began  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, and  has  been  so  engaged  in  this  city 
ever  since.  January  i,  1893,  he  was  appointed 
assistant  county  attorney  of  Hennepin  County 
by  Honorable  Frank  Nye,  and  was  re-appointed 
to  the  same  office  January  i,  1895.  ^^^-  Peterson 
was  elected  county  attorney  of  Hennepin  County 
in  November,  1896.  He  is  also  connected  in 
business  with  Robert  S.  Kolliner,  the  style  of  the 
tirm  being  Peterson  &  Kolliner.  Mr.  Peterson 
has  always  been  a  Republican  and  has  always 
taken  an  active  ])art  in  politics.  He  stumped  the 
State  of  Wisconsin  for  Blaine  in  1884.  the  year 
of  his  graduation  from  college,  and  did  a  like 
service  for  Harrison  in  Minnesota  in  1892.  He 
was  a  member  in  college  of  the  Phi  Kappa  Psi 
fraternity,  is  a  member  now  of  the  Masonic 
iirder,  and  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
in  church  relations  he  is  an  Episcopalian  and  a 
member  of  Gethsemane  Church  in  Minneapolis. 
Mr.  Peterson  was  married  at  Perry.  Dane  County, 
\\'isconsin,  November  ig,  1889,  to  Alarie  Emilie 
Dahle.  Mrs.  Peterson  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Univcrsitv  of  ^^'isconsin,  in  the  same  class  of 
which  Mr.  Peterson  was  a  member,  and  where 
she  took  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Letters,  and 
is  a  ladv  of  fine  attainments.  Air.  and  Mrs. 
Peterson  have  one  child  living.  Amy  Bell,  bom 
Tanuary  11,  1891. 


228 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WILLIAM  EDWARDS  EASTON. 

William  Edwards  Eastoii  is  the  senior  editor 
and  publisher  of  the  Stillwater  Gazette.  He  was 
born  in  Mesopotamia,  Trumbull  County,  Ohio, 
December  27,  1850,  the  son  of  Augustus  B. 
Easton  and  Julia  Burke  (Easton).  On  his  father's 
side  he  is  descended  from  the  early  settlers  of 
Massachusetts,  dating  back  to  the  Pilgrim  fathers. 
His  grandfather,  on  the  paternal  side,  made  the 
journey  on  foot  from  Hawley,  ^fassachusetts,  his 
native  place,  to  the  Western  Reserve,  in  north- 
western Ohio,  in  1820.  Little  is  known  of 
Mr.  Easton's  ancestry  on  his  mother's  side,  she 
having  been  an  adopted  daughter  of  William  J- 
Edwards  of  Youngstown, ( )hin.  \\'illiam  Edwards 
attended  the  connnon  schools  while  a  lad,  but 
began  early  to  learn  the  printer's  trade.  He  was 
so  small  when  he  began  in  this  business  that  he 
was  obliged  to  stand  on  a  chair  in  order  to  reach 
the  boxes  in  the  printer's  case.  His  parents  came 
to  Stillwater,  August  7.  1857,  when  it  was  a 
small  place,  noted  princii)ally  for  logs,  rough  fare 
and  men  wearing  red  shirts  and  moccasins.  His 
father  was  employed  on  the  olil  .Messenger  and 
the  son  has  followed  this  calling  all  his  actual 
business  life,  with  the  exception  of  about  six 
months'  experience  in  a  grocery  store.  He  soon 
graduated,  however,  from  that  business  with  the 
conviction  that  the  handling  of  crrocerics  was  not 


to  his  liking.  On  the  sixth  of  August,  1870,  he 
became  associated  with  his  father  and  began  the 
publication  of  the  Stillwater  Weekly  Gazette,  an 
independent  newspaper.  In  1876  he  was  admitted 
to  partnership,  which  continued  until  January  I, 
1883,  the  senior  Easton  then  disposing  of  his  in- 
terest to  S.  A.  Clewell.  The  business  has  since 
been  conducted  under  the  style  of  the  Gazette 
Printing  Company.  On  May  15,  1882,  was  issued 
tlie  first  number  of  the  Daily  Gazette.  The  daily 
edition  was  continued  until  December  of  the  same 
year,  when  it  was  suspended  because  vuiprofitable. 
On  August  25,  1883,  the  daily  edition  was  re- 
sumed and  has  been  continued  successfully  ever 
since.  March  7,  1896,  \\'illiam  Edwards  Easton 
secured  control  of  the  paper.  On  March  14,  1896, 
Senator  W.  C.  Alasterman  purchased  the  interest 
of  S.  A.  Clewell  in  the  job  department,  the  busi- 
ness being  consolidated,  and  is  now  conducted 
under  tlie  firm  name  of  Easton  &  ]\Iasterman,who 
are  sole  owners  of  the  Daily  and  Weekly  Gazette. 
Mr.  Easton  is  one  of  the  editors  and  publishers  of 
the  paper,  and  thoroughly  familiar  with  all  the  de- 
tails and  requirements  of  daily  newspaper  pub- 
lication. His  life  has  been  one  devoted  to  hard 
work,  and  such  property  interests  as  he  has  ac- 
quired have  been  secured  solely  by  faithful  atten- 
tion to  business  and  a  successful  management 
of  his  affairs.  During  the  war  times  he  was  en- 
gaged as  a  carrier  in  delivering  the  old  St.  Paul 
Press  and  Pioneer  in  Stillwater,  and  became  nuich 
interested  in  the  progress  of  the  conflict.  As  he 
puts  it,  he  "Didn't  do  much  to  put  down  the  re- 
bellion but  was  very  patriotic."  Mr.  Easton  is  a 
Mason,  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and 
Past  Chancellor  of  the  order  with  which  he  has 
been  connected  over  twenty  years.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Royal  Arcanum  serving  one  term  as  vice  re- 
gent. He  is  a  member  of  the  Stillwater  Lodge  of 
Elks.  He  was  a  charter  member  of  the  old  volun- 
teer fire  department  of  Stillwater,  organized  in 
1871,  .-ind  serving  continuously  until  1884.  lie 
was  an  original  member  of  the  famous  Blue  Cart 
Company.  He  was  secretary  and  treasurer  for  sev- 
eral years  of  the  organization.  He  w'as  one  of  the 
original  members  of  Company  K,  First  Regiment 
National  Guards,  organized  April  5,  1883,  was 
elected  captain  in  1893,  but  was  obliged  to  decline 
tlie  honor  owing  to  business  engagements.  He 
is  a  member  and  dirocdir  of  Ihc  Stillwater  Club. 


PKOGRHSSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


229 


and  vice  president  of  the  St.  Croix  .Savings  & 
Loan  Association.  .Mr.  p:aston  was  married  De- 
cember 19,  1878,  to  Josephine  A.  McGowan,  at 
Stillwater.  They  have  two  children,  Ned,  a  lad 
of  thirteen,  and  Morence  L.,  five  years  of  age. 


\'ICT()R  JOHX  WELCH. 

\  ictor  John  Welch  is  an  attorney-at-law, 
practicing-  liis  profession  at  Minneapolis.  He  was 
bom  at  Madison,  Wisconsin,  (  )ctober  8,  i860,  the 
son  of  William  Welch  and  Jane  Petherick  (Welch). 
William  Welch  was  a  native  of  New  York,  bnt 
emigrated  to  Madison,  Wisconsin,  in  1850,  where 
he  practiced  law  for  thirty  years.  His  wife 
was  a  native  of  London,  her  father  being  an 
English  barrister  of  high  standing  in  his  pro- 
fession in  that  country.  Both  William  Welch  and 
his  wife  are  now  living  in  Minneapolis.  William 
Welch  became  a  Republican  when  that  party  was 
organized,  but  prior  to  that  had  been  a  Whig 
leader,  having  been  chairman  of  the  first  Whig 
state  central  committee  for  Wisconsin.  Victor 
Welch  attended  the  public  schools  at  Madison 
and  graduated  from  the  high  schools  in  that  city. 
He  then  took  the  law  course  in  the  law  depart- 
ment of  the  L^niversity  of  Wisconsin  and  was 
graduated  in  1880  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
the  same  year.  Two  years  later  he  came  to  Min- 
neapolis and  has  been  engaged  here  continuously 
since  that  time  in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
At  first  he  was  the  junior  member  of  the  firm 
of  Welch,  Botkin  &  Welch,  consisting  of  his 
father,  S.  W.  Botkin  and  himself.  In  1892  the 
firm  was  dissolved  and  the  new  firm  of  Welch  & 
Welch,  father  and  son,  succeeded  it.  In  April, 
1894,  this  firm  was  dissolved  l)y  tlie  retirement  of 
William  W'elch  from  active  practice  at  the  age  of 
seventv-three  ^•ears.  A  new  firm  was  then  organ- 
ized, consisting  of  R.  L.  Penney,  V.  J.  Welch  and 
j\I.  P.  Hayne.  Mr.  Penney  subsequently  withdrew 
and  the  firm  continued  as  W^elch  &  Hayne.  Re- 
cently Henry  Conlin  has  been  admitted  to  the 
firm,  which  is  now  known  as  W'elch,  Hayne  & 
Conlin,  and  enjoys  a  very  lucrative  practice.  Mr. 
Welch  is  esteemed  as  one  of  the  most  successful 
among  the  comparatively  young  members  of  his 
profession  in  Miimeapolis.  In  1879,  while  a  resi- 
dent of  Madison,  Mr.  Welch  joined  Company  C, 
Fourth  Battalion,  National  Guard  of  Wisconsin, 


and  was  sergeant  of  the  company  during  the 
lumbermen's  riot,  near  Eau  Claire,  where  his  com- 
pany was  assigned  to  service.  On  coming  to 
Minneapolis  he  resigned  from  the  W^isconsin 
militia,  and  in  July,  1882,  became  a  member  of 
Company  B,  First  Regiment,  jMinnesota  National 
Guard.  He  was  elected  first  sergeant  and  then 
captain,  and  held  the  captaincy  until  the  summer 
of  1887,  when  he  resigned  to  become  judge  advo- 
cate general  of  the  state  under  Gov.  McGill. 
He  was  in  command  of  Company  B  during  the 
time  of  the  Stillwater  fire  when  the  company  was 
called  into  active  servdce.  His  identification  with 
the  militia  of  both  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  ar- 
gues, of  course,  especial  interest  in  the  National 
(niard,  and  he  has  been  prominently  identified 
with  the  movement  resulting  in  legislative  action 
providing  armories  for  the  National  Guard  at 
the  state  expense.  Mr.  W^elch  is  a  member  of 
the  Commercial  Club,  takes  an  active  interest  in 
all  public  enterprises,  and  is  also  an  attendant  of 
the  Episcopal  Church.  He  was  married  Novem- 
ber 10,  1887,  at  Detroit,  Michigan,  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth H.  Jones.  They  have  one  child,  Jeannette, 
aged  four  years.  Mr.  Welch  makes  a  specialty  of 
court  practice,  and  has  been  particularly  success- 
ful in  his  appearances  before  juries.  The  first 
dollar  he  ever  earned  was  while  engaged  in  the 
rather  monotonous  duty  of  hauling  gravel  with 
his  father's  team  for  highway  repairs. 


230 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


NELSON   H.  iMINER. 

N.  H.  [Miner  was  born  on  January  2b,  1833, 
at  Shorehani,  Addison  County,  \'erniont.  He 
was  the  son  of  Hiram  and  Eliza  Miner,  a  farmer 
and  mechanic  and  in  fair  financial  circum- 
stances. His  grandfather,  Richard  Miner,  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Continental  Army  during  the 
Revolution  and  participated  in  the  Battle  of 
Bennington  under  Stark.  His  early  educational 
advantages  were  limited  to  a  few  months  each 
year  in  the  country  school  and  to  the  use  of  a 
small  school  library,  and  a  few  newspapers  and  pe- 
riodicals received  by  the  family.  After  leaving 
home  and  working  on  a  farm  for  nearly  two  years 
he  attended  the  district  school  for  one  winterterm 
and  then  entered  Franklin  Academy,  at  ]\Ialone, 
New  York.  Here  he  studied  for  about  three 
years,  jjaying  his  way  from  the  savings  of  the 
two  previous  years,  and  by  teaching  and  farm 
work  (luring  vacations.  Instead  of  pursuing 
his  studies  further  he  commenced  to  read  law 
in  the  ofifice  of  Parmelce  &  Fitch,  in  Malonc, 
New  York,  and  was  admitted  to  the  liar  in 
that  state  in  1856.  He  practiced  law  two  years 
in  St.  Lawrence  and  Franklin  counties,  New 
York,  and  then  moved  to  \\^nuinm,  Wisconsin, 
in  1858,  where  he  built  up  ,in  extensive  prac- 
tice. Tn  November,  i86o.  he  came  to  I\Tinne- 
sota  and   formed  a  law  partnership  with   Judge 


N.  H.  Hemiup,  under  the  tirm  name  of  Miner 
&  Hemiup.  In  April,  1861,  Mr.  Miner  enlisted 
in  Company  E,  First  Minnesota  Infantry,  for  a 
three  months'  term,  and  served  about  one  month 
when  the  regiment  was  disbanded  for  the  pur- 
pose of  reorganizing  under  the  three-year  en- 
listment. At  the  time  of  the  reorganization  he 
was  contined  to  his  bed  by  sickness,  and  was 
thus  prevented  from  re-enlisting.  But  on  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Sioux  war  of  1862  he  volun- 
teered, and  was  one  of  Captain  Northrup's  com- 
pany which  went  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Ridgley. 
On  August  29,  1864,  he  enlisted  at  St.  Anthony 
in  Company  E,  of  Hatch's  Battalion  Cavalry 
\'olunteers,  and  served  on  the  Alinnesota  frontier 
until  discharged  with  the  company  on  ^lay  i, 
1866.  During  the  same  month  he  went  to 
Sauk  Center,  Minnesota,  and  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  On  the  first  of  January,  1870,  he 
became  associated  with  A.  Barto,  afterwards 
Lieutenant  Governor,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Miner  &  Barto.  This  firm  contiimed  ten  years, 
and  was  resumed  in  name  in  1894,  when  L.  R. 
Barto,  the  son  of  Mr.  Miner's  former  partner, 
became  his  associate  in  practice.  Mr.  Miner  has 
always  been  a  Democrat,  though  of  late  years  he 
has  not  been  identified  with  any  political  party, 
lie  was  for  several  years  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Education  of  St.  Anthony,  and  drafted  the  act, 
and  procured  its  passage,  by  which  the  Board  of 
Education  of  the  town  of  Sauk  Center  was  incor- 
])orated.  The  school  system  of  the  city  is  still 
regulated  by  this  act.  Mr.  ]\ liner  served  as 
a  member  and  secretary  of  the  board  from  its 
organization  in  1869  until  1877.  During  this 
time  he  was  instrumental  in  securing  the  build- 
ing of  the  first  school  house  and  in  originating 
the  excellent  graded  school  system  of  the  city. 
He  originated  and  did  much  for  the  support  of 
the  Bryant  Library  of  Sauk  Center,  an  institu- 
tion which  now  contains  about  three  thousand 
volumes.  In  1867  and  again  in  1868  Mr.  Miner 
served  his  county  in  the  state  legislature.  Dur- 
ing his  service  as  representative  he  drafted  and 
brought  to  passage  the  act  abolishing  cai)ital 
punishment  in  this  state.  He  is  now  mayor  of 
Sauk  Center,  serving  his  second  term  in  that 
office.  Mr.  Miner  is  a  member  nf  the  Masonic 
order,  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  and  of  the  K.  P.  Tie  is 
an  attendant  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


231 


On  January  i,  1857,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Julia  E.  Martin,  who  died  on  April  g,  1872. 
They  had  three  children,  Gertrude  Eliza,  Helen 
Adeline  and  Jessie  Fremont.  On  November  13, 
1874,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Kate  Martin,  his 
present  wife. 


ALFRED  EDGAR  WALKER. 

Alfred  Edgar  Walker,  M.  D.,  of  Duluth,  is 
the  son  of  George  Walker,  a  farmer  of  London, 
Ontario,  a  local  magistrate  for  twenty  years,  and 
a  leading  citizen  of  his  community.  His  wife's 
maiden  name  was  Sarah  Anne  Morden,  whose 
grandparents  were  Loyalists,  and  who,  after  the 
Revolutionary  War  crossed  over  from  Detroit 
and  went  up  the  river  Thames  settling  near  Chat- 
ham. George  Walker  was  born  in  England,  of 
Scottish  parentage,  a  son  of  a  west  of  England 
manufacturer.  He  came  to  Canada  early  in  his 
teens,  and  with  two  elder  brothers  and  two  sisters 
located  at  what  was  then  called  "Muddy  York," 
now  Toronto.  His  next  older  brother,  Robert, 
established  "The  Golden  Lion,''  a  dry  goods 
store  which  became  famous  throughout  the  whole 
region,  and  out  of  which  the  founder  produced 
an  estate  of  over  a  million  dollars.  Robert  Walker 
was  also  the  first  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Methodist  Society  in  Canada,  and  one  of  the 
founders  of  Methodism  in  the  Dominion.  A 
marble  statue  of  him  adorns  the  Carleton  Street 
Methodist  Church  in  Toronto.  Alfred  Edgar 
Walker  was  born  in  London  township,  County  of 
Middlesex,  December  3,  1862.  He  received  his 
education  in  the  neighboring  township  school  and 
passed  from  there  into  the  collegiate  institute  at 
the  age  of  sixteen.  P'or  three  years  he  walked 
four  miles  to  school,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
passed  his  examination  for  a  license  as  a  teacher. 
He  also  attended  a  model  training  school  for 
teachers,  and  in  a  class  of  thirty-six  came  out 
first  in  a  final  examination  and  secured  a  certifi- 
cate good  for  three  years.  Dr.  Walker  taught 
school  for  four  years,  1882  to  1886,  in 
order  to  earn  sufficient  funds  to  enable  him  to 
take  a  course  of  medicine  for  whicli  he  had  a 
preference.  He  entered  the  Western  LTniversity 
medical  department  in  1886,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  years,  and  spent  three  years  in  that  insti- 
tution, passing  with  honors  each  year.      Li  the 


^■^ 

1 

J 

1 

1 

1 

V^ 

1 

1 

fall  of   1889  he   went    to    Bcllevue,   New  York, 
from  which  place  he  graduated  in  1890,  returned 
home  by  way  of  Toronto  and  passed  examination 
there  for  member  of  the  College  of  Physicians 
and   Surgeons.       When   he   returned   home    his 
father  had  his  location  selected  for  him,  but  he 
had  determined  to  come  West,  and  after  a  two 
months'  visit  at  home  he  started  for  Duluth.     It 
was  while  he  was  in  New  York  that  the  geograph- 
ical location  of  that  city  had  attracted  his  atten- 
tion, and  he  determined  to  make  it  his  home  if 
the  condition  of  things  there  appeared  altogether 
favorable.    He  was  especially  fortunate  in  obtain- 
ing sufficient  professional  work  almost  from  the 
start  to  make  his  business  profitable.     He    was 
able  to  earn  his  expenses  by  the  third  month  and 
has  Iniilt  up  a  profitable  and  thrifty  practice.     He 
is  more  than  satisfied  with  his  choice  of  a  location 
and  has  been  exceedingly  successful  in  his  treat- 
ment  of   fevers   during   the    rage   of   typhoid   in 
that    city.       Dr.    Walker   is    a    member    of   the 
American    Medical    Association,    the  ^linnesota 
Medical  Society,  and  the  .St.  Louis  County  Medi- 
cal Society,  and  one  of  the  charter  members  of 
the  Interurban  Academy  of  Medicine  for  Duluth 
and  .Superior;  of  the  Duluth  Boat  Club,  the  I.  O. 
O.  F.,  and  is  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason.    He 
was   married   August    15,    1895.   to   Miss  Adella 
Shores,  of  Ashland,  Wisconsin,  eldest  daughter 
of  E.  A.  .Sbores. 


232 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JOSEPH  BUBLETER. 

Joseph  Bobleter.  a  resident  of  St.  Paul, 
was  state  treasurer  of  Minnesota  for  eight  years. 
The  man  who  held  this  important  position  of 
trust  for  so  long  a  time  is  a  native  of  Austria. 
He  was  born  at  Dornbirn,  April  19,  1846.  His 
father  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1852, 
finally  located  near  New  Ulm,  Minnesota,  in 
1856,  where  he  resided  at  the  time  of  the  Indian 
massacre  in  1862.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  came 
to  this  country  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  in  March, 
1858,  and  located  at  Dubuque,  Iowa.  He  enjoyed 
only  such  educational  advantages  as  the  connnon 
schools  afforded,  and  while  \et  a  lad  was  thrown 
upon  his  own  resources.  While  attending  school 
he  worked  for  his  board  and  clothing  until 
September  15,  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the 
army  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  .Mr.  Bobleter  served 
first  in  the  Thirteenth  Inited  States  Infantry. 
then  for  a  time  in  the  navy,  and  finally  was 
enlisted  in  the  .Second  Iowa  Cavalry,  from  which 
he  received  his  final  discharge  in  .September, 
1865.  He  re-enlisted,  however,  December  3, 
1863,  in  his  old  regiment,  the  Thirteenth  I'nited 
States  Infantry  and  served  until  Noveml)er.  1868, 
when  he  left  the  army  and  located  at  New  Ulm, 
Minnesota.  While  in  the  navy,  ^fr.  Bobleter 
served  on  Admiral  Porter's  flag  ship,  the  "I'lack- 


hawk,"  participating  in  the  Red  River  e.xpedi- 
tion  in  1864,  and,  after  General  Banks'  defeat  at 
Pleasant  Hill,  was  one  of  the  detachment  of  forty- 
five  to  carry  dispatches  to  Admiral  Porter,  who 
had  preceded  the  land  forces  toward  Shreveport, 
about  eight}'  miles.  The  dispatch  boat  was  badly 
used  up  and  came  near  being  captured  before 
Porter's  fleet  was  reached,  seven  of  the  detach- 
ment being  kille<l  and  twelve  wounded.  Mr. 
Bobleter  participated  in  a  number  of  skirmishes 
while  in  the  Thirteenth  United  States  Infantry 
and  Second  Iowa  Cavalry.  He  went  into  the  drug 
Inisiness  in  New  Ulm  in  1869,  and  conducted  a 
drug  store  until  the  summer  of  1883.  In  1878, 
while  a  resident  of  New  I'lm,  he  established  the 
New  Ulm  Review,  which  he  edited  and  pub- 
lished until  1887.  Mr.  Bobleter  has  always  been 
a  strong  Republican,  and  has  been  honored  by 
his  party  with  numerous  responsible  positions. 
He  was  made  postmaster  at  New  Ulm  from 
1873  to  18S6.  In  1883  he  was  elected  to  the 
lower  house  of  the  legislature,  and  in  1886  was 
elected  state  treasurer,  to  which  office  he  was 
re-elected  in  1888,  1890  and  i8i;2,  serving  m  that 
respimsilile  office  for  eight  years.  During  his 
administration  of  the  treasurer's  office  the  state 
debt  was  refunded  at  a  consideralily  lower  rate 
of  interest.  During  the  year  of  1894  he  invested 
over  a  million  dollars  of  the  permanent  funds 
of  the  state  in  bonds  of  the  states  of  Tennessee 
and  Alabama,  which  have  since  proved  to  be  a 
very  good  investment,  the  bonds  having  greatly 
advanced  in  price  since  the  i:)urchase.  He  had 
nearly  three  million  five  hundretl  thousand 
dollars  in  cash  in  banks  during  the  panic  ot 
1893,  for  which  he  was  persnnall\-  respon- 
sible. Mr.  Bobleter  has  always  taken  an 
active  interest  in  the  National  Guard  of  the 
.State  of  Minnesota,  and  from  May,  1874,  to  1878, 
maintained  the  only  military  company  in  the 
state.  He  was  commissioned  colonel  of  the 
.Second  Regiment  of  the  Natinnal  ( iuard  of  .Min- 
nesota, February  27,  1883,  which  commission  he 
still  holds,  being  the  oldest  member  in  jioint  of 
service  in  the  state  militia.  1  'rior  tn  tlic  conclusion 
of  his  term  of  office,  in  1894,  i\lr.  Bobleter  be- 
came identified  with  the  Cohunbia  National  Bank 
of  Minneapolis,  of  which  institution  he  is  now 
the  cashier.  He  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R., 
Ancient   Order  of  I'nited   Workmen.    Sons    of 


I'ROCRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


233 


Hermann,  and  of  five  Masonic  liotlies,  and  is 
captain-general  of  tin-  Damascus  Commandery, 
No.  I,  Knights  Templar,  St.  I'anl.  He  married 
Mary  Schneider,  September  5,  1879.  They  have 
had  eight  children,  of  whom  five  are  living. 


JOIIX  C(.)XRAD  ()S\VALI). 

Mr.  Oswald  has  been  a  resident  of  Minneapo- 
lis and  a  merchant  in  that  city  since  1857.  He  is 
a  native  of  Switzerland  and  was  liorn  in  Oberaach, 
Canton  Thurgau,  May  20,  1824.  His  father, 
Jacob  Oswald,  was  a  stock  raiser  and  trader  in 
Oberaach.  John  Conrad  attended  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  village  nntil  the  age  of  six- 
teen, when  he  was  apprenticed  in  a  cotton  manu- 
factory, and  after  two  years'  employment  his  in- 
dustry and  aptness  were  rewarded  by  his  appoint- 
ment as  overseer.  He  retained  that  position  until 
May,  1847,  when  he  came  to  America.  In  Octo- 
ber of  that  year  he  was  appointed  the  agent  of  a 
large  tract  of  land  in  West  X'irginia.  It  was  a 
wild  region,  the  land  was  unimproved  and  the 
localitv  afforded  none  of  the  comforts  and  con- 
veniences of  life  to  which  he  had  been  accus- 
tomed. Nevertheless  he  look  the  agency  of  the 
land,  and  also  opened  and  conrlucted  a  country 
store,  remaining  in  that  business  for  ten  years. 
He  then  sold  out  and  came  to  Minneapolis, 
whither  the  brother  of  liis  wife,  and  former  em- 
ployer, had  already  preceded  him.  In  connection 
with  his  brother,  Henry  ( )swald,  he  opened  a  gen- 
eral store  in  North  Minneapolis,  but  in  June  of 
the  following  year,  1858,  he  purchased  his  broth- 
er's interest  and  removed  his  stock  of  goods  to 
the  old  land  office  buildings  in  lo\\'er  town.  In 
the  spring  of  1859  Mathias  Nothaker  was  taken 
into  partnership,  and  tliat  firm  continued  in  busi- 
ness until  March,  1862,  when  bcjth  members  sold 
out.  Soon  after  that  Mr.  Oswald  purchased  a 
farm  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  city,  a  tract 
which  is  now  known  as  ISryn  Alawr.  Previous 
to  this,  in  1858,  in  company  with  Godfrey  Scheit- 
lin,  Mr.  Oswald  had  experimented  in  the  niaim- 
facture  of  native  fruit  wine.  The  experiment 
proved  a  great  success,  and  in  1862  they  built  a 
wine  cellar  on  the  farm,  and  from  that  time  manu- 
factured wine  extensively.  In  1862  and  1803  he 
undertook  to  raise  tobacco  and  made  a  success 


of  it  for  two  years,  but  the  crop  was  destroyed  by 
frost  in  August,  1863,  and  the  attempt  was  never 
repeated.  In  May,  1866,  Mr.  tJswald  established 
a  wholesale  wine  and  licjuor  store  in  connection 
with  the  native  wine  manufactory.  In  1868 
Theophil  Basting  entered  into  partnership  with 
Mr.  Oswald,  and  is  still  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Oswald  &  Co.  Mr.  Oswald  has  always  taken  an 
active  interest  in  public  affairs.  In  1863  he  was 
appointed  captain  in  the  Thirtieth  regiment  of  the 
state  militia  by  Governor  Henry  A.  Swift,  and  in 
Septemljcr  of  the  following  year  was  appointed 
major  of  the  same  regiment  by  Governor  I^Iiller. 
He  has  always  been  actively  identified  with  com- 
mercial and  industrial  enterprises  of  a  public 
nature.  He  has  served  as  director  in  the  ^linne- 
apolis  &  St.  Louis  railway,  and,  also,  in  the  Min- 
neapolis, Sault  Ste.  Marie  &  Atlantic  railway.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  park  Ijoard, 
but  being  about  to  depart  for  Europe  he  resigned. 
In  1887  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate,  and  is 
now  a  member  of  the  courthouse  and  city  hall 
commission.  On  August  12,  1847,  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  Mr.  Oswald  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Ursula  Scheitlin.  Nine  children  have 
been  liorn  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oswald,  four  of  whom 
are  still  living.  The  eldest,  Mathilda,  is  now  the 
wife  of  ]Mr.  Basting.  Elizabeth,  married  Floyd 
!\f.  Larawav,  and  Emma  is  the  wife  of  William  L. 
O'Brien.     Bertha  M..  is  unmarried. 


234 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


FRANK     GRIGGS     .McAIILLAX. 

Frank  Griggs  McMillan  is  a  resident  of  the 
City  of  Minneapolis,  and  one  of  those  whose 
energy,  enterprise,  and  public  spirit  have  given  to 
the  "Flour  City"  her  enviable  reputation.  He 
was  born  in  Danville,  Caledonia  County,  \"er- 
mont,  October  4,  1856.  His  father,  Colonel 
Andrew  ^McMillan,  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point, 
but  resigned  his  commission  to  engage  in  com- 
mercial business.  The  family  is  descended  from 
Colonel  Andrew  Mc^Iillan,  of  Ulster,  Ireland, 
who  emigrated  to  America  in  the  year  1755.  One 
of  his  sons.  General  John  McMillan,  was  the 
grandfather  of  F.  G.  i\TcMillan.  At  an  early 
age,  Mr.  McMillan  started  in  life  for  him- 
self as  a  printer,  serving  an  apprentice- 
ship in  the  old  North  Star  ofSce  in  Danville,  \'er- 
mont,  and  later  as  a  journeyman  in  Boston.  In 
1878,  because  of  impaired  health,  he  came  West, 
settling  in  Minneapolis,  where  he  worked  success- 
fully as  a  printer,  carpenter  and  millwright.  In 
a  very  short  time  Mr.  McMillan  had  worked  into 
the  business  of  contracting,  and  to-<lay  stands  at 
the  head  of  the  long  list  of  .Mimu-apnlis  builders 
and  contractors  whose  reputation  is  unblemished 
and  whose  capacity  in  their  business  is  inuiues- 
tioned.  Many  f)f  the  finest  buildings  and  resi- 
dences of  the  city  bear  evidence  to  his  taste  in 
designing    and    skill    in    executing.     Mr.     Mc- 


Millan in  1890  was  nominated  as  the  Dem- 
ocratic candidate  for  State  Senator  from  his 
own,  a  strongly  Republican,  district  in  Minne- 
apolis, and  was  elected  by  a  handsome  majority. 
He  soon  proved  himself  to  be  one  of  the  most 
efficient  men  of  that  body,  being  active,  con- 
scientious, and  yet  conservative,  his  worth  being 
immediately  recognized  by  his  appointment  to  the 
chairmanship  of  the  Committee  on  Elections,  the 
Committee  on  University  and  University  Lands, 
and  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Geological  and  Natural  History  Survey,  Grain 
and  Pnl^lic  Warehouse,  Manufactories,  ^Military 
Affairs  and  State's  Prison.  He  was  author  of  a 
resolution  calling  for  a  committee  to  investigate 
and  report  to  the  Senate  as  to  site,  plans,  cost, 
etc.,  of  a  new  Capitol  Building.  Being  made 
chairman  of  that  committee,  he  drew  the  bill 
providing  for  the  erection  of  the  new  Capitol 
Building,  which  bill  became  a  law.  Under  its 
provisions  a  magnificent  site  has  been  secured, 
plans  have  already  been  adopted,  and  foundation 
walls  laid  ready  for  the  superstructure.  Mr.  Mc- 
Millan was  identified  with  a  great  deal  of  import- 
ant legislation  during  his  four  years' term.  Among 
other  important  measures  introduced  orsupported 
bv  him  were  the  Australian  ballot  law,  a  bill  known 
as  the  corrupt  practices  act  to  limit  expenditures 
in  elections,  a  primary  election  law.  a  bill  to  es- 
tablish school  savings  banks,  a  bill  providing  for 
the  separation  of  municipal  from  general  elec- 
tions, an  amendment  to  the  constitution  prohib- 
iting special  legislation,  a  bill  providing  that  no 
franchises  to  occupy  public  streets  should  be 
granted  to  private  corporations  by  any  city  with- 
out adequate  compensation.  ^Ir.  McMillan  has 
always  belonged  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  has 
taken  great  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Hennepin 
County  Democratic  League,  of  which  he  is  Vice 
President,  and  of  the  State  Democratic  Associa- 
tion, in  which  he  has  been  an  efficient  officer. 
Last  winter  Mr.  McMillan  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Park  Commissioners  of  Min- 
neapolis, an  important  and  responsible  position 
in  that  city  of  parks  and  bnulevards.  He 
is  a  director  and  member  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  President 
of  the  Vermont  Association  of  Minnesota. 
Mr.  McMillan  married  in  1881,  Miss  Lillian 
Connor,  a  native  of  Minneapolis,  and  now  has  a 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


235 


family  of  four  children.  The  family  is  attached 
to  the  First  Congregational  church  of  Min- 
neapolis, of  which  he  is  a  member  and  trustee. 
Mr.  McMillan  is  a  gentleman  who  is  held  in 
high  regard  by  his  fellow  townsmen  and  has  won 
for  himself  an  honorable  and  enviable  standing 
as   citizen  of  his  citv  and  state. 


JOHN  CLAGGETT  WISE. 

John  Claggett  Wise,  of  Mankato,  is  one  of 
the  pioneer  newspai)er  men  of  the  Northwest.  He 
was  born  September  4,  1834,  at  Hagerstown, 
Maryland,  the  son  of  Richard  and  Sarah  Cline 
(Wise.)  Richard  Wise  was  a  contractor  and 
builder,  in  comfortable  financial  circumstances, 
and  traces  his  ancestry  to  the  first  settlers,  known 
as  the  Lord  Baltimore  colony.  ]\Irs.  Wise's  par- 
ents were  of  German  birth.  John  Claggett  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  private  schools  and 
academies,  until  about  thirteen  years  of  age.  There 
were  uo  free  schools  in  JNlaryland  at  that  period. 
About  that  time  he  was  apprenticed  in  a  printing 
office,  and  was  so  occupied  for  four  years.  He 
published  his  first  paper  in  Maryland  in  1852;  was 
then  employed  in  the  Congressional  Globe  office 
at  Washington  for  two  years,  and  early  in  the 
spring  of  1855  he  came  West  and  located  at  Supe- 
rior, Wisconsin,  where,  with  \\'ashington  Ashton, 
also  a  native  of  Maryland,  Mr.  Wise  established 
the  first  newspaper  printed  at  the  head  of  Lake 
Superior.  In  1858  he  sold  his  interest  to  his 
partner,  and  the  following  spring  moved  to  ]\Ian- 
kato,  Minnesota,  where  he  established  the  W^eekly 
Record,  which  he  edited  and  publisheii  until  the 
fall  of  1868,  when  he  sold  it.  During  this  period 
occurred  the  Indian  war  and  the  famous  Sioux 
massacre,  and  Mankato  became  luilitary  head- 
quarters. May  25,  1869,  in  partnership  with  E. 
C.  Payne,  Mr.  Wise  estaJDlished  the  Weekly  Re- 
view, buying  out  his  partner  a  year  later.  IMr. 
Wise  has  been  engaged  in  the  business  of  publish- 
ing the  Review  to  the  present  time,  having  had 
since  September  12,  1892,  a  daily  edition,  which 
has  been  successfully  maintained.  In  politics  ^Ir. 
Wise  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  been  honored  by 
his  party  on  various  occasions.  In  1872  he  was 
a  delegate  from  ^Minnesota  to  the  convention 
which  nominated  Horace  Greele\',  and  in  1884  to 
the  Chicago  convention  which  nominated  Mr. 
Cleveland,  serving  as  a  member  of  the    platform 


committee  in  the  latter  convention.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  ct)mmission  appointed  by  Gov- 
ernor IMarshall,  in  1867,  to  collect  and  distribute 
aid  to  the  frontier  settlers  whose  crops  were  de- 
stroyed by  hail,  and  in  1875  '^^'^^  appointed  by 
Governor  Davis  on  the  commission  to  investi- 
gate and  report  on  means  to  prevent  the  devasta- 
tion of  crops  by  grasshoppers.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Mankato  board  of  education  for 
six  years,  and  was  for  two  years  president  of  the 
board.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Mankato 
l)oard  of  trade  for  twenty-two  years,  and  sensed 
one  year  as  president.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
first  board  of  village  trustees  of  Mankato,  in  1865, 
and  was  appointed  postmaster  in  1885  by  Mr. 
Cleveland.  He  served  but  one  year,  but  was  re- 
appointed in  May,  1894,  and  now  holds  that 
office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
and  for  thirty  years  has  been  a  Knight  Templar. 
He  was  married  September,  1857,  to  Amanda 
Flory,  of  Clear  Spring,  Maryland,  and  of  seven 
children  born  to  them  five  are  living.  Charles  E., 
lohn  C,  Jr.,  Catharine,  wife  of  Edgar  Weaver, 
Helen  E.  and  Flory  E.  Mr.  Wise's  sons  are  as- 
sociated with  him  in  the  publishing  business  un- 
der the  firm  name  of  John  C.  Wise  &  Sons.  Mr. 
Wise  may  be  described  as  a  self-made  man,  his 
success  having  been  the  result  of  his  own  efforts, 
and  he  has  been  honorably  associated  in  the  his- 
torv  of  Miimesota  for  thirtv-seven  vears. 


23(5 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


THOMAS  BLYTHE  SCOTT. 

Thomas  Blythe  Scott  is  an  investment 
banker  in  St.  Paul.  .Mr.  Scott  is  a  native  of  \\  is- 
consin,  having  been  born  at  Grand  Rapids,  in 
that  state.  November  i,  1863.  He  is  of  Scottish 
and  English  ancestry,  his  father,  Thomes  Bl\the 
Scott,  having  been  bom  in  Scotland  in  1S28. 
He  came  to  this  country  in  1836,  spent  his  boy- 
hood in  New  York  state,  and  in  the  early  '50's 
removed  to  the  state  of  Wisconsin  where  he 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business.  During  his 
residence  in  that  state  he  was  connected  with 
all  the  ])rincii)al  financial  operations  which  were 
carried  on  in  the  Wisconsm  \'alley.  and  assisted 
in  building  the  Wisconsin  \'alley  railroad,  which 
has  since  become  a  part  of  the  Chicago,  Milwau- 
kee &  St.  Paul  system.  He  was  president  of  the 
First  National  Bank,  of  Grand  Rapids,  Wiscon- 
sin, and  for  a  number  of  years  was  prominent  in 
the  politics  of  the  state.  He  served  his  district 
as  state  senat<jr  for  twelve  years.  About  1880 
he  removed  with  his  family  to  Merrill,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  founded  the  T.  B.  Scott  Lumber  Com- 
pany, which  is  still  in  operation,  and  of  which 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  secretary  and  treas- 
urer. He  also  engaged  in  banking  there  and 
founded  the  First  National  Bank  of  that  city. 
He  died  August  7,  1886,  leaving  his  family  in 
comfortable  circumstances.     His  wife,  Ann  Eliza 


(Scott),  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  but  of  En- 
glish descent,  her  parents  having  come  to  Grand 
Rapids,  Wisconsin,  about  the  same  time  that  her 
husband's  family  located  there.  Thomas  Blythe 
Scott,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  lived  in  Grand 
Rapids  until  1875,  wben  his  parents  moved  to 
Evanston,  Illinois,  to  provide  him  and  their 
other  children  with  the  educational  advantages 
there  afforded.  He  entered  the  preparatory  school 
of  the  Northwestern  University,  and  in  1880  went 
to  the  Pennsylvania  ^lilitary  Academy,  at  Ches- 
ter, Pennsylvania,  and  was  there  one  year.  The 
following  year  he  went  to  Boston,  where  he  en- 
gaged a  private  tutor  and  prepared  for  Harvard. 
He  was  admitted  on  examination,  but  at  the  last 
moment  changed  his  mind  and  went  to  Yale, 
where  he  entered  the  class  of  1886,  but  only 
stayed  a  few  months,  leaving  on  account  of  sick- 
ness. The  next  year  he  entered  Harvard  Col- 
lege with  the  class  of  1887.  !Mr.  Scott  was 
a  good  student,  but  this  did  not  pre- 
vent him  from  taking  a  prominent  part 
in  athletics,  and  being  a  member  of  his  class 
teams.  He  was  also  a  member  of  Beta  Theta 
Pi  and  the  Institute  of  1770.  In  the  spring 
of  1886,  in  his  junior  year,  he  was  obliged  to 
leave  college  because  of  the  illness  of  his  father, 
who  died  the  following  August.  Immediately 
following  his  father's  death  Mr.  Scott  went  to 
Iowa  and  took  charge  of  a  ranch  which  his 
father  had  in  Franklin  County,  and  engaged  in 
farming  and  the  cattle  industry,  where  he  re- 
mained until  the  spring  of  i88o.  During  his  resi- 
dence in  Iowa  he  took  some  part  in  local  and  state 
politics,  but  he  was  never  an  office  holder,  and 
has  never  striven  to  become  one.  He  was  a 
delegate  from  Ramsey  County  to  the  National 
Republican  League  convention  at  Cleveland  in 
1895.  He  married  Mary  E.  Clare,  at  Nashville,, 
Tennessee,  June  5,  1889,  and  came  to  Minnesota 
September  i,  of  that  year.  He  soon  aftcnvard 
began  to  deal  in  investment  securities  and  con- 
tinued in  that  business  until  March,  1895.  Mr. 
Scott  is  identified  with  a  number  of  important 
commercial  and  financial  institutions.  He  is 
]M-esident  of  the  Northern  Exchange  Bank,  of  St. 
Paul,  is  a  director  of  the  Merchants'  National 
Bank,  of  that  city,  of  the  Life  Insurance  Clearing 
Society,  and  the  Edison  Electric  Light  and  Power 
Companw      Tie  is   a   member  of  the   l\rinncsota 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


237 


CIuIj.  the  Commercial  Club,  the  Town  and 
County  Club,  and  the  Nushka  Club,  of  St.  Paul. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Scott  have  one  child,  Ann  Lee, 
about  two  years  old.  They  are  regular  attend- 
ants of  the  House  of  Hope  Presbyterian  Church, 
of  St.  Paul. 


JUHX  PETERSON. 

John  Peterson,  of  St.  Peter,  is  a  type  of  the 
sticcessful  Swedish-American  citizen  of  Minne- 
sota. He  was  born  in  the  province  of  \  erni- 
land,  Sweden,  on  July  6,  ICS41.  His  parents, 
Peter  and  Carrie  Johnson,  were  people  of  strong 
character  and  earnest  Christians.  Although  a 
farmer  in  poor  circumstances,  Mr.  Johnson  man- 
aged to  give  his  son  a  fair  education  and  taught 
him  the  value  of  integrity.  Upon  his  graduation 
from  the  public  schools  the  young  man  followed 
for  several  years  the  trade  of  mechanic  and 
builder,  and  was  soon  promoted  to  the  position 
of  superintendent  of  the  construction  of  rail- 
road bridges  on  the  governmental  railways  of 
Sweden.  In  the  spring  of  1869  he  emigrated  to 
the  United  States  and  settled  in  the  Minnesota 
valley  at  St.  Peter,  where  he  still  lives.  He 
commenced  at  the  bottom.  His  first  dollar 
earned  in  this  state  was  as  a  grader  on  the  new 
railroad — then  the  St.  Paul  &  Sioux  City — now 
a  part  of  the  Northwestern  system.  He  also 
worked  on  the  farms  in  the  vicinity  during  the 
harvest  of  1869.  P)Ut  the  railroad  work  offered 
an  attractive  field.  His  acquaintance  with  rail- 
road matters  in  the  old  country  fitted  Mr.  Peter- 
son for  taking  an  active  part  in  construction. 
He  soon  commenced  operations  as  sub-con- 
tractor on  the  Winona  &  St.  Peter  railroad,  and 
in  1871  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  C.  J. 
Larson  &  Co.,  which  until  its  dissolution  in 
1888  took  a  most  active  part  in  the  construction 
of  the  railway  systems  of  the  Northwest.  In 
1886  Mr.  Peterson  entered  into  a  partnership 
with  Fred.  Widell,  of  Mankato,  and  for  several 
years  engaged  in  stone  quarrying  and  building. 
He  has  also  been  connected  with  extensive  farm- 
ing operations  in  Northeastern  Nebraska  and 
with  the  iron  interests  in  the  northern  part  of 
Minnesota.  He  believes  that  the  iron  industry 
will  shortly  be  the  chief  contributor  to  the  wealth 
of  the  state.    During:  his  active  career,  ^Ir.  Peter- 


son has  held  many  positions  of  trust  and  has 
given  evidence  of  ability  and  devotion  to  the 
interests  of  his  constituents.  In  political  faith 
he  has  always  been  a  Republican.  I'rom  1881 
to  1896  he  was  a  meml.)er  of  the  city  council 
of  St.  Peter,  and  for  two  years  was  its  president. 
For  several  years  he  has  been  a  director  of  the 
Nicollet  County  Piank.  He  is  president  of  the 
Northwestern  Publishing  Company,  of  .St.  Paul. 
As  a  delegate  to  numerous  congressional  and 
state  conventions  Mr.  Peterson  has  exercised 
considerable  influence.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  congressional  committee  of  his  district, 
and  in  the  fall  of  i8()4  he  was  elected  state  sen- 
ator, winning  a  brilliant  victory  over  the  regular 
Democratic  and  an  independent  Republican  can- 
didate. He  was  twice  appointed  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  State  Hospitals  for 
the  Insane  by  Gov.  ]\Ierriam  and  once  by  Gov. 
Nelson.  Mr.  Peterson  has  taken  a  special  in- 
terest in  educational  matters,  and  has  been  a 
member  of  the  building  conmiittee,  treasurer  and 
director  of  the  Gustavus  Adolphus  College  of 
.St.  Peter  since  its  establishment.  Since  1874  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Swedish  Lutheran 
church,  during  which  period  he  has  also  served 
as  a  member  of  the  church  council.  In  1873  he 
married  Frederica  Elizabeth  Lundberg.  They 
have  seven  children,  Agnes  L..  Adolph  C,  Ber- 
nard R.,  Hjalmar  N.,  Mabel  F.  C.  A'ernan  J.  C, 
and  L.  Russell  F. 


238 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WALTF.K  PETZET. 

Walter  Eriedrich  Leopold  Max  Petzet, 
since  he  has  become  a  practical  business-like 
American,  simply  signs  himself  Walter  Petzet. 
His  father,  Georg  Christian  Petzet,  is 
editor-in-chief  of  the  Allgemeine  Zeitung,  in 
Munich.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  fine  liter- 
ary and  artistic  attainemnts,  a  graduate  of 
the  universities  at  Leipsic  and  Munich  and  for 
the  past  thirty  years  an  editor  and  publisher  of 
wide  influence  in  southern  Germany.  Walter 
Petzet's  mother,  before  her  marriage,  was  \'alesca 
Krause,  daughter  of  an  officer  in  the  Prussian 
Army.  She  was  descended  from  an  aristocratic 
family  who  held  an  influential  position  in  the 
Prussian  court  and  a  high  rank  in  the  Prussian 
Army;  in  fact,  I\lr.  Petzet's  grandmother  on  his 
mother's  side  was  a  von  Foris  et  Valois,  from 
that  celebrated  I'rench  family  which  gave  France 
several  kings.  Her  grandparents  were  among 
the  persecuted  ETugenots,  who  were  obliged  to 
leave  France  and  make  their  home  in  Prussia 
under  Frederick  the  (Ireat.  Walter  Petzet  was 
born  October  lo,  1866,  at  I'.reslan.  lie  received 
the  educational  training  regarded  as  necessary 
in  cultured  Cerman  families.  He  attended  the 
gymnasium  in  I'.rcslau  and  also  in  Augsburg, 
and  later  took  lectures  at  the  Munich  I'nivcrsity. 
In  1882  he  entered  the  Munich  Royal  Academy 


of  Music  where  he  studied  counter-point  and 
composition  with  Joseph  Rhineberger,  score 
reading  and  conducting  with  Ludwig  Abel; 
piano  with  Joseph  ( lichrl.  and  graduated  at  the 
head  of  his  class,  in  1886.  In  1885,  while  a 
student,  he  was  awarded  a  special  diploma  for 
excellence  in  piano  playing,  the  only  one  granted 
at  that  place  for  three  years.  ^lany  of  his  com- 
positions were  brought  out  while  he  was  study- 
ing at  that  conservatory,  and  when  he  was  only 
eighteen  years  of  age  he  played  a  concerto  with 
orchestra,  of  his  own  composition,  in  public. 
After  leaving  the  conservatory  he  went  in  1887 
to  Frankfurt  to  study  with  Hans  von  Bulow. 
About  this  time  IMr.  Petzet  was  induced  to  come 
to  America,  and  in  the  fall  of  1887  he  arrived  in 
the  United  States.  He  spent  the  first  three  years 
in  Minneapolis,  being  attached  part  of  the  time 
to  the  Northwestern  Conservatory  of  Music.  In 
1890  he  accepted  a  position  in  the  Chicago  Musi- 
cal College  at  double  the  salary  he  had  been  re- 
ceiving in  IMinneapolis,  remained  there  for  about 
a  year,  and  in  i8gi  went  to  New  York  Citv  on 
a  two  years'  contract  as  first  teacher  of  advanced 
classes  in  piano  and  theor\-  at  the  Schanvenka 
Conservatory.  He  declined  further  engagement 
with  that  institution  and  devoted  a  year  to  com- 
posing and  practicing,  giving  but  few  private 
lessons.  In  1894  he  was  engaged  as  director 
iif  the  ^Musical  r)e])artment  of  the  Planning 
College  in  [Minneapolis,  but  has  recently  with- 
drawn from  that  institution  and  is  engaged 
as  a  private  teacher  of  the  piano,  ^fr.  Petzet 
has  re-visited  his  old  home  since  he  came 
to  America,  and  in  fact  has  crossed  the  ocean 
nine  times.  On  one  of  these  trips,  on  August 
23.  1889,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Antonie 
Abel,  daughter  of  one  of  his  early  instructors, 
the  celebrated  vinlinist,  Prof.  Ludwig  Abel,  con- 
cert master  of  the  Ba\-arian  Court  Orchestra  and 
inspector  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Music  in 
Munich.  ^Ir.  and  .Mrs.  Petzet  have  one  child, 
FIva  Leonore  Susannc,  born  August  4,  i8<)i,  in 
Miuiich.  Prof.  Petzet  has  devoted  considerable 
time  tn  nnisical  compusition.  His  works  are 
Tuostlv  manuscript  an<I  in  )iarl  large  pieces  for 
orchestra  and  chorus  and  among  them  is  an 
opera.  Several  have  been  piTfurnieil  with  great 
success,  and  his  newest  production,  a  symphonic 
poem,  has   been   accepted   by   the    Philharmonic 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


230 


Orchestra  of  Munich,  which  is  in  itself  a  rare 
honor.  His  published  compositions  include 
songs,  piano  and  chamber  music,  and  choruses, 
and  have  been  brought  out  in  Boston,  Cincin- 
nati, in  Leipsic,  lierlin  and  X'ienna. 


ENOS  MILO  RICKER. 

The  frontier  journalist  is  a  product  of  circum- 
stances. An  example  of  the  evolution  of  one  of 
the  newspaper  men  of  this  class  is  found  in  the 
career  of  Enos  M.  Ricker,  editor  of  the  Hubbard 
County  Enterprise,  of  Park  Rapids,  Minnesota. 
Against  many  odds  and  through  all  sorts  of  diffi- 
culties Mr.  Ricker  has  struggled  to  that  most 
onerous  but  at  the  same  time  most  independent 
position  the  editorship  of  a  good  country  news- 
paper. In  Mr.  Ricker's  case  it  was  an  instance  of 
Yankee  shrewdness  united  with  Western  enter- 
prise and  persistency.  His  father,  Hazen  Ricker, 
was  a  native  of  \ermont.  He  learned  the  shoe- 
maker's trade,  and  after  working  at  it  for  several 
years,  came  West  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  How- 
ard County,  Iowa.  This  was  in  1856.  Mr. 
Ricker  had,  before  leaving  New  England,  united 
his  fortunes  with  those  of  a  New  Hampshire  girl. 
Miss  Elizabeth  I.  Cutting.  They  were  used  to 
the  hard  work  of  New  England  homesteads,  and 
when  they  emigrated  to  the  prairies  of  Iowa  and 
commenced  the  new  kind  of  life  they  brought 
with  them,  and  instilled  into  the  minds  of  their 
children  the  idea  that  success  comes  with  per- 
sistent endeavor.  Mrs.  Ricker  was  a  lineal  de- 
scendant of  Mai-y  Townley,  of  England,  a  niece 
of  the  Duke  of  W^ellington,  who  married  a  man 
beneath  her  in  the  social  scale,  and  came  to 
America  in  early  days.  Young  Enos  was  born 
on  the  farm  in  Iowa,  four  miles  east  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Riceville.  From  childhood  he  was  inured 
to  work,  passing  through  the  various  classes  of 
farm  work  assigned  to  a  lad,  later  finding  a  job 
in  a  meat  market,  carrying  mail  on  a  stage  line, 
clerking  in  a  store  at  Riceville  and  the  postofifice 
at  the  same  place.  He  served  about  three  years' 
apprenticeship  in  a  harness  shop  at  Riceville ;  but 
he  found  that  he  was  not  destined  to  be  a  harness- 
maker.  When  about  sixteen  years  of  age  he 
bought  a  small  card  printing  press  and  a  font  of 
type,  and  at  odd  times  printed  cards  and  small 
jobs.    This  proved  to  his  taste,  and  as  time  went 


on  he  added  to  his  little  office,  gradually  accumu- 
lating type  and  from  time  to  time  changing  for 
a  larger  press,  until  he  had  a  fair  outfit  and  had 
gained  a  knowledge  of  the  printing  trade.  All 
this  time  he  was  working  at  one  or  the  other  of 
the  employments  before  referred  to.  In  the 
meantime  his  father  had  removed  to  Park  Rapids, 
Minnesota.  In  1885  Enos  went  to  Minnesota 
and  remained  for  two  years,  but  in  1887  returned 
to  Riceville  and  bought  the  I-iiceville  Recorder. 
He  remained  as  editor  and  publisher  of  the  paper 
until  1890,  when  he  decided  to  become  perma- 
nently a  citizen  of  Minnesota,  and  moved  to  Park 
Rapids,  where  he  took  up  land  under  the  home- 
stead law.  A  year  later  he  leased  the  Hubbard 
P)Ulletin.  published  in  the  village  of  Hubbard, 
and  published  it  for  eleven  months.  On  July  i, 
1892,  in  company  with  A.  W.  Page,  he  bought 
the  Hubbard  County  Enterprise.  Later  he  be- 
came sole  proprietor.  Init  after  a  time  took  in  W. 
S.  Eoster  as  partner.  This  partnership  was  dis- 
solved in  April,  1805,  <i"d  shortly  afterwards  the 
firm  of  Davis  &  Taber  became  publishers  of  the 
paper,  Mr.  Ricker  remaining  as  editor  and  busi- 
ness manager.  In  1889  INIr.  Ricker  was  married 
to  Miss  Cora  'SI.  .Suavely,  of  Indiana.  Thev  have 
two  children,  Elsie  and  Bell.  Mr.  Ricker  has 
been  since  boyhood  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church. 


•2+0 


PROGKESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


SAMUEL  A.  LAXGUM. 

The  life  record  of  S.  A.  Languni,  of  Preston, 
newspaper  man  and  politician,  affords  a  good  ex- 
ample for  the  possibilities  which  lie  in  the  path 
of  an  enteq^rising  and  ambitions  \oung  man  in 
a  growing  western  state.  Though  not  yet  forty 
years  of  age,  Mr.  Langum  has  held  a  numljer  of 
positions  of  trust  and  responsibility,  and  has 
reasonable  aspirations  toward  still  higher  things. 
Mr.  Langum's  parents  were  both  born  in  Nor- 
way. His  father,  Andrew  J-  Langum,  came  to 
this  country  in  1855  and  setded  with  his  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Julia  Swenson,  in  L  ill- 
more  County,  where  he  has  since  been  engaged 
in  farming  and  has  achieved  independence.  He 
is  prominently  known  as  a  layman  in  the  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  church,  and  has  traveled  ex- 
tensively among  the  ])eople  of  this  denomina- 
tion doing  missionary  work.  Mr.  and  IVTrs. 
Langum  have  raised  a  family  of  nine  children, 
two  boys  and  seven  girls.  .S.  A.  Langum  was 
born  in  the  tcnvn  of  jjloomfield,  Fillmore 
County,  on  August  18,  1857.  He  first  attended 
school  in  a  little  log  school  house  on  the  banks 
of  the  Root  River,  near  his  home.  The  schools 
of  those  days  in  the  country  districts  of  Minne- 
sota were  not  of  the  be.st  and  the  requirements 
expected  in  a  teacher  were  not  high.  Samuel's 
father  intended  him   for  the   ministry,  and   gave 


him  much  instruction  at  home.  When  he  was 
only  six  years  old  he  could  read  Norwegian  flu- 
ently. At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was  sent  to 
the  JNlarshall  Academy,  Marshall,  Wisconsin,  a 
school  conducted  by  the  Augustana  Synod. 
After  t\\  o  years  this  school  was  discontinued  and 
for  one  year  Sanuiel  studied  Norwegian  liter- 
ature and  theology  with  Rev.  Mr.  Lysness, 
near  Decorah,  Iowa.  He  continued  his  studies 
during  the  next  year  at  Augsburg  Seminary  in 
Minneapolis.  But  he  was  beginning  to  discover 
that  the  ministry  was  not  to  his  taste,  and  after 
a  year  of  school  teaching  he  entered  politics  and 
became  deputy  register  of  deeds  of  Fillmore 
County.  He  held  this  position  for  four  years 
and  in  1880,  when  only  twenty-three  years  of 
age,  was  elected  sheriff  of  Fillmore  County.  He 
was  the  youngest  sheriff  in  the  state  and  the 
first  boy  born  in  Fillmore  County  to  be  elected 
to  a  county  office.  Mr.  Langum  held  the  sheriff's 
office  for  si.x  years.  In  1886  he  purchased  the 
"Preston  Democrat,"  changed  its  politics  from 
Democratic  to  Republican — of  the  stalwart  kind 
and  re-named  it  the  "Preston  Times."  He  is 
still  its  publisher,  and  has  made  the  paper  a 
distinct  success.  It  is  largely  due  to  the  position 
of  the  paper  that  the  move  for  numicipal  im- 
provements has  taken  a  firm  hold  in  Preston, 
which  is  now  the  proud  possessor  of  the  finest 
system  of  water  works  and  electric  lights,  on  the 
municipal  ownership  plan,  of  any  town  of  its 
size  in  .Minnesota,  i'nder  Mr.  Langum's  manage- 
ment and  editorial  directinn  the  Preston  Times  has 
been  very  aggressive  in  politics.  In  December, 
i88y,  Mr.  Langum  was  appointed  deputy  warden 
of  the  i\Tinnesota  State  Prison  at  Stillwater, 
retiring  with  Warden  Randall,  in  February,  1891. 
He  served  in  the  legislature  of  1893,  after  having 
been  electetl  by  a  handsome  majority  over  a 
fusion  candidate  supported  by  Democrats,  Popu- 
lists and  Prohibitionists.  Two  \ears  later  he  was 
elected  secretary  of  the  state  senate,  and  made 
such  a  record  fur  t'fficient  service  that  at  the 
session  of  181)7  'i*-'  "-'^  unanimously  re-elected. 
Mr.  Languni  has  his  eye  on  the  office  of  sccre- 
tarv  of  state  in  1898,  and  is  known  as  an  active 
candidate  for  this  nomination  He  is  a  member 
of  Malta  Commandary  No.  25,  K.  T.,  of  Preston, 
and  has  been  its  recorder  since  its  organization. 
Mr,  Langum  was  married  on  September  14,  1878, 


I'kUGKUSSIVE  MEX  OF  MINNESOTA. 


241 


to  Miss  Emma  ATcColkim,  of  Milwaukee.  They 
have  had  four  children,  Alfred,  William,  .\ora 
and  Winnie,  of  whom  William  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  Langum  is  a  member  of  St.  Paul  X<ir\ves;;ian 
Lutheran  church  of  Preston. 


PLYMPTON  AYERS  WALLING. 

Dr.  P.  A.  Walling  is  a  prominent  physician 
of  Hubbard  County,  and  one  of  many  examples 
of  the  self-made,  successful  Western  man.  His 
early  life  was  surrounded  by  conditions  which 
would  have  discouraged  a  boy  not  possessed  of 
an  unusual  amount  of  pluck  and  determination. 
Born  on  a  Pennsylvania  farm — Columbus,  War- 
ren County — his  father,  Asaph  \Valling,  always  a 
poor  man,  voung  Plympton  found  his  boyhood 
anything  but  easy.  Even  the  school  facilities  of 
the  region  were  scarcely  up  to  the  frontier  grade. 
Lentil  he  was  nine  years  old  Plympton  had  not 
sat  at  a  school  desk.  His  school  seat  was  on  a 
bass  wood  puncheon  set  against  the  wall  of  a 
log  school  house.  Later  on  he  attended  better 
schools,  but  necessai-ily  in  an  intermittent  way 
which  interfered  with  complete  courses  of  study. 
Much  of  his  education  was  obtained  at  home. 
He  was  determined  to  have  an  education  and  he 
secured  it;  but  by  force  of  circumstances  was 
unable  to  graduate  from  any  institution  which  he 
attended.  After  a  term  or  so  at  the  Northwestern 
Normal  School  of  Edinborg,  Pennsylvania,  he 
entered  the  medical  department  of  the  LTniversity 
of  Buffalo,  from  which  he  graduated  on  Febru- 
ary 23,  1876.  Thus,  at  the  age  of  twenty-six, 
Mr.  Walling  found  himself  equipped  for  the 
practice  of  his  chosen  profession.  It  had  been  a 
hard  struggle,  but  it  had  fitted  him  for  the  ex- 
acting and  trying  life  of  a  physician.  He  had 
taught  school  and  "boarded  'round,"  worked  at 
anything  and  ever\thing  which  wnuld  support 
life  and  furnish  funds  for  his  education.  But, 
though  he  stepped  out  of  the  medical  college 
without  a  dollar,  he  had  learned  the  lessons  of 
self-reliance,  independence,  industry-  and  confi- 
dence which  lie  at  the  foundations  of  success. 
When  Dr.  Walling  came  to  ^Minnesota  and  set- 
tled in  Park  Rapids,  in  JMay,  1882,  there  were 
not  fifty  people  in  that  village.  All  the  dis- 
couragements of  pioneer  life  confronted  him. 
Roads,    business,    houses,    railroads,   mails    and 


even  people  were  wanting.  But  Dr.  Walling 
had  cast  his  lot  with  the  young  village  and  he 
stayed — stayed  to  see  a  thriving  town  grow  up 
surrounded  by  fine  farms,  with  good  railroad 
facilities  and  excellent  prospects  for  the  future. 
It  has  been  his  fortune  to  see  public  opinion  re- 
garding the  northern  part  of  the  state  change 
from  an  attitu<le  of  skepticism  regarding  its  value 
to  one  of  open  interest  and  appreciation.  The 
few  pioneers  who  had  courage  to  stake  their  suc- 
cess on  the  excellence  of  the  soil  of  northern 
Afinnesota  are  now  reaping  their  reward.  Dr. 
\\'alling  went  in  for  a  country  practice  and  has 
secured  it — and  the  best  of  its  kind.  He  has 
built  a  pleasant  home  in  Park  Rapids,  been  hon- 
ored by  two  elections  to  the  position  of  coroner, 
and  has  held  since  1883  the  ofifice  of  secretary 
of  the  United  States  Board  of  Examining  sur- 
geons. He  is  a  member  of  the  Minnesota  State 
Medical  Society  and  of  the  American  Medical 
.\ssociation,  and  is  an  occasional  contributor  to 
medical  magazines  and  to  the  literature  of  the 
societies.  ( )n  August  11,  1875,  Dr.  Walling 
and  Airs.  Rosaline  E.  Knowles  were  married  at 
Corry,  Pennsylvania.  They  have  three  children. 
The  eldest,  Jason  Marion,  is  now  eighteen,  and 
is  studying  at  Pillsbury  Academy.  He  intends  to 
practice  medicine.  Iva  Ellen,  aged  fifteen,  and 
Ivan  Elmer,  aged  eleven,  are  at  home  with  their 
parents. 


242 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


TlIEi  )L)(JRE  P..  SHELDON. 

Red  Wing  is  one  of  the  substantial  towns  of 
Alinnesota  and  among  its  most  suljstantial  citi- 
zens is  Theodore  B.  Sheldon,  president  of  the 
P"irst  National  Bank  of  that  place.  Mr.  Sheldon 
located  in  Red  Wing  forty  \ears  ago,  and  has 
been  prominently  identified  with  the  growth  of 
the  city  during  nearly  its  entire  history.  He  was 
born  January  31,  1820,  at  Bernardston,  I'ranklin 
County,  Massachusetts.  His  parents  were  Izatus 
Sheldon,  a  manufacturer  of  boots  and  shoes,  and 
Mary  Pickett  (Sheldon).  His  ancestry,  so  far  as 
he  has  been  able  to  trace  it,  has  lived  in  New 
England.  He  received  a  conunon  school  educa- 
tion, and  in  1S56  removed  to  'Minnesota,  settling 
at  Red  Wing  on  the  third  cif  July.  He  has  been 
a  resident  of  that  place  ever  since.  At  the  age 
of  twelve  years  he  began  to  work  in  a  woolen 
mill  in  Greenfield,  Mas.sachusetts.  He  continued 
at  that  business  until  1840,  when  he  entered  the 
employment  of  John  E.  Kusscll  in  a  cutlerv  fac- 
tory. He  remained  in  this  business  for  al)out 
three  years,  and  then  went  to  .Springfield,  Mas.sa- 
chusetts, where  he  obtained  a  situation  in  a  tool 
and  lock  manufacturing  company.  He  remained 
with  that  com])any  about  two  years  when  he  re- 
moved to  Whitneyvillc,  near  New  Elaven,  Con- 
necticut, and  w^as  ein])loyed    in    W'hitney's    gun 


manufactory  on  rifles,  which  the  company  had 
contracted  to  supply  the  government.  Two  years 
later  he  removed,  to  Windsor,  Vermont,  and  was 
employed  by  Messrs.  Robbins  &  Lawrence  on 
rifles  to  fill  government  contracts.  On  the  third 
of  July,  1856,  J\lr.  Sheldon  arrived  at  Red  Wing, 
and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  went  into  partnership 
with  Jesree  JMcIntire,  in  the  mercantile  business. 
The  spring  of  i860  he  sold  his  interest  in  the 
mercantile  business  to  his  partner,  and  in  the  fall 
of  that  year  built  a  large  warehouse  and  went 
into  the  grain  business,  in  which  he  is  still  in- 
terested. He  has  also  been  identified  with  nearly 
all  of  the  important  enterprises  affecting  Red 
Wing.  He  was  appointed  agent  for  the  Commo- 
dore Davidson  Packet  Company,  also  for  the 
Chicago,  jMilwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad  and  for 
the  American  Express  Company.  The  agency 
of  the  packet  company  and  the  railroad  company 
he  retained  until  the  railroad  was  completed 
from  St.  Paul  to  La  Crosse,  and  the  agency  of 
the  American  Express  Company  was  retained 
by  him  for  about  twenty-five  years.  Mr.  Sheldon 
has  also  been  interested  in  the  First  National 
Bank,  an  institution  of  which  he  is  president,  and 
also  of  the  Goodhue  County  Bank,  from  the 
time  they  were  organized.  He  has  been  interested 
in  the  Red  Wing  &  Trenton  Transit  Company, 
organized  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  road  and 
a  bridge  over  the  ^Mississippi  river  between  Red 
Wing,  Minnesota,  and  Trenton,  Wisconsin.  He 
was  president  of  this  company  and  one  of  its 
directors  from  the  time  it  \'i'as  formed,  some 
fifteen  years  ago,  until  about  a  year  ago  when 
he  resigned.  He  was  one  of  the  prime  movers 
in  the  Minnesota  Stoneware  Company,  and  also 
in  the  Red  Wing  Gas  and  Electric  Light  Com- 
pany, the  Red  Wing  Furniture  Company  and  the 
Red  Wing,  Duluth  &  Southern  Railway  Com- 
pany. His  business  capacity  has  been  recognized 
by  his  election  as  president  of  all  these  different 
entei-prises.  But  he  has  not  given  all  his  time 
to  his  private  affairs.  Naturally  a  man  of  public 
spirit,  he  was  called  upon  to  serve  the  city  as 
one  of  the  boai^d  of  supervisors  under  township 
organization,  and  was  a  member  of  the  councit 
since  the  city  was  organized.  In  politics  Mr. 
-Sheldon  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  usually  voted 
that  ticket.    His  church  connections  are  with  the 


PROGRHSSIVI'   MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


243 


Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Sheldon  was  married  in 
1848  to  xMary  1'.  Suirtevaiit,  of  Hartland,  Ver- 
mont. Five  children  were  born,  all  of  whom 
died.  Mrs.  Mary  Sturtevant  Sheldon  died  in 
November.  i8gi,  and  Mr.  Sheldon  was  married 
again  in  June,  i8()3,  in  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  to 
Miss  Amiie  L.  Lanqton. 


EDWIN  PAGE  STACY. 

Edwin  Page  Stacy  is  the  head  of  the  firm  of 
E.  P.  Stacy  &  Sons,  fruit  commission  merchants 
in  Minneapolis.  He  is  the  son  of  Isaac  and  Orpah 
Page  (Stacy),  and  was  born  at  De  Kalb,  .'^t.  Law- 
rence County,  New  York,  ]Mav  31,    1831.     His 
father  was  a  farmer  in  good  circumstances,  but, 
on  account  of  prolonged  illness,  he  lost  a  large 
share  of  his  propert}-,  making  it  necessary  for  his 
sons  to  engage  early  in  the  active  business     of 
life.     Edwin  Page,  the  youngest  son  of  the  fam- 
ily, grew  up  on  the  farm,  attending  the  public 
schools,    and     Gouveneur    Academy     until     he 
reached  the  age  of  eighteen  years.    In  the  spring 
of  1850  he  removed  to  Utica,  New  York,  where 
he    obtained    employment    in    the    dry    goods 
house  of  Stacy,  Goldein  &  Co.     A  year  later  he 
went  to  Lafayette,  Indiana,  to  assist  in  the  man- 
agement of  a  branch  store  opened  there  by  his 
former  employers.     In   1854  he  went  to  Dover, 
Illinois,  and  formed  a  partnership  with  his  oldest 
brother  in   general   merchandise,   lumber,   grain, 
etc.     In   1 86 1   he  made  another  move  westward 
and  located  at  Staceyville,  jNIitchell  County,  Iowa, 
Here  he  remained  four  years,  and  in   1865   en- 
gaged  in   the   mercantile  business   in     Mitchell, 
I(5\\a.     He  was  doing  business  here  January  i, 
1879,  when  his  eldest  son,  Arthur  Page    Stacy, 
came  of  age  and  was  taken  into  partnership,  the 
firm  being  E.  P.  Stacy  &  Son.     ^Ir.  Stacy  was 
held   in   high   esteem   in    Mitchell,   served     four 
terms  as  mayor,  was  superintendent  of  the  Con- 
gregational  Sunday    School   for   six   years,    and 
exerted  a  large  and  wholesome  influence  in  that 
community.     In  the  fall  of  1883  ^Ir.  Stacy    de- 
cided  to   establish   a  Ijranch  of  his  business    in 
Minneapolis,  and,  leaving  his  son   in   charge  of 
the  business  at   Mitchell,   began   business  in    a 
small  wav  at  326  Second  Avenue  South,  Minne- 
apolis, assisted  by  his  second   son,    Harlan    B. 


Stacy.  This  venture  was  so  successful  that  in 
the  summer  of  1885  it  was  decided  to  close  out 
the  business  at  Mitchell  and  concentrate  the 
energies  and  resources  of  the  firm  in  Minneap- 
olis. Larger  quarters  were  obtained  and  lines 
of  custom  were  extended.  The  business  has  con- 
tinued to  grow  ever  since  it  was  established,  until 
nnw  the  trade  enjoyed  by  this  firm  extends  all 
over  the  Northwest.  Mr.  Stacy  is  a  member  of 
Plymouth  Congregational  Church,  and  an  active 
participant  in  the  church  work.  Among  com- 
mercial organizations  he  belongs  to  the  Jobbers' 
and  Manufacturers"  Association  and  the  Produce 
Exchange,  and  is  president  of  the  Minneapolis 
branch  of  the  National  League  of  Commission 
}\lerchants.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and 
faithful  to  his  political  duties,  although  since  com- 
ing to  Minneapolis  he  has  been  less  actively 
identified  with  politics  than  formerly.  Mr.  Stacy 
was  married  at  Gouveneur,  Xew  York,  Decem- 
ber 10,  1856,  to  Elizabeth  E.  Leonard,  who  died 
fanuary  8,  1874,  mourned  by  her  husband  and 
three  sons,  Arthur  Page,  Harlan  I'>.  and  Clinton 
L.  Six  years  later,  October  21,  1880,  Mr.  Stacy 
was  married  to  Mrs.  Amelia  (Wood)  Kent,  at 
her  home,  in  Naperville,  Illinois,  who  had  one 
son,  Willoughby  B.  Kent.  Mrs.  Stacy  is  a 
native  of  ^'ermont,  and  a  descendant  of  Gov- 
ernor Bradford. 


21-+ 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JAMES    ALFRED    KELLOGG. 

James  Alfred  Kellogg  has  been  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  in  Minneapolis  since 
October,  1887.  Mr.  Kellogg  is  a  native  of  Ohio, 
having  been  born  December  12,  1849,  in  New 
London,  Huron  County.  His  father,  Hiram  Tyre 
Kellogg,  and  his  mother,  Emiline  Fiske  (Kel- 
logg), were  people  of  moderate  circimistances, 
and  engaged  in  farming.  H.  T.  Kellogg  was  a 
soldier  in  the  War  of  1812  on  the  American  side. 
He  was  a  native  of  Shefifield  Township,  Berkshire 
County,  Massachusetts,  where  his  father  and 
grandfather  were  born.  His  father  was  a  soldier 
in  the  K evolutionary  War  on  the  American  side. 
Emiline  Fiske  Kellogg  was  a  native  of  Hoc  Pen 
Ridge,  Connecticut.  James  Alfred  Kellogg's  edu- 
cation began  in  the  district  schools  of  Hillsdale, 
Michigan,  and  was  continued  through  the  high 
school.  Afterwards  he  entered  Hillsdale  College, 
but  did  not  graduate.  He  was  a  classmate  of  Will 
M.  Carleton,  the  poet,  and  a  member  of  the  Alpha 
Kappa  Phi  society.  He  read  law  while  teaching 
school,  and  engaged  in  farming  at  Ottawa,  Illinois, 
imj)roving  such  opportunity  as  his  business  afford- 
ed, often  arising  as  early  as  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning  to  pursue  his  studies,  and  reading  during 
the  noon  intermission  in  school  or  farm  work. 


and  at  every  other  opportunity  which  presented 
itself.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Berrien 
Springs,  Michigan,  September,  1872,  and  com- 
nienced  practice  at  Niles,  Michigan.  In  October, 
1887,  he  came  to  Minneapolis  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  law,  in  which  he  has  been  engaged 
ever  since.  \\  hen  the  war  broke  out  Mr.  Kel- 
logg was  only  eleven  years  old,  but  he  was  old 
enough  to  take  a  deep  interest  in  that  great  con- 
flict, and  on  February  29,  1864,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  G,  Forty-fourth  Indiana  Veteran  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  and  remained  in  the  service  until 
September  10,  1865,  having  served  in  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland,  and  as  a  soldier,  and  not  sim- 
ply as  a  drunnner  boy.  He  was  fourteen  years, 
two  months  and  seventeen  days  old  when  he  en- 
listed, and  lacked  three  months  of  being  sixteen 
years  of  age  when  he  was  mustered  out,  and  yet 
he  had  never  failed  to  do  his  share  of  the  soldier's 
duties.  ]Mr.  Kellogg  is  a  member  of  Rawlins 
Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  was  colonel  and  aide-de-camp 
on  the  staff  of  Gov.  R.  A.  Alger,  of  Michigan, 
which  was  made  up  of  veterans,  each  of  whom 
bore  scars  received  in  battle.  He  is  a  Republican 
and  was  appointed  circuit  court  conmiissioner  of 
Berrien  County,  Alichigan,  in  1874.  To  this 
office  he  was  elected  twice.  He  declined  a 
third  nomination.  He  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace     of     the     city     of     Niles,     Michigan,     in 

1876,  but  resigned  one  year  later.  He 
was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Berrien 
County  in  1S80  and  again  in  1882. 
In  1887  he  was  tendered  a  nomination  for  circuit 
judge  in  the  Second  District  of  Michigan,  but  de- 
clined. Mr.  Kellogg  was  married  May  29,  1870, 
to  I'rances  Mrginia  Ball,  of  Ottawa,  Illinois.  They 
had  three  children,  of  whom  the  youngest  only, 
Frances  Lavinia,  is  still  living.    His  wife  died  in 

1877,  and  in  December,  1879,  he  was  married 
again,  to  Alice  Cooper,  at  Corunna,  Michigan, 
will)  had  t\^o  sons,  one  of  whom,  Alfred  Cooper,  is 
still  living.  .Sulisequently  he  was  divorced  and 
married  Jennie  L.  Heath,  of  Plattsburg,  New 
York,  who  has  one  son  living,  James  Alfred,  Jr., 
and  one  daughter,  Jennie  Louise,  dead.  Mr. 
Kellogg  has  been  very  successful  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  and  has  attained  a  high  reputa- 
tion as  a  lawyer,  and  as  a  man.  It  is  doubtful  if 
any  person  in  the  state  of  Minnesota  was  ever  able 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


245 


to  ]>rL'sent  a  better  indorsement  from  more  re- 
sponsil)lc  i)eo])le  than  that  which  Mr.  Kellogg  wai 
able  ti)  furnish  to  the  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul  & 
Sault  Stc.  Marie  Railroad  in  applying  for  a  posi- 
tion in  the  legal  department  of  that  company. 


SAMUEL  T.  LITTLETON. 

S.  T.  Littleton  is  an  attorney-at-law  of  Kas- 
son,  Dodge  County,  Minnesota.  His  father, 
Joseph  D.  Littleton,  was  a  farmer  in  moderate 
circumstances,  who  had  been  a  lawyer  during  the 
early  part  of  his  life,  and  who  was  in  the  Union 
army  during  the  war.  He  was  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky and  traced  his  ancestry  Ijack  to  Lord  Lit- 
tleton of  England  who  was  a  writer  on  law  sub- 
jects, and  author  of  Littleton's  Tenures.  Afr. 
Littleton  married  [Miss  Sarah  Ann  Parks,  who 
was  born  in  Tennessee,  but  moved  with  her  fam- 
ily to  Missouri  when  a  little  girl.  Her  people 
were  all  large  slave  holders.  Their  son,  Samuel, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Chariton 
County,  Missouri,  December  3,  1858.  His 
father's  home  was  then  a  log  cabin.  The  first 
school  which  he  attended  was  held  in  a  hewed 
log  school  house.  It  was  under  such  conditions 
that  young  Littleton  received  most  of  his  school- 
ing. When  sixteen  years  old  he  commenced  to 
teach  the  lower  branches,  in  the  meantime  per- 
fecting himself  as  well  as  possible  in  more  ad- 
vanced studies.  Like  most  self-taught  men,  i\Ir. 
Litttleton  knew  thoroughly  what  he  had  learned, 
and  appreciated  the  value  of  persistent  applica- 
tion. In  1887  he  commenced  the  practice  of  law 
at  West  Concord,  Minnesota.  Two  years  later 
he  moved  to  Kasson,  where  he  now  lives.  He 
has  built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  practice,  ex- 
tending into  many  counties  of  the  state.  In  1894 
he  associated  in  the  business  John  J.  jNIcCaughey, 
a  young  man  of  good  standing  at  the  bar,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Littleton  &  AlcCaughey.  One 
of  the  most  interesting  cases  which  Mr.  Littleton 
has  had  was  that  of  Sparrow  vs.  Pond,  tried  in 
the  supreme  court  in  April,  i8g2.  This  case  is 
commonly  known  as  the  blackberry  case.  The 
main  question  was  whether  blackberries  growing 
upon  the  bushes  were  real  or  personal  property. 
It  is  considered  the  leading  case  of  the  kind  in 


the  United  States,  and  Mr.  Littleton's  manage- 
ment of  the  suit  for  his  client,  the  plaintiff, 
and  his  brief  and  argument  brought  him 
many  compliments.  Mr.  Littleton  has  always 
been  a  Republican.  He  was  elected  to  the 
Twenty-ninth  session  of  the  Minnesota  legisla- 
ture by  a  large  majority  over  the  Democratic  and 
Populist  candidates.  In  the  house  he  served  as 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  claims,  was  a 
member  of  the  judiciary  committee,  and  was  also 
on  the  committee  on  municipal  legislation.  He 
was  selected  by  the  judiciary  committee  to  make 
the  legal  argument  for  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee on  the  impeachment  of  Judge  Frank  Ives. 
He  was  re-elected  for  the  session  of  1897. 
Mr.  Littleton  has  twice  served  as  mayor  of 
Kasson.  He  is  a  Mason,  an  Odd  Fellow,  a 
member  of  the  United  Workmen,  the  Modern 
Woodmen,  the  Daughters  of  Rebekah  and  the 
Sons  of  Veterans.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.  On  February  5,  1881, 
Mr.  Littleton  was  married  to  Mrs.  Laura  A. 
Sheldon,  at  Topeka,  Kansas.  Mrs.  Sheldon  had 
three  children,  Charles,  Eva  and  Robert  L.  They 
have  had  one  child,  ^Nfelvin  Albertis,  who  has 
developed  a  talent  for  music  and  is  an  accom- 
plished pianist.  Miss  Eva  w-ill  graduate  from 
Hamline  Lhiiversity  in  the  class  of  '97. 


246 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


IIARRV  SXYDER. 

Professor  Harry  Snyder,  of  the  University 
of  Minnesota,  was  Ijorn  in  the  town  of  Cherry 
Valley,  Otsego  County,  New  York,  on  January 
26,  1867.  He  was  the  son  of  David  W.  Snyder 
and  ]\Iar>'  Ann  Harter.  The  father  was  a  car- 
penter and  farmer,  and  a  man  of  unusual  me- 
chanical skill  and  natural  ability.  In  later  years 
he  was  superintendent  of  construction  of  bridges 
and  woodwork  of  the  Herkimer,  Newport  & 
Poland  Railroad.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snyder 
were  descendants  from  the  early  Dutch  settlers 
of  the  Mohawk  X'alley.  Their  ancestors  partici- 
pated in  the  Revolutionary  War,  as  well  as  the 
War  of  1 81 2.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  at- 
tended the  country  school  and  later  the  graded 
school  at  Herkimer  until  he  was  thirteen  years 
old.  After  s])ending  two  summers  in  a  grocery 
store  and  a  year  in  a  printing  office  entered 
Clinton  Liberal  Institution  at  J'"ort  Plain,  New- 
York,  where  he  prepared  for  college,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1885  entered  Cornell  University.  He  turned 
naturally  to  the  scientific  course,  paying  particu- 
lar attention  to  chemistry.  M  the  end  of  the 
first  two  years  in  college  he  was  apjininted  jiri- 
vate  assistant  to  Dr.  Caldwell,  the  head  of  the 
chemical  department  of  the  university.  This  po- 
sition had  always  been  held  by  a  graduate    stu- 


dent. \\  hile  serving  in  this  capacit\-,  Mr.  .Snyder 
was  engaged  mainly  with  the  analysis  of  foods, 
drugs  and  farm  j^roducts.  He  became  thor- 
oughly familiar  with  the  laboratory  methods  of 
instruction  and  investigation,  particularlv  along 
the  lines  of  agricultural  cliemistry,  which  was  a 
subject  nut  then  generally  taught  in  the  American 
colleges.  When  he  graduated  in  1889  he  received 
honors  for  chemistry,  and  his  graduation  thesis 
received  honorable  mention  at  the  commence- 
ment, and  in  the  annual  report  of  the  university. 
Immediately  after  his  graduation  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  position  of  instructor  at  Cornell. 
In  1890  he  was  appointed  assistant  chemist  of 
the  Cornell  L'niversity  E.xperiment  Station.  In 
this  position  the  work  was  mainh'  al(Mig  the 
line  of  milk  investigation,  and  animal  nutrition. 
About  the  first  work  which  he  did  in  this  de- 
partment Iirought  him  into  prominence.  In  the 
fall  of  i8<)i  I'rofess(jr  Snyder  came  to  Minnesota 
as  chemist  of  the  ^Minnesota  Experiment  Station, 
and  in  1892  was  also  a])pointed  Professor  of 
Agricultural  Chemistry  in  the  University  of 
Minnesota.  Since  assuming  this  position  ten 
i)ulletins  have  been  publishetl  by  Professor  .Sny- 
der, aggregating  three  hundred  and  seventy-five 
pages,  and  dealing  with  soils,  farm  products, 
dairy  products,  and  human  foods.  His  work  in 
soil  analysis  has  been  carried  farther  than  any 
other  experiment  station,  and  some  of  his 
methods  have  been  adopted  as  official.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  bulletins,  he  has  published  short  re- 
ports in  the  lournal  of  the  American  Chemical 
Society,  and  in  agricultural  papers  of  the  state. 
Some  of  his  articles  have  been  translated  and 
]niblished  in  the  leading  Erench  and  German 
journals.  He  has  also  published  a  work  upon 
the  chemistry  of  dairying.  In  his  class  room 
work  he  has  been  successful  in  making  practical 
ajiplications  of  the  science  of  chemistry  to  the 
science  and  art  of  agriculture.  His  lab- 
orator\-  work  has  lieen  recognized  by  the 
Department  of  .\griculture  in  the  designation 
bv  the  I'niled  States  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture of  his  laboratory  as  one  of  the  places 
where  food  investig;itions  are  to  be  carried  on 
in  co-operation  with  the  government.  In  1890 
Professor  .'^nvder  was  married  to  Miss  .Vlelaide 
Churchill   Craig,  daughter  of   Rev.    Dr.    .\ustin 


rKUGKIiSSlVU  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


247 


Craig,  foniicrly  president  f)f  Aiitioch  College, 
Ohio.  Professor  .Snyder  is  a  menil)er  of  the  I'hi 
Delta  Theta  Fraternity,  the  I.  O.  ( ).  V.,  R.  A., 
the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement 
of  Science  and  of  the  American  Chemical  .Society. 


CALVIN  LUTIIKR  BROWN. 

The  Sixteenth  Judicial  District  of  ^linnesota 
has  as  its  judicial  officer  a  man  who  grew  up  and 
received  his  education  and  legal  training  within 
the  state.  Judge  C.  L.  Brown,  of  Morris,  pre- 
sides over  the  district  ocmposed  of  the  countes  of 
Stevens,  Grant,  Big  Stone,  Traverse,  Pope  and 
Wilkin.  Born  in  the  town  of  Goshen,  New  Hamp- 
shire, April  26,  1854,  he  came  to  this  state  with 
his  parents  when  only  about  a  year  old.  His 
father  was  Judge  John  H.  Brown,  who  located 
at  Shakopee  in  June,  1855.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  at  Chaska  in  1856,  and  continued  the 
practice  of  his  profession  until  1875,  when  he  was 
appointed  judge  of  the  Twelfth  Judicial  District 
by  Governor  Davis.  He  continued  in  that  office 
without  opposition  until  his  death  in  1890.  Judge 
John  H.  Brown  was  a  prominent  Mason,  having 
held  the  office  of  grand  master  of  the  state  and 
grand  high  priest  of  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chap- 
ter. He  was  a  judge  of  unimpeachable  integrity 
and  administered  the  duties  of  his  office  witli  con- 
scientious fidelity.  His  wife's  maiden  name  was 
Orrisa  Margaret  Afa.xfield.  This  family  of  Browns 
were  descended  from  John  Brown  who  came  to 
this  countr}'  from  England  in  the  ship  Lion  in 
1632  and  settled  at  Marlborough,  ^Massachusetts. 
William  Brown,  the  great-great-grandfather  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  served  as  a  private  in 
the  Revolutionary  War.  He  enlisted  at  the  age 
of  sixteen  from  the  town  of  Henniker,  New 
Hampshire,  in  1781,  and  served  in  Col.  Henry 
Dearborn's  regiment  of  the  New  Hampshire  Con- 
tinental line.  Pie  was  placed  on  the  pension  rolls 
in  1818,  and  lived  until  1855,  when  he  died  at 
the  age  of  ninety  years.  An  uncle  of  Calvin  Luther. 
Hon.  L.  M.  Brown,  late  of  Shakopee,  ^Minnesota, 
was  also  a  prominent  member  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession in  this  state,  and  was  at  one  time  judge  of 
the  Eighth  Judicial  District.  Judge  C.  L.  Brown 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Minne- 
sota.    He  resided  at  Shakopee  until  1871.  when 


: ■}^M,i  i*S  .^.Jk^^i 


his  parents  removed  to  Willmar.  In  1878,  having 
pursued  the  study  of  law  with  his  father,  and  hav- 
ing been  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  left  home  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two  and  located  at  Morris.  He  has 
resided  there  ever  since.  He  has  held  numerous 
positions  of  trust,  was  elected  to  the  office  of 
county  attorney  of  Stevens  County  in  1882,  and 
continued  in  that  office  until  he  was  appointed 
to  the  bench  in  1887.  In  that  year  the  Sixteenth 
district  was  created  and  Mr.  Brown  was  appointed 
judge  by  Governor  McGill,  and  has  been  twice 
elected  to  the  same  office  without  opposition.  He 
is  now  serving  his  second  elective  term.  Judge 
Brown  has  always  been  identified  with  the  Repub- 
lican party,  but  since  taking  his  position  on  the 
I)ench,  has  given  no  personal  attention  to  political 
matters.  He  is  also  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  having  been  grand  master  of 
the  state  in  1894  and  1895.  He  belongs  to  the 
Minneapolis  Consi.story  Scottish  Rite  ^lasonry, 
Zuhrah  Temple,  ?\Iystic  Shrine,  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  the  A.  O.  11.  W.  He  also  belongs  to 
the  Minnesota  Society  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution,  of  which  he  is  at  present  a  member 
of  the  board  of  directors.  He  attends,  but  is  not 
a  member,  of  the  Congregational  church.  Was 
married  in  1879,  at  Willmar,  to  Miss  Annette 
Marlow.  They  have  had  four  children,  Olive 
Lottie  (deceased),  Alice  A..  Montreville  J.  and 
Edna  'SI. 


248 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


RE\'.  FATHER  PETER  ROSEN. 

Rev.  Father  Peter  Rosen,  one  of  the  best 
known  priests  in  tlie  United  States,  was  born 
December  15,  1850,  at  Orsfeld,  in  the  parish  of 
Kylburg,  near  Treves,  Germany.  The  parents 
of  Father  Rosen  gave  the  boy  as  good  an  edu- 
cation as  they  could  afford,  b'rom  the  age  of 
twenty-two  to  that  of  twenty-five  lie  served  in  the 
German  army  as  artillerist.  In  the  spring  of  1876 
he  embarked  for  the  I'nited  .States  and  arrived  at 
Philadelphia  on  the  opening  day  of  the  Centen- 
nial Exhibition.  Devoting  a  few  }ears  to  studies 
at  the  University  Xotre  Dame,  Indiana,  he  re- 
turned to  Europe  and  finished  his  preparation  for 
the  priesthood  at  Louvain,  Belgium.  On  March 
30,  1882,  he  was  ordained  priest  at  Simpelveld, 
Holland,  by  the  former  Bishop  of  Luxemburg, 
Msgr.  Laurent.  On  September  3,  he  arrived  at 
Deadwood,  South  Dakota,  to  take  charge  of  the 
parish  there  and  the  numerous  missions  in  the 
Black  Hills,  His  zeal  ;ind  t'nerg\-  fiiun<l  anijile 
room  in  a  missionary  district  covering  about 
fifteen  thousand  S(|uarc  miles.  He  had  to  share 
the  lips  and  downs  of  a  new  mining  country,  liut 
stood  at  his  post  for  nearly  eight  years,  and  no 
man  in  any  sphere  of  life  could  have  worked 
harder  than  he  did.  .V  friend  of  the  poor,  the 
orphans  and   tlie  homeless.   Father   T\osen    was 


charitable  almost  to  a  fault.  Many  a  broken  down 
miner  or  poverty-stricken  tenderfoot  is  indebted 
to  him  for  a  safe  return  to  home.  The  "grip," 
with  its  serious  consequences  so  injured  his 
health  that,  in  1890,  he  was  compelled  to  look 
fr)r  an  easier  field  of  labor,  and  he  came  to  Min- 
nesota. The  work  done  in  the  Black  Hills  and 
the  affection  he  had  gained  in  the  hearts  of  his 
people  remained,  and  when,  in  1895,  tlie  episcopal 
See  of  Sioux  Falls  became  vacant  by  the  transfer 
of  Bishop  Marty  to  St.  Cloud,  it  was  the  unani- 
mous desire  of  the  people  of  the  Black  Hills  that 
Father  Rosen  should  return  as  their  bishoji.  In 
Minnesota  Father  Rosen  was  put  in  charge  of  St. 
Andrew's  congregation  at  Fairfax.  Here  he 
stayed  for  over  four  years,  organized  the  congre- 
gation and  made  many  improvements.  He  does 
not  believe  that  the  influence  of  the  clergv  should 
be  confined  to  the  cluircli  and  sacristv,  but  the 
clergy  should  be  all  to  all.  So,  when  all  efforts 
failed  to  drain  the  numerous  sloughs  around  Fair- 
fax and  thus  niak'e  the  countn,-  healthier.  Father 
Rosen  superintended  the  tligging  of  the  ditches 
and  the  grading  of  roads,  till  the  sloughs  were  a 
thing  of  the  past.  In  the  fall  of  1894,  Father 
Rosen  made  a  trip  through  Europe  and  visited 
Rome,  and,  at  an  audience  with  the  Holy  Father, 
he  is  said  to  have  asked  for  a  final  decision  in  re- 
gard to  the  standing  of  the  members  of  secret 
societies  in  the  Catholic  church.  Being  assigned 
to  Heidelberg,  Le  Sueur  County,  he  n.iade  use  of 
the  free  time  thus  gained  by  coni]iiling  and  pub- 
lishing an  historic  volume  of  six  Innulred  and 
forty-five  pages,  called  "Pa-ha-sap-pah,"  or  His- 
tory of  the  Black  Hills  of  South  Dakota.  He  also 
published  a  description  of  his  trip  througli  Europe 
under  the  title,  "Hundert  Tage  in  Europe"  (Hun- 
dred Days  in  Europe),  or  a  trip  through  Ireland, 
England,  France,  Switzerland,  Italy  and  Germany. 
The  book  contains  three  hundred  and  seventeen 
pages,  and,  besides  the  author's  impressions  of 
travels,  a  large  number  of  observations  on  timely 
topics.  The  book  finds  favor  with  the  class  of 
Catholics  who  are  interested  in  the  secret  society 
c|uestion.  -\  pamphlet  (if  fort^-  pages,  iinblished 
in  1895,  gives  the  iiersrinal  reasons  for  his  stand- 
point on  this  (|Ustion  and  ex])lains  the  standpoint 
of  the  Catholic  church  in  the  matter.  In  the 
spring  of  1894,  Father  Rosen  published  a  short 
hislorv  of  Fort  Ridtjlev.  Miimesot.'i.     He  is  now 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


249 


Stationed  at  Madison,  Lac  (|ui  I'arlc  County,  Min- 
nesota. In  the  (|iiestions  agitating  the  Catholic 
chnrcli  in  America  he  has  tai<en  a  prominent  part, 
and  many  of  his  views  are  diametrically  opi^osed 
to  those  of  Archbishop  Ireland.  A  firm  Ijeliever 
in  parochial  schools,  he  objects  to  any  inter- 
mingling of  public  and  parochial  schools. 


A.  J.  STACKPOLE. 

A.  J.  Stackpole,  practicing  lawyer  at  Lake 
Crystal  Minnesota  is  one  of  the  shrewd  sons  of 
old  New-  Hampshire,  self-made,  hard-working 
and  Yankee  all  over — the  kind  of  man  who  has 
been  foremost  in  the  Northwest  and  contribnted 
not  a  little  to  the  great  progress  of  this  part  of 
the  country.  Mr.  Stackpole  was  l)orn  at  Dover, 
New  Hampshire,  on  September,  20,  183 1.  His 
father  was  Andrew  N.  Stackpole,  and  his  mother, 
who  was  Miss  Eliza  Rogers,  was  a  direct  de- 
scendant of  John  D.  Rogers,  one  of  the  Smith- 
field  martyrs.  His  people  were  farmers  for  gen- 
erations; poor,  hard-working  and  honest.  When 
seven  years  old  young  Stackpole  went  with  his 
parents  to  Phippsburg,  Maine,  where  they  lived 
nme  years.  At  Bath  he  commenced  to  learn  the 
ship  carver's  trade,  and  completed  his  course  at 
the  trade  in  r>oston,  wliere  he  went  in  1850.  This 
work  he  pursued  in  order  to  raise  the  money  to 
secure  an  education.  \\'ith  this  purpose  he  left 
Boston  in  1853  and  entered  the  New  Hampton 
New  Hampshire,  Academy,  from  which  he  after- 
wards graduated.  An  education  obtained  through 
continuous  endeavor  and  under  trying  circum- 
stances generally  counts  for  something.  Mr. 
-Stackpole  had  worked  his  way  through — had 
loaded  lumber  on  the  Kennebec,  driven  yearling 
steers,  hauling  wood  to  the  city,  and  used  every- 
opportunity  for  securing  the  needed  means  for 
obtaining  the  end  in  view.  L'pon  graduation  he 
entered  the  office  of  Attorney  Stinchfield  in  ILal- 
lowell,  Maine,  and  commenced  reading  law 
But  it  was  necessary  to  live  meanwhile.  Law 
students  in  Elaine  in  those  days  were  not  better 
paid  than  in  some  parts  of  the  country  at  the 
present  time.  So  IMr.  Stackpole  found  an  oppor- 
tunity in  a  school  in  Augusta,  the  capital  of  the 
state.  This  was  an  interesting  and  characteristic 
episode  in  his  career.    He  took  the  school  in  the 


middle  of  the  term,  after  the  pupils  had  disposed 
of  the  teacher  who  connnenced  the  year,  by  sum- 
marily pitching  him  out  of  doors.  This  state  of 
affairs  did  not  worry  the  young  man  who  had 
broken  and  driven  a  yoke  of  yearling  steers  when 
he  was  but  sixteen  years  old,  and  he  went  into 
the  school  determined,  like  Buck  Fanshaw,  to 
have  order  if  he  "had  to  lick  every  galoot  in 
town."  There  was  a  fight,  but  the  teaclier  staid 
the  year  out.  The  year  1859  found  Mr.  Stack- 
pole  reading  law  with  T.  H.  Sweetzer  at  Lowell, 
Massachusetts.  In  June,  i860,  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  at  Concord,  and  practiced  in  Lowell 
until  1864,  when  he  went  to  Boston  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  the  L'nited  States  circuit 
court.  From  Boston  he  went  to  Kansas  City  in 
1869,  and  after  two  years  of  practice  there  went 
to  Chicago,  just  in  time  to  be  burned  out  by  the 
great  fire.  In  1883  he  investigated  the  North- 
west and  finally  settled  in  Lake  Ciystal.  Since 
engaging  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Lake 
Crystal  Mr.  Stackpole  has  been  reasonably  suc- 
cessful. He  has  taken  little  part  in  active  politi- 
cal life,  though  he  has  been  a  life-long  Repub- 
lican, though  now  an  independent.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Odd  Fellows  and  Knights  of 
Pythias.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Abbie  Mott 
in  1867,  and  has  two  children  living — A.  J.  Stack- 
pole,  Jr.,  and  Webster  Stackpole. 


250 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HARRY  ASHTOX  TOMLINSON. 

Minnesota  has  provided  liberally  for  the  care  of 
the  insane,  and  among  the  institutions  established 
for  that  purpose  is  the  hospital  at  St.  Peter,  over 
which  Dr.  Harry  Ashton  Tonilinson  presides  as 
superintendent.  Harry  Tonilinson  was  born  at 
Philadelphia,  July  3,  1855,  the  son  of  George 
Washington  Tomlinson  and  Sarah  Dunlap  j\Ic- 
Cahon  (Tomlinson).  On  his  father's  side  his 
family  were  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
who  seceded  from  the  orthodox  branch  with 
Lucretia  .Mott.  The  progenitor  of  this  family  in 
this  country  came  over  from  Ireland  about  1750 
and  landed  in  Lewes,  Delaware,  and  afterwards 
located  at  Philadelphia.  Pieing  Quakers  the  fam- 
ily were  never  conspicuous  in  war,  although  all 
bore  good  rci)utations  as  citizens.  George  Wash- 
ington Tomlinson,  however,  enlisted  in  the  army 
in  1861  and  served  during  the  rebellion  until 
1864,  when  he  received  a  wound  from  which  he 
died.  He  enlisted  as  a  second  lieutenant  and  rose 
to  the  rank  of  major.  His  wife  was  descended 
from  a  long  line  of  Presbyterian  clergymen,  her 
great-grandfather  being  Rev.  James  Dunlap, 
D.  D.,  the  third  jircsidcnt  of  Jefferson  College  at 
Cannonsburg,  Peimsylvania.  During  the  civil 
war  Mrs.  Tomlinson  rcsidcfl  at  Carlisle.  Pennsyl- 
vania, with  her  children,  and  on  the  night  of  July 
I,   1863,  while  the  town  was  l)eing  shelled   she 


went  to  the  college  building,  opposite  her  house, 
and  which  had  been  chosen  for  a  hospital,  and 
helped  the  surgeons  care  for  the  wounded.  When 
her  husband  was  injured  in  August,  1864,  Mrs. 
Tomlinson  went  to  Washington  to  take  care  of 
him,  and  finding  the  food  and  care  of  the 
wounded  officers  very  deficient  she  secured  the 
assistance  of  the  surgeon  in  charge  and  the  sanc- 
tion of  Miss  Dix,  of  the  sanitary  commission,  to 
take  charge  of  the  domestic  management  of  the 
hospital  and  of  the  discipline  of  the  nurses,  which 
she  did  with  great  success  and  satisfaction  to  all 
concerned.  Harry  Ashton  received  his  early 
education  in  the  public  schools.  He  entered  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  September,  1877,  and  after  graduating 
in  1880,  went  directly  into  private  practice  in 
central  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  eight 
years,  the  last  three  being  spent  in  gradual  prep- 
aration for  the  treatment  of  nervous  diseases.  Dr. 
Tomlinson  gave  up  his  general  practice  and  spent 
the  winter  of  1888  and  1889  in  Philadelphia  in 
further  preparation  for  his  work.  In  June,  1889, 
he  was  engaged  as  resident  physician  in  the 
Friends'  Asvlum  for  the  Insane  in  Frankford, 
Philadelphia.  He  remained  there  until  Decem- 
ber, 1891,  when  he  came  to  Mimiesota  at  the  in- 
vitation of  the  board  of  trustees  of  state  hospitals, 
as  first  assistant  physician,  and  succeeded  Dr.  C. 
K.  Bartlett  as  superintendent  in  January,  1893. 
In  July,  1895,  ■f-'''-  Tomlinson  received  an  offer 
from  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  new  Epileptic 
Colony  in  ]Massachusetts  to  organize  and  take 
charge  of  their  institution  as  superintendent,  but 
declined,  having  decided  to  reside  permanently 
in  Minnesota,  and  being  especially  desirous  of 
carrying  out  the  line  of  work  which  he  had  inaug- 
urated at  St.  Peter.  Dr.  Tomlinson  is  a  member 
of  the  American  Congress  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons, American  Medical  Association,  the  New 
York  j\Iedico-Legal  Society,  the  American  Neu- 
rological Society,  the  American  Medico-Psycho- 
logical  Association,  the  Philadelphia  Neurologi- 
cal Society,  the  Minnesota  .Academy  of  Medi- 
cine, the  State  Medical  Society,  the  Minnesota 
Valley  Medical  Association,  tlic  .Sonlhwestern 
IMinnesota  Medical  Association  and  of  the  Na- 
tional and  State  Conference  of  Charities  and  Cor- 
rections, to  all  of  which  he  has  from  time  to  time 
conlribntcd  papers  relating  to  his  special  line  of 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


251 


wurk.  lie  is  also  a  nicinher  of  the  Loyal  Legion, 
Minnesota  Commandery.  Dr.  Tomlinson  was 
married  April  i6,  1884,  to  Mary  \andever, 
daugiiter  of  Peter  Bishop  Vandevcr,  of  Delaware. 
They  have  had  three  children,  of  whom  only  one, 
Xancv  I'^licott,  is  livinq;. 


WILLIAM  WYCKOFF  CLARK. 

\\'illiain  Wyckoff  Clark  comes  of  a  line 
of  patriots  who  have  a  most  honorable  record  in 
the  service  of  their  country,  one  generation  being 
represented  in  the  Army  of  the  Revolution,  an- 
other in  the  War  of  1812,  a  third  in  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion.  Mr.  Clark  is  a  resident  of  St.  An- 
thony Park,  but  has  his  office  in  Minneapolis,  and 
is  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  in  that  city.  His 
father  was  a  physician  and  practiced  his  profes- 
sion in  Mankato  from  1857  until  his  death  in 
1878.  He  came  to  Minnesota  from  Ohio,  and 
during  the  \\ar  was  a  surgeon  of  the  Tenth 
Minnesota  regiment.  Dr.  Clark's  wife  was  Ada- 
line  Babbett  (Clark),  a  direct  descendant  of  Ed- 
ward Winslow,  one  of  the  Mayflower  Puritans. 
The  Clark  family  in  America  was  descended  from 
James  Clark,  who  was  born  in  Ireland  and  emi 
grated  from  there  in  1750  and  settled  in  Lancas- 
ter County,  Pennsylvania.  One  of  his  sons,  Jolm 
Clark,  was  a  colonel  in  the  American  Army  of 
the  Revolution,  and  his  commission,  signed  by 
Washington,  is  still  preserved  by  one  of  the  fam- 
ily. It  was  his  son  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  War 
of  1812  and  who  was  the  grandfather  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  William  Wyckoff  was  born 
at  Mankato,  March  10,  1862.  He  graduated  from 
the  high  school  in  that  city  in  1879,  and  entered 
the  state  university  the  same  year,  where  he  ac- 
complished four  years'  work  in  three,  graduating 
in  the  class  of  1882.  He  received  one  of  the  class 
honors,  that  of  class  tree  orator,  received  the 
first  prizes  in  the  oratorical  contests  in  his  junior 
and  senior  years,  and  in  the  latter  year  repre- 
sented JNIinnesota  in  the  inter-state  oratorical  con- 
test at  Indianapolis,  taking  third  place  in  the  con- 
test. While  in  college  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Theta  Phi  fraternity,  a  local  fraternity  now  suc- 
ceeded bv  Psi  Upsilon.  The  first  dollar  \lr.  Clark 
ever   earned   was   received   for   shoveling   dirt   at 


the  building  of  the  waterworks  in  Mankato,  but 
he  soon  obtained  better  employment  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  mill  then  being  erected  there.  Later 
he  was  employed  with  the  firm  of  Brackett,  Chute 
&  Co.,  on  the  construction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
road,  and  subsequently  held  the  position  of  as- 
sistant bookkeeper  for  the  hardware  firm  of  Miller 
Bros.  He  also  had  some  experience  as  a 
teacher,  tilling  the  unexpired  term  of  a  princi- 
pal of  a  public  school  at  Sleepy  Eye.  He  then 
settled  in  Minneapolis  for  the  study  of  law,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1885.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  law  firm  of  Clark  &  Wingate,  with  offices 
in  the  INIinnesota  Loan  &  Trust  Building,  and  at 
the  present  time  is  giving  his  attention  chiefly  to 
the  law  business  of  the  Scottish  American  Mort- 
gage Companv,  Limited,  a  company  having  three 
or  four  millions  of  dollars  invested  in  this  State. 
Mr.  Clark  has  always  been  a  Republican,  and 
although  he  has  never  asked  for  any  office  he  has 
spent  several  campaigns  on  the  stump  in  this 
state.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Commercial  Club, 
the  Royal  Arcanum,  and  the  Fraternal  Mystic 
Circle.  He  was  married  in  1885  to  Josephine 
Henr\-,  daughter  of  an  old  resident  and  hardware 
merchant  in  East  ^Minneapolis.  They  have  two 
children,  Wyckoff  C.  and  Kenneth.  In  1889  he 
removed  to  St.  .\nthony  Park,  a  suburb  of  Min- 
neapolis, where  he  has  a  pleasant  home. 


252 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


■•<sm!?9im0maK. 


ALFRED  .MERRITT. 

The  name  of  .Merritt  is  identified  in  the  pubHc 
mind  with  that  development  of  the  iron  ore  de- 
posits of  the  state  on  the  jNIesaba  range,  which 
have  caused  it  to  become  one  of  the  leading  in- 
dustries of  the  Northwest.  It  was  Alfred  ^lerritt 
who  had  the  courage  to  make  the  first  practical 
demonstration  of  the  extent  of  the  immense  body 
of  ore  which  lies  along  what  is  known  as  the 
Mesaba  range,  and  to  bring  Minnesota  into  the 
front  rank  of  the  iron  producing  states  of  the 
Union.  Alfred  Merritt  was  the  fifth  son  of  Lewis 
H.  and  Hepsibath  Merritt,  born  in  Chautauqua 
County,  New  York,  May  16,  1847.  The  family 
moved  to  Oneota,  now  a  part  of  Duluth,  in  1856, 
where  Alfred  has  since  lived  and  worked.  His 
ancestry  on  his  father's  side  is  traceable  to  the 
Huguenots,  nejjsiljath  Jcwett,  the  mother  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Massachusetts, 
of  Puritan  stock,  and  emigrated  with  her  parents 
while  she  was  a  young  girl,  to  Western  New 
York.  When  the  Merritt  family  landed  on  the 
north  shore  of  St.  Louis  bay  in  1856  they  were 
the  pioneers  in  that  section,  and  erected  their 
log  cabin  amidst  the  tall  pines.  There  the  mother 
of  the  family  still  lives,  in  her  eighty-third  year. 


There  Alfred  was  educated  in  the  first  common 
schools  established  in  Northern  Minnesota.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  Alfred  became  a  sailor.  He  was 
rapidly  promoted,  and  before  his  majority  he  be- 
came master  of  his  own  vessel.  For  many  years 
he  followed  navigation  on  the  lakes,  and  was 
afterwards  engaged  in  the  business  of  a  lumber- 
man in  company  with  his  brothers  and  nephews, 
and  in  this  occupation  he  was  able  to  gratify  his 
early  Ijent  for  the  adventurous  life  of  an  explorer, 
and  one  of  the  results  of  his  untiring  and  well- 
directed  energies  was  the  discovery  and  develop- 
ment of  the  Mesaba  iron  range.  It  is  due  to  the  late 
Cassius  C.  Merritt,  however,  to  say  that  the  first 
discovery  of  Bessemer  ore  on  the  range  was  made 
by  him  who  had  so  long,  so  bravely  and  so  hope- 
fully dared  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  the  track- 
less wilderness.  Although  at  times  embarrassed 
and  in  danger  of  losing  their  large  interests  in  the 
iron  mines,  it  must  be  conceded  that  it  was  the 
genius  and  pluck  of  the  Merritts  which  developed 
the  iron  industries  of  the  state  and  placed  ]\Iinne- 
sota  in  the  front  rank  as  an  iron  producer. 
It  was  their  skill  and  courage  that  conceived  and 
constructed  the  Dulutli,  Missabe  &  Northern 
railroad,  and  it  was  their  capital  and  brains  that 
constructed  the  greatest  ore  docks  in  the  world 
at  Duluth,  and  assured  to  that  city  the  trans- 
shipment of  its  cargoes,  against  the  most  deter- 
mined, bitter  and  powerful  opposition.  Their  w-ork 
prospered,  and  in  an  almost  incredibly  short 
space  of  time  the  road  was  so  far  completed  that 
the  products  of  the  mines  were  distributed  over 
their  lines  to  the  waiting  furnaces  in  all  parts  of 
the  country.  In  1876  Mr.  Alcrritt  was  married 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Sandelands,  to  whom  were  bom 
three  children,  Lewis  H.  now  a  student  at  Ham- 
line  college;  Thomas  since  deceased,  and  Eliza- 
beth, the  j'oungest,  whose  mother  died  shortly 
after  her  birth,  in  July,  i8S_'.  In  1885  Mr.  Aler- 
ritt  was  married  to  Miss  Jane  A.  Gillis,  whose 
four  children  are  Jessie,  Alta  H.,  Ernest  A.  and 
(ilen  J.  The  Merritts  have  a  i)ictures(iue  home 
on  the  hillside  ovcrlook'ing  the  broad  bay  and  far- 
reaching  river  surrounded  by  every  comfort  and 
convenience.  In  politics  Mr.  Merritt  is  a  Repub- 
lican, and  in  rcliginn  a  Methodist.  He  is  a  help- 
ful and  sympathizing  neighbor,  and  a  loyal  coun- 
selor and  friend. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  01-    MINNESOTA. 


25» 


FRANKLIN  G.  HOLI'.RooK. 

I'ranklin  (i.  llolljrook,  postmaster  of  Aliniic- 
apolis,  is  a  native  of  I'hilaclclpliia,  rennsylvaiiia, 
where  he  was  born  August  26,  1S59.  lie  is  the  son 
of  JJenjaniin  !•'.  f  lolljrook  and  J'ru(lence(Godshall) 
Holbrook.  Uoth  his  parents  were  of  American 
ancestry  for  several  generations.  Mr.  Holbrook's 
early  educational  advantages  were  confined  to  the 
limits  of  the  Philadelphia  common  schools.  It 
became  necessary  for  him,  while  yet  a  mere  lad,  to 
seek  employment,  and  in  1873,  in  his  fourteenth 
year,  he  entered  the  service  of  a  coal  and 
iron  company  in  Philadelphia.  He  remained 
in  the  employ  of  that  establishment  for 
eight  years,  advancing  to  the  position  of  general 
bookkeeper.  A  year  later,  in  1882,  he  decided 
to  come  west  in  order  to  enjoy  the  larger  advan- 
tages which  this  country  affords  to  young  men. 
On  his  arrival^  in  Minneapolis  he  entered  the 
employment  of  the  J.  I.  Case  Plow  Company  as 
bookkeeper  and  cashier.  He  remained  with  them 
four  years,  holding  this  responsible  and  confi- 
dential position  in  this  important  concern  during 
that  time.  Mr.  Holbrook  is  a  Democrat,  and 
since  he  became  a  voter  has  always  taken  an 
active  interest  in  the  promotion  of  the  principles 
in  which  he  believes.  He  became  interested  in 
local  politics  in  Minneapolis,  and  in  1886  was 
elected  city  comptroller.  His  long  experience  as 
accountant  fitted  him  in  a  peculiar  way  for  the 
efficient  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office  and 
he  made  a  record  in  that  capacity  which  is  often 
referred  to  as  of  especial  advantage  to  the  city 
and  a  lasting  credit  to  himself.  In  1888  he  was 
unanimouslv  renominated,  but  was  defeated  in 
that  year  of  Democratic  disaster,  although  run- 
ning ahead  of  his  ticket.  He  went  into  the  grain 
business  in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at  the 
expiration  of  his  term  as  comptroller,  remaining 
in  that  business  from  1889  until  i8gi,  when 
Mayor  P.  P>.  Winston  appointed  him  his  private 
secretary,  which  position  Mr.  Holbrook  filled 
during  1891  and  1892.  His  previous  identifi- 
cation with  the  city  government  as  comptroller 
giving  him  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  mu- 
nicipal affairs.  Mayor  Winston  absolutely  re- 
fusing to  allow  the  use  of  his  name  in  connec- 
tion with  a  renomination  in  the  fall  of  1892,  I\Ir. 
Holbrook  was  brought  forward  as  the  represen- 


tative of  the  younger  element  of  his  party,  but 
after  an  exciting  contention  he  was  defeated 
in  the  convention  on  the  third  ballot  by 
a  very  narrow  margin.  Upon  the  expira- 
tion of  Alayor  Winston's  term  jMr.  Hol- 
brook again,  in  1893,  returned  to  the  grain 
business  in  which  he  was  engaged  on  June  12, 
1894,  when  he  received  the  appointment  of  post- 
master in  Minneapolis.  He  took  possession  of 
his  office  August  i,  of  the  same  year,  and  is  now 
the  occupant  of  that  position.  Here,  as  in  other 
official  stations,  he  has  served  the  public  with 
ability  and  fidelity,  bringing  to  the  discharge  of 
his  duties  thorough  business  training  and  invalu- 
able experience.  The  result  is  the  administration 
of  his  office  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  com- 
munity which  he  serves.  Mr.  Holbrook  enjoys 
great  popularity,  and  the  favor  in  which  he  is 
held  by  the  public  led  to  his  nomination  for  the 
office  of  county  auditor  by  the  Democratic  party 
in  1890,  but  this  nomination  he  declined.  He 
did  not,  however,  shirk  his  obligations  to  his 
partv  and  in  the  same  year  served  it  as  secretary 
of  the  Democratic  city  committee.  Mr.  Hol- 
brook is  a  gentleman  of  high  character  and  uni- 
versallv  esteemed.  He  is  a  member  of  St.  ^Mark's 
Episcopal  Church.  In  1886  he  was  married  to 
Amanda  E.  Coolev. 


254 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


FRANK  B.  KELLOGG. 

Frank  B.  Kellogg,  of  the  law  firm  of  Davis, 
Kellogg  &  Severance,  of  St.  Paul,  was  born  at 
Pottsdam,  St.  Lawrence  County,  New  York,  De- 
cember 22,  1856,  the  son  of  Asa  F.  Kellogg  and 
Abigail  Billings  (Kellogg).  He  came  to  Minne- 
sota with  his  parents  in  October,  1865,  and 
settled  on  a  farm  in  Olmstead  County.  Sub- 
sequently the  family  lived  on  a  farm  near  Elgin, 
Wabasha  County,  which  was  their  home  until 
the  fall  of  1875.  His  early  education  was  ob- 
tained in  the  district  schools  of  (Mmstead  County 
and  the  graded  school  in  Elgin.  Having  deter- 
mined to  become  a  lawyer  he  began  the  study  of 
law  in  the  office  of  H.  A.  Eckh(jl<l,  in  Rochester, 
in  the  fall  of  1875,  and  completed  his  studies, 
preparatory  to  his  admission  to  the  bar,  in  the 
office  of  Hon.  R.  A.  Jones,  who  was  afterwards 
appointed  Chief  Justice  of  Washington  Terri- 
tory by  President  Cleveland.  Mr.  Kellogg  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  December,  1877,  and  began 
the  practice  of  law  in  Rochester,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  live  until  October  1887.  During  that 
time  he  was  elected  city  attorney  of  Rochester 
and  c^iuntv  attornev  of  Olmsted  County.  The 
latter  position   he   held    for  fne  years.      Tn    1886 


Mr.  Kellogg  was  a  candidate  for  the  Republican 
nomination  for  attorney  general  of  the  state  and 
came  within  a  few  votes  of  being  nominated. 
Moses  E.  Clapp,  was,  however,  the  successful 
aspirant  at  that  convention.  In  October,  1887, 
Mr.  Kellogg  removed  to  St.  Paul  where  he  en- 
tered into  partnership  with  Cushman  K.  Davis, 
now  senator,  and  Cordenio  A.  Severance  under 
the  firm  name  of  Davis,  Kellogg  &  Severance. 
He  has  been  connected  with  a  number  of  im- 
portant cases  among  which  were  those  of  the 
towns  of  Plainview  and  Elgin  against  the  \\  inona 
&  .St.  Peter  Railroad  in  1884.  These  suits  were 
brought  to  recover  the  value  of  certain  bonds 
issued  to  the  railroad  as  a  bonus.  The  towns  had 
beendefeated  in  ihcir  attempt  to  resist  the  payment 
of  the  bonds,  and  jutlgment  had  been  rendered 
against  them.  The  matter  had  been  submitted 
to  leading  lawyers  and  the  towns  received  little 
encouragement.  ]\lr.  Kellogg,  however,  took  up 
the  matter,  and  sul)sequently  associated  Senator 
Davis  with  him.  The  result  of  the  litigation,  which 
finallv  reached  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States,  was  favorable  to  the  towns,  and  resulted 
in  a  judgment  in  i8i)2  for  about  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  which  was  paid  by  the  railroad. 
Among  their  most  important  engagements  since 
the  organization  of  the  present  firm  were  the 
arguments  before  the  senate  judiciary  commitec 
and  the  senate  of  the  state  on  the  constitutionality 
of  the  railroad  land  tax  Ijill,  known  as  the  Mark- 
ham  bill,  which  j\Ir.  Kellogg  supported;  the  case 
of  the  jMinneapolis  &  St.  Cloud  Railroad  against 
the  Dulutli  &  Winnipeg  Railroad,  and  the  Du- 
luth  &  Iron  Range  Railroad  Company  as  inter- 
vener, in  which  this  firm  represented  the  latter 
company  and  secured  a  decision  in  favor  of  their 
client  declaring  the  Duluth  &  \\'innipeg  Railroad 
land  grant  of  some  two  million  acres  void ;  and, 
finally,  the  case  involving  the  validity  of  the  jiro- 
posed  consolidation  of  the  Great  Northern  and 
Northern  Pacific  Railroads,  in  which  the  firm  rep- 
resented the  Great  Northern  Railroad  Company. 
Mr.  Kellogg  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  but  has 
never  held  any  official  positions  other  than  those 
above  mentioned,  whose  duties  were  in  the  line  of 
his  professional  work.  He  was  married  in  1886  to 
Clara  ^1.  Cook,  of  Rochester,  ^linnesota. 


PROGKUSSIVK  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


255 


FRAN'K  MELVILT.K  JOYCE, 

Colonel  Frank  AI.  Jo}cc  was  boni  at  Cov- 
ington, Indiana,  r^larch  i8,  1862.  His  father 
is  Bishop  Isaac  W.  Joyce,  one  (jf  the  most  (lis- 
tins^uishecl  of  the  bishops  of  the  Alethoilist  Epis- 
copal Church,  antl  now  resident  in  Minneapolis. 
Bishop  Jo_\ce,  when  a  minister  in  the  denonii- 
nation,  went  to  Cincinnati  from  Indiana  and  be- 
came very  popular  as  pastor  of  St.  Paul  and 
Trinity  churches  in  that  city.  He  was  subse- 
quently chosen  bishop  by  the  largest  vote  ever 
cast  for  that  office.  F.  Al.  Joyce's  mother  was 
Miss  Carrie  Bosserman,  of  an  old  Pennsylvania 
Dutch  family.  Bishop  Joyce  is  of  Irish  descent. 
Colonel  Joyce  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Lafayette,  Indiana,  and  afterwards  graduated 
from  Indiana  Asbury  University,  now  De  Pauw 
University.  He  took  the  gold  medal  of  his  class 
for  mathematics.  During  the  last  year  of  his  col- 
lege career  he  was  major  of  the  Cadet  Battalion, 
and  captain  of  the  famous  Asbury  Cadets,  who 
won  the  first  national  artillery  prize  at  Indianap- 
olis in  1882,  over  many  competing  batteries  from 
all  over  the  United  States.  Early  in  his  college 
days  he  was  initiated  into  the  bonds  of  Beta 
Theta  Pi,  a  prominent  Greek  letter  fraternity, 
with  which  he  has  ever  since  been  highly  con- 
nected. After  graduation  he  went  to  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  and  became  paying  teller  of  the  Queen 
City  National  Bank.  Five  years  later  he  resigned 
to  accept  the  general  agency  of  the  Provident 
Life  and  Trust  Company,  at  Cincinnati.  He  w-as 
associated  with  that  company  until  1890  when  he 
entered  the  services  of  the  Mutual  Benefit  Life 
Insurance  Company,  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  as 
district  agent  at  Cincinnati.  Having  established 
himself  as  a  successful  and  entirely  reliable  in- 
surance man,  Colonel  Joyce,  after  a  few  )-ears 
with  the  Mutual  Benefit,  was  transferred  to 
Minneapolis  as  state  agent  of  that  company  for 
Minnesota  and  the  Dakotas.  Since  coming  to 
Minneapolis  he  has  made  a  large  circle  of  friends 
both  in  the  social  and  business  communities  of 
the  cit}'.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Hennepin  Ave- 
nue Methodist  church,  and  of  the  leading  busi- 
ness organizations  of  the  city.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Blue  Lodge,  Chap- 
ter, Knights  Templar,  and  is  a  thirty-second  de- 


gree Scottish  Rite  Mason.  Fie  is  also  an  hon- 
orary member  of  the  Army  and  Navy  Military 
Service  Institute.  Colonel  Joyce's  title  is  by  no 
means  an  honorary  one  only.  Fie  was  a  com- 
missioned officer  of  the  Indiana  Legion,  and 
■  later  commander  of  the  Second  Battery  Ohio 
National  Guard.  It  was  while  in  this  position, 
at  the  time  of  the  famous  Court  House  riots  in 
Cincinnati  in  1884,  that  he  rendered  such  service 
as  to  receive  the  special  commendation  of  Gov. 
Hoadly.  In  1889  Colonel  Joyce  organized  the 
Avon  Rifles  from  among  the  best  young  men  of 
Avondale,  a  suburb  of  Cincinnati,  where  he  re- 
sided. He  also  had  the  honor  of  being  a  mem- 
ber of  the  personal  staff  of  Governor  McKinley, 
of  Ohio,  which  position  he  held  until  he  left  the 
state.  While  in  Cincinnati,  Colonel  Joyce  was 
quite  prominently  connected  with  the  musical 
affairs  of  the  city,  and  was  president  of  the 
Orpheus  Club,  the  leading  male  chonis  in  a  city 
famed  for  its  musical  culture,  from  the  time  of 
its  organization  until  his  removal  to  this  city. 
On  March  20.  1883,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jes- 
sie F.  Birch,  daughter  of  the  late  Honorable  Jesse 
Birch,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Bloomington,  Illi- 
nois. They  have  four  children,  Arthur  Reamy, 
Carolvn,  Wilbur  Birch,  and  Helen. 


256 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


if 

i./ 

^  m 

^^'i^jdl 

EDAIUND  GREGORY  BUTTS. 

Edmund  Gregory  Butts  is  Judge  of  Probate 
of  Washington  County,  and  resides  at  Stillwater. 
He  was  born  May  7,  1832,  in  Kortright,  Dela- 
ware County,  New  York.  His  father,  Luther 
Butts,  was  a  farmer  of  some  prominence  in  his 
neighborhood,  having  held  various  town  and 
county  offices.  In  1849  he  was  a  member  of  the 
state  legislature  of  New  York.  He  was  colonel 
of  militia  in  the  days  of  what  was  known  as  the 
"general  muster"  or  "general  training,"  and  was 
a  conspicuous  figure  on  the  parade  ground  for 
his  military  bearing  and  fine  horsemanship.  His 
wife's  maiden  name  was  Sarah  Gregory.  Her 
father,  Nehemiah  Gregory,  was  a  Revolutionary 
soldier.  Edmund  Gregory  Butts  spent  his  early 
youth  on  his  father's  farm  and  began  his  edu- 
cation in  the  district  school.  Later  he  took  sev- 
eral terms  at  the  local  academy,  and  then  entered 
the  State  Normal  School  at  Albany,  where  he 
graduated  in  1854.  With  this  professional  prep- 
aration he  taught  school  for  several  years.  In 
connection  with  his  work  as  a  teacher  he  pursued 
the  study  of  law,  completing  his  professional 
preparation  with  the  firm  of  Parker  &  Glcason, 
at  Delhi,  New  York,  where  he  was  admitted  to 


the  bar  in  1861.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he 
enlisted  with  the  Thirty-seventh  New  York  as  a 
private,  and  was  engaged  in  several  battles,  the 
most  important  of  which  was  the  Battle  of  Gettys- 
burg. While  engaged  as  a  teacher  he  held  the 
position  of  associate  principal  of  Delaware  Acad- 
emy. There  he  had  charge  of  the  class  in  sci- 
ences and  mathematics.  He  was  afterwards  called 
to  Roxbury,  to  principalship  of  that  academy. 
After  his  discharge  from  the  army  he  received, 
without  solicitation,  an  appointment  to  a  clerkship 
in  the  third  auditor's  office  in  the  treasury  depart- 
ment, through  the  request  of  Gen.  Garfield.  His 
first  intimation  that  he  was  appointed  to  this 
position  was  a  recpiest  to  report  for  duty.  He 
remainetl  in  this  government  position  until  th.e 
winter  of  1864,  when,  not  being  satisfied  with 
the  prospects  there,  and  not  fancying  the  idea  of 
becoming  a  fixture  in  a  government  position,  he 
came  West,  arriving  at  Stillwater,  January  25, 
1865,  and  has  resided  there  ever  since.  Soon 
after  his  arrival  he  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace,  which  office  he  held  for  two  years.  About 
this  time  he  was  appointed  inspector  of  the  Min- 
nesota state  prison  b}'  Governor  Austin,  and 
iield  the  position  for  twenty  years.  While  serv- 
ing the  state  in  that  capacity  he  was  sent  as  a 
delegate  to  the  National  Prison  Congress  at  Bal- 
timore. Thirty  years  ago  Judge  I'utts  was  elected 
Judge  of  Probate  of  \\'ashington  County,  and 
held  the  office  ten  years.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Judge  R.  Lehmcke,  who  died  in  1894,  when  jNIr. 
Butts  was  re-appointed  by  Governor  Nelson, 
and  still  holds  the  position.  He  has  been 
married  twice.  His  first  wife  was  Miss  E. 
.\ugusta  White,  of  Delaware  County,  New  York, 
to  whom  he  was  married  in  1867.  .She  came  to 
.Stillwater  to  be  married.  She  had  two  children, 
(ino  of  whom.  Miss  ]\Iinnie  Butts,  is  a  teacher 
in  the  StilKvator  pul)lic  schools:  the  other,  a  son, 
luhnund  L.,  is  a  lieutenant  in  the  regular  army, 
having  graduated  from  ^^'cst  Point  in  i8qo.  Mr. 
Butts'  second  wife  was  ?vliss  Ida  V..  Ellsworth, 
of  South  Bend,  Indiana,  to  whom  he  was  married 
in  1878,  who  has  borne  him  five  children,  Alollie, 
Dwight.  Elorcncc.  Mellicont  and  .\delo.  Judge 
Butts'  political  relations  have  always  been  with 
the  Republican  party,  and  his  church  connec- 
tions are  witli  the  I'.piscopal  denoniination. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


257 


RoiU'lRT   i'RATr. 

SuiTOundcd  by  adverse  iiirtueiices  in  youth, 
with  limited  educational  facilities,  but  with  cour- 
age and  perseverance  acquired  from  hard  ex- 
periences imdergone  through  a  service  of  four 
years  in  the  civil  war,  while  yet  in  his  teens,  RoIj- 
ert  Pratt,  tlie  mayor  of  Minneapolis,  has  grad- 
vially  climbed  the  ladder  of  success.  He  was 
born  December,  12,  1845,  '''  Rutland,  Vermont, 
the  son  of  Sidney  Wright  Pratt  and  Sarah 
Elizabeth  Harkness  (Pratt).  His  father  was  a 
laborer  in  poor  financial  circumstances.  His 
mother  was  Scotch,  coming  to  this  country  in 
1834.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  Roljert  was 
a  captain  in  the  ^\'ar  of  181 2,  and  married  a 
South  Carolinian.  Robert  received  his  early 
education  in  the  district  schools,  also  taking  a 
course  in  the  Brandon  Seminary,  at  Brandon, 
\'ermont.  When  but  fifteen  years  and  eight 
months  old,  he  enlisted  at  Brandon  as  a  private 
in  Company  H,  I'ifth  Vermont  A'olunteer  In- 
fantry, and  served  throughout  the  entire  war. 
He  was  in  active  service  all  this  time  and  en- 
gaged in  all  the  principal  battles  of  the  x\rmy  of 
the  Potomac  after  Bull  Run,  serving  under  AIc- 
Clellan,  Burnside,  Hooker,  Meade  and  Sheridan 
until  the  close  at  Appomatox.  At  the  time  he 
was  mustered  out,  July  12,  1865,  he  was  hardly 
twenty  years  of  age,  yet  he  had  been  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  captain.  The  sufferings  experi- 
enced by  this  courageous  youth  in  the  service  of 
his  countn,'  were  such  as  to  prepare  him  early 
for  the  struggles  of  life.  He  had  earned  his  first 
dollar  by  gathering  stones  on  the  farm,  and  from 
his  first  start  in  business  for  himself  was  able  to 
accunuilate  money  by  industry  and  economical 
habits.  He  came  to  Minnesota,  locating  at  Min- 
neapolis, in  November,  1866,  with  an  invalid 
brother,  who  had  sought  this  climate  to  regain 
his  health.  Robert  first  began  working  by  the 
day,  driving  a  team,  and  doing  any  other  kind  of 
work  he  could  find.  W^ith  the  accumulated  sav- 
ings of  some  years  he  embarked  in  the  lumber 
business  for  himself,  afterwards,  in  1877  or  1878, 
becoming  a  dealer  in  wood  and  coal.  Mr.  Pratt 
has  remained  in  the  fuel  business  since  that  time, 
having  made  a  success  of  it,  being  one  of  the 
largest  retail  dealers  in  that  line  in  Alinneapolis. 


He  has  always  taken  a  prominent  part  in  all 
enterprises  tending  to  upbuild  the  city.  His 
political  afifiliations  have  always  been  with  the 
Republican  party.  His  first  vote  w'as  cast  for 
Lincoln  when  he  was  but  nineteen  years  of  age, 
having  earned  his  right  to  vote  by  his  three 
years'  service  in  the  army.  In  1884  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  city  council  for  a  term  of 
three  years.  He  was  also  elected  a  member  of 
the  School  Board  in  1888  for  a  term  of  four 
years,  and  was  re-elected  for  a  term  of  six  years 
in  1892.  In  1894  he  was  nominated  by  the  Re- 
publicans for  the  office  of  mayor  of  Minneapolis 
and  elected.  His  administration  of  the  office  has 
been  a  commendable  one,  and  at  the  Republican 
city  convention  in  August,  1896,  he  was  re-nom- 
inated by  his  party  with  but  slight  opposition, 
and  re-elected  by  the  largest  majority  ever  ac- 
corded a  mayor  of  this  city.  ^\r.  Pratt  is  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Army,  the  Loyal  Legion, 
the  Elks,  the  Masonic  fraternity,  the  L'nion 
League,  a  director  of  the  Commercial  Club  and 
German  American  Bank.  He  was  married  Au- 
gust 30,  1871.  to  Irene  Lamoreaux.  Thev  have 
six  children,  Roberta,  Helen  Clare,  Sidney,  Rob- 
ert, Jr.,  Sara  and  Thomas.  The  two  eldest 
daughters  are  graduates  of  the  .State  University, 
while  the  eldest  son  is  taking:  his  fourth  vear. 


258 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


w 


FRANK   LORIXG  STETSON. 

Of  the  men  who  risk  their  hves  in  the  pub- 
lic service  there  are  none  of  whom  more  courage 
is  required  than  they  who  fornt  the  fire  depart- 
ments of  our  large  cities,  and  who  hazard  their 
lives  in  the  protection  of  life  and  property  from 
fire.  Air.  Stetson  has  been  connected  with  the 
fire  department  of  Minneapolis  for  many  years 
and  is  at  present  its  chief.  His  father,  Amasa 
Stetson,  was  a  contractor  and  ship-builder  in 
Maine.  He  was  killed  in  Boston  by  falling 
from  a  scafTold.  His  wife's  maiden  name  was 
Sarah  S.  Thorndike,  at  present  residing  in  Seattle, 
Washington,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven 
years,  and  as  active  and  in  as  good  com- 
mand of  her  intellect  as  most  women  of 
sixty  years.  I'rank  Loring  was  the  young- 
est of  eight  children.  He  was  born  De- 
cember 19,  1853,  in  Kno.x  County,  .Maine. 
He  removed  with  his  parents  to  Boston  in  1865, 
and  there  attended  the  public  schools,  fi^llowing 
this  with  an  academic  course  at  Dean  Academy, 
Franklin,  ATassachusetts.  As  a  boy,  Mr.  Stetson 
earned  his  first  money  aboard  a  ship.  He  came 
to  Minnesota  in  the  spring  of  1869,  settling  in 
St.  Anthony,  and  shortly  after  joined  Cataract 
Engine  Company  No.  1,  and  when  only  sixteen 


years  of  age  received  his  initial  lesson  in  fire- 
fighting.  In  1873  he  was  elected  foreman  of  this 
company.  At  the  same  time  he  obtained  em- 
ployment in  the  lumber  mills  as  filer  and  sawyer, 
and  in  1878  took  charge  as  foreman  of  Leavitt 
&  Chase's  mill.  Later  he  resigned  to  take  a  like 
position  in  the  Merriam-Barrows  Company's  em- 
ploy. On  July  I,  1879,  t^l^s  oW  volunteer  fire 
department  was  disbanded  and  Mr.  Stetson  was 
appointed  foreman  of  the  Cataract  Company,  un- 
der the  partial  paid  system.  In  1880  he  became 
second  assistant  engineer  of  the  fire  department, 
and  in  December,  1881,  assumed  the  duties  of 
first  assistant  chief  engineer.  On  March  i,  1882, 
Mr.  Stetson  was  appointed  chief  engineer,  which 
position  he  held  until  1891.  He  was  then  ap- 
pointed state  game  warden,  which  position,  how- 
ever, he  resigned  to  accept  a  more  lucrative  one 
as  superintendent  of  the  Compo  Board  Com- 
pany's plant.  This  position  he  held  until  May,^ 
1894,  when  he  was  appointed  deputy  internal 
revenue  collector.  Mr.  Stetson  continued  in  this 
position  until  January  10,  1895,  when  he  was 
re-appointed  as  chief  of  the  fire  department  of 
Minneapolis.  Mr.  Stetson  has  proved  himself  to 
be  a  faithful  and  efficient  officer  and  brave  and 
courageous  in  the  performance  of  his  duties.  On 
Noveml)er  4,  1884,  he  organized  the  full  paid 
fire  department  of  the  city  of  jMinneapolis,  and 
formulated  the  rules  and  regulations  governing 
the  same.  He  was  also  instrumental  in  securing 
the  legislation  making  it  possiMe  to  maintain 
firemen's  relief  associations,  which  have  Ijeen  of 
incalculable  benefit  to  the  firemen.  While  acting 
as  game  warden  Mr.  Stetson  was  active  in  pro- 
moting the  adoption  of  the  new  game  laws  of 
Minnesota.  He  is  a  member  of  the  various 
Masonic  bodies,  including  the  Mystic  Shrine,  is 
Eminent  Conmiander  of  Darius  Commandery, 
No.  7;  member  of  the  National  Association  of 
Fire  Engineers,  the  Minnesota  State  Fire  Asso- 
ciation, the  Elks,  Odd  Fellows  and  Knights  of 
Honor.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Ilemiepin 
Avenue  Metliodist  rliurch.  April  28,  1877,  he 
was  married  to  Ida  L.  Winslow.  Air.  and  Airs. 
Stetson  have  had  five  children,  four  of  wliom 
are  living,  TToratio  J..  \'iva  T..,  Zuln-ah  Toniple 
and  Kingsley  F. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


259 


ERFORU  AXDRK  CAM  L'I;1::LL. 

Major  E.  Andre  Canipbcll,  president  of  the 
State  Bank  of  Winthrop,  is  one  of  the  Sibley 
County  pioneers  and  perhajjs  the  most  i)roiiiinent 
business  man  in  that  part  of  the  state.  He  is  a 
native  of  New  York  state.  His  father,  Zuriel 
Campbell,  who  was  of  Scotch  descent,  emigrated 
from  Courtland  County,  New  York,  to  Wiscon- 
sin, in  1846,  and  located  in  Dane  County.  His 
son  Andre  was  then  ten  years  cild,  having  been 
born  on  April  4,  1836.  As  a  boy  Andre  re- 
mained on  the  farm  with  his  parents.  When  the 
vi'ar  broke  out  he  enlisted  in  the  Seventh  Regi- 
ment of  Wisconsin  volunteers  and  was  attached 
to  the  famous  Iron  ISrigade  of  the  Armv  of  the 
Potomac.  Major  Campbell  participated  in  the 
famous  campaigns  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
from  August,  1862,  to  July.  1S64.  He  was  in 
the  battles  before  Washington  in  the  armv  com- 
manded by  Maj.  Gen.  John  Pope,  including 
those  of  Gainesville  and  the  second  Bull  Run. 
While  in  front  of  Petersburg  in  the  l)attle  of 
July  30,  1864,  he  was  wounded  and  by  reason 
of  the  disability  caused  l)y  these  wounds  was 
honorabl)-  discharged  from  service  on  November 
22,  of  the  same  year.  Major  Campbell  came  I0 
Minnesota  and  settled  in  Sible\'  Countv  in  the 
town  of  Transit  in  March,  1865.  In  the  foUnwing 
November  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jane  O'lSrien, 
of  Durand  Illinois.  They  have  one  child.  Miss 
Anna  A.  H.  Campbell,  who  graduated  from  Ham- 
line  University  in  the  class  of  1893.  I'l  1881  Alaj. 
Campbell  removed  into  the  village  of  Winthrop 
and  entered  the  real  estate,  insurance  and  loan 
business.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  prominently 
identified  with  the  business  interests  of  the  sec- 
tion and  has  lieen  uniformly  prosperous.  His 
interests  have  constantl}"  broadened.  In  1888 
he  organized  with  others  the  State  llank  of  Win- 
throp and  became  its  first  president;  he  has  held 
that  position  ever  since.  In  1895  ^^^  assisted  in 
organizing  the  Minneapolis,  New  Ulm  and 
Southwestern  Railroad  Compan\',  and  was  made 
its  president.  He  has  milling  interests  and  still 
operates  a  large  farm.  During  his  business 
career  he  was.  for  a  time,  agent  of  the  Winona 
&  St.  Peter  Land  Company,  and  in  that  capacity 
sold  over  fortv-five  thousand  acres  of  land  in  his 


part  of  the  state.  .Maj.  Camijbell  has  not  been  a  pol- 
itician in  the  sense  of  being  an  olilice  seeker.  But 
the  prominent  business  man  in  a  western  town 
can  hardly  escape  the  cares  and  duties  of  public 
service.  He  was  the  first  postmaster  of  Win- 
throp, has  been  elected  mayor  for  three  succes- 
sive terms  and  is  president  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation of  the  Independent  School  District  of 
Winthrop.  He  has  always  been  a  Republican. 
I'^or  si.x  years  past  he  has  been  chairman  of  the 
county  committee  of  his  party.  Maj.  Campbell 
is  a  member  of  the  Minnesota  Commandery  of 
the  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  and  also 
of  Gen.  Hancock  Post  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic.  He  belongs  to  the  St.  John's 
Chapter  of  Ro\al  Arch  .Masons,  of  Minneapolis, 
and  is  a  member  of  Eagle  City  Lodge,  No.  123, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Winthrop,  and  of  Winthrop 
Lodge,  no,  Knights  of  Pythias.  Though  not 
a  church  member,  he  attends  the  Congregational 
church  in  his  town.  The  pleasant  home  of  the 
Campbells  is  located  at  the  corner  of  Carver  and 
Fourth  Streets,  in  ^^'inthrop.  A  modern  and 
spacious  house  is  supplemented  by  large 
grounds,  gardens  ar.d  well-filled  stables.  It  is 
known  as  one  of  the  pleasanlest  homes  in  the 
countv. 


260 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


EDWARD  WILLARD  RICHTER. 

E.  W.  Richter,  county  attorney  of  Steele 
County,  Minnesota,  is  a  native  of  Waushara 
County,  Wisconsin,  where  he  was  born  on  March 
31,  1852.  He  is  of  Irish  and  German  extraction. 
His  father,  Ferdinand  Richter,  was  a  native  of 
Hamburg,  Germany,  and  was  a  professor  of 
languages  and  a  man  of  culture  and  refinement. 
A  good  classical  scholar,  he  spoke  German, 
French,  Italian  and  English  with  equal  ease  and 
fluency.  His  wife  was  Miss  Catherine  Reilly, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  the  city  of  Dublin. 
They  came  to  America  in  1849  '•nd  settled  in 
Wisconsin.  Mr.  Richter  readily  espoused  the 
faith  of  his  adopted  country,  growing  to  be  a 
warm  supporter  of  her  institutions.  He  became 
an  adherent  of  the  Whig  party,  and  with  the 
birth  of  the  Republican  party  in  1856  he  enthusi- 
astically joined  the  cause  of  freedom.  In  Wis- 
consin he  was  a  pioneer,  the  government  survey 
having  not  been  completed  when  he  took  up  his 
farm.  It  was  in  this  wild  frontier  life  that  tlic 
eldest  sf)n  of  the  family,  Edward  Willard,  found 
the  influences  which  surrounded  his  childhood. 
The  farmer's  boy  of  those  days  went  to  the  com- 
mon country  schools  in  winter,  but  saw  little  of 


the  school  house  in  summer;  at  least  after  he  be- 
came old  enough  to  drive  a  team  of  horses  or  to 
tlo  other  work  on  the  farm.  The  school  houses 
were  far  apart  and  the  winters  were  severe,  and 
schooling,  when  obtained,  was  paid  for  with  the 
endurance  of  hardship  and  the  performance  of 
much  hard  work.  Young  Edward,  however,  had 
a  receptive  mind  and  made  good  progress.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered  Ripon  College  and 
remained  one  year  a  part  of  the  time  walking 
four  miles  to  reach  that  institution  every  morning 
and  back  again  at  night.  He  afterwards  attended 
St.  Francis'  seminary,  near  ^Milwaukee,  for  two 
years,  but  was  called  away  before  graduating  for 
lack  of  means  to  continue.  For  a  year  or  two  he 
assisted  in  maintaining  the  family  by  teaching 
school  in  winter  and  working  on  the  farm  in 
sunmier.  At  about  this  time  his  father  moved 
with  his  family  to  Dodge  County,  Minnesota, 
and  soon  after,  in  1872,  was  accidentally  killed 
while  engaged  in  logging  in  the  pine  woods  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  state.  It  devolved  upon 
Edward  as  the  eldest  son,  and  the  only  one  of 
mature  years,  to  settle  up  his  father's  affairs  and 
to  maintain  a  home  for  his  mother  and  a  large 
family  of  brothers  and  sisters.  He  had  just  ar- 
rived at  his  majority  but  he  entered  on  his  task 
bravely,  and  after  five  years  was  able  to  make 
some  decision  as  to  his  own  future  career.  His 
tastes  were  for  the  law,  and  he  entered  the  law 
office  of  the  Hon.  C.  C.  Wilson,  of  Rochester. 
After  a  time  he  was  associated  with  Start  & 
Gove  in  the  same  city,  and  later  he  went  to  Owa- 
tonna,  where  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  Since 
then  he  has  lived  continuously  in  Owatonna  prac- 
ticing his  profession.  With  the  exception  of 
about  a  year's  partnership  with  the  Hon.  Amos 
Coggswell  early  in  the  eighties,  Mr.  Richter  has 
been  alone.  Ever  since  arriving  at  manhood  he 
has  taken  an  active  interest  in  politics  and  he  has 
been  a  Republican  from  the  first.  In  Owatonna 
he  has  1)een  honored  with  election  to  the  office 
of  city  attorney,  a  post  which  he  has  held  for 
three  vcars.  For  two  years  he  has  been  prosecut- 
ing attorney  for  the  county.  Mr.  Richter  was 
married  in  September,  1881,  to  ^Miss  J.  O'Con- 
nor, of  Owatonna.  They  have  had  four  children, 
two  boys  and  two  girls,  of  whom  three  are  living. 
Mr.  Richter  has  always  been  a  Roman  Catholic. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


261 


JOHN'  A.  NORIJKF.N. 

J.  A.  Nordccn  was  born  in  the  village  of 
Stattluilt,  in  the  province  of  N'cster  Gotland, 
Sweden,  on  May  12,  1856.  He  was  the  only  son 
of  A.  P.  Larson  Nordin  and  Christina  Larson. 
Mr.  Nordeen's  father  is  at  present  living  on  his 
farm  in  Sweden,  having  retired  from  active  public 
life.  He  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the 
District  Bench,  and  has  during  his  life  taken  part 
in  the  religious,  political  and  social  affairs  of  his 
locality.  For  twenty  years  he  occupied  high 
positions  of  trust  in  the  connnunity  where  he 
lived;  his  ancestry  for  generations  were  officers 
in  the  Swedish  Army.  Mr.  Nordeen  received  a 
conunon  and  high  school  education.  He  studied 
law  in  his  father's  office  and  at  the  same  time  de- 
voted part  of  his  time  to  working  on  a  farm. 
Afterwards  he  entered  a  technical  school  for  the 
purpose  of  studying  architecture  and  mechanical 
engineering,  but  in  a  short  time  he  obtained  his 
parents'  permission  to  emigrate,  and  left  Sweden 
in  1879.  He  visited  England  and  then  came  to 
the  United  States,  arriving  in  Chicago  in  the 
spring  of  1880.  Without  friends  and  without  a 
cent  in  his  pocket  he  made  the  best  of  the  situa- 
tion, obtained  employment  at  common  labor  and 
spent  his  evenings  studying.  Soon  after  his  ar- 
rival he  obtained  employment  on  the  Chicago  & 
Northwestern  Railroad,  and  remained  with  that 
company  for  about  a  }ear,  or  until  a  better  posi- 
tion was  offered  in  the  employ  of  the  Pullman 
Palace  Car  Company.  About  two  years  later 
he  left  the  Pullman  Company  and  took  a  trip 
for  recreation  and  pleasure,  through  the  Southern 
states,  Cuba  and  Mexico.  Upon  his  return  he 
settled  in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  and  obtained  em- 
ployment in  the  service  of  the  Great  Northern 
Railroad  Company.  Thinking  that  prospects 
might  he  better  in  another  locality  he  shortly 
resigned  and  re-entered  the  service  of  the  Pull- 
man Company  at  their  St.  Louis  shops,  but  the 
climate  of  Missouri  did  not  suit  him  and  in  a 
short  time  he  was  back  in  Minnesota.  This  time 
he  came  to  Minneapolis  and  entered  the  employ- 
ment of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Rail- 
road Company,  where  he  remained  until  1801, 
when  he  resigned  to  take  a  part  interest  in  the 
Northwestern  Mantel  Company.     At  present  he 


is  engaged  in  the  general  business  of  contracting 
and  building.  L'pon  his  arrival  in  the  United 
States  he  aftiliated  with  the  Republican  party, 
taking  an  active  part  in  ever>'  campaign.  In  1892 
he  was  nominated  and  elected  to  the  City  Coun- 
cil, as  a  result  of  a  movement  on  the  part  of 
certain  political  organizations  and  the  taxpayers 
of  the  Seventh  Ward.  While  in  the  Council, 
Air.  Nordeen  was  instrumental  in  securing  the 
adoption  of  a  Sub-way  Fire  Alarm  and  Police 
Telephone  System,  which  is  claimed  to  be  the 
best  in  any  city  in  the  United  States.  He  in- 
troduced the  revised  ordinances  on  the  subject  of 
electric  wires,  buildings,  and  gambling.  He  has 
held  the  position  of  chairman  of  the  council  com- 
mittee on  fire  department,  and  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  committees  of  public  grounds,  build- 
ings, railroads,  sewers,  underground  wires,  and 
reservoir.  Mr.  Nordeen  is  a  member  of  the 
Swedish-American  L^nion  of  jMinnesota,  the 
North  Star  League,  and  a  member  and  trustee 
of  the  Swedish  Lutheran  Augustana  Church.  In 
1885  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ida  C.  Peterson, 
of    Minneapolis.      They    have    three    children: 


.\lbert  Theodore  Nordeen,  born  in   i{ 


Inette 


Theresia  Nordeen,  bom  in  1889,  and  Edith  Chris- 
tine Nordeen,  born  in  1892. 


262 


PROGRESSTVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


\ 


TOHX  ISAAC  FARICV. 


It  was  an  earnest  desire  to  see  more  of  the 
world  and  to  find  occupation  more  to  his  taste 
that  induced  J.  I.  Faricy  to  run  away  from  his 
parents'  farm  home  in  the  summer  of  1878  and 
remain  away  for  seven  years.  Mr.  i'"aricy  was 
born  at  Credit  River,  Scott  County,  Minnesota, 
May  20,  i860.  His  father's  name  was  James 
Faricy,  a  farmer,  highly  esteemed  and  well-to-do, 
who  settled  at  Credit  River,  .Scott  County,  in 
1855.  His  wife  (John  Isaac's  mother),  was 
Bridget  Nyhan.  James  Faricy  and  his  wife  were 
both  born  in  Ireland,  and  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try when  rjuite  young.  They  lived  first  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. Members  of  Mrs.  F'aricy's  family  oc- 
cupied prominent  positions  in  the  old  country, 
socially  and  professionally,  several  of  them  being 
lawyers  and  clergymen.  Juhn  Isaac  was  em- 
ployed on  his  father's  farm  and  attended  the  coun- 
try school  in  the  winter,  as  farmers'  boys  of  that 
time  were  accustomed  to  do.  Later  Ik-  U»>k  a 
course  in  bookkeeping  and  connnercial  law  at 
the  Curtiss  Business  College  in  i\1irmeapolis.  But 
he  did  not  enjoy  farm  life,  and  without  the  knowl- 
edge or  consent  of  his  parents  left  home  in  the 
summer  of   1878  with  only  twenty-five  cents  in 


his  pocket  to  begin  life  on  his  own  account.  He 
was  first  employed  with  a  threshing  machine 
crew  near  Uvvatonna,  and  remained  there  during 
the  winter  of  1878  and  1879,  working  on  a  farm 
for  his  board  and  schooling.  Early  in  the  spring 
of  1879  he  joined  the  rush  to  Sioux  Falls,  which 
was  then  attracting  emigration,  and  spent  the 
sunmier  there  locating  people  on  wild  lands.  In 
Januar}-,  1880,  he  went  to  Sioux  City,  obtaining 
employment  with  the  National  Publishing  Com- 
pany, of  Philadelphia,  as  collector  and  canvasser 
for  their  books,  and  continued  in  tlieir  service 
until  the  following  autunm,  when  he  removed  to 
Montana  and  was  engaged  in  the  steamboat  busi- 
ness on  the  Upper  Missouri  and  Yellowstone 
rivers  during  the  seasons  of  1881  and  1882. 
About  this  time  he  became  interested  in  the  gold 
mining  development  in  the  lUack  Hills  and  went 
to  that  region  in  the  latter  part  of  November. 
There  he  secured  a  good  position  with  the  Home- 
stake  Mining  Company  at  Lead  City,  and  also 
operated  in  mines  and  mining  stock,  accvmiulat- 
ing  considerable  money.  In  December,  1884, 
after  having  been  absent  from  his  home  for  nearly 
seven  years,  he  returned  to  visit  his  parents.  He 
then  saw  an  opportunity  to  speculate  profitably 
in  St.  Paul  real  estate,  and  did  not  return  to  the 
IMack  Hills,  but  invested  in  property  in  the  Capi- 
tol City  to  considerable  extent,  and,  also,  in  prop- 
erty between  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis.  He  has 
been  engaged  coiuinuously  in  the  real  estate  and 
loan  business  ever  since  he  k)cated  in  St.  F'aul. 
His  business  connections  first  were  with  the  firm 
of  Brennan  &  Fahy.  in  1886.  He  formed  a 
partnership  in  1887  with  P.  M.  Dal\-,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Faricy  &  Dal\-,  and  engaged  in  tlie 
real  estate  and  loan  business.  This  firm  continued 
until  i8gi,  when  Air.  Daly  retired,  and  Mr.  F'aricy 
continued  the  business  alone.  He  has  been  a 
Democrat  in  jxilitics,  but  has  never  sought  ofifice, 
though  solicited  many  times  to  do  so.  He  has, 
however,  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  public 
affairs.  lie  is  a  member  of  the  ('.'itholio  church, 
and  was  married  Jinie  J.j..  1800.  ;ii  .\uslin.  .Min- 
nesota, to  l\Iiss  Thecla  Brown,  ;i  relative  of  .\rch- 
Iiishop  l'"l(ler,  of  Cincinn;iti.  <  )hio.  Thev  have 
three  children.  James  Jose])li,  William  ("Icwl'ind 
and  Rol)ert  Brown. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


2r,:i 


AARON  BENJAMIN  KAlCRCliER. 

A.  15.  Kaerchei"  is  an  attunicy  of  (Jrtuiiville, 
Minnesota.  He  was  born  at  Preston,  J'illnKjrc 
County,  Minnesota,  on  January  20,  i860.  His 
father,  John  Kaercher,  was  engaged  in  the  mill- 
ing business  at  Preston.  Air.  Kaercher,  senior, 
was  a  native  of  Strassburg,  but  was  Ijrought  to 
Canada  by  his  parents  when  an  infant.  Jle  was 
left  an  orphan  at  an  early  age,  and  was  thrown 
largely  ui)on  his  own  resources,  and  achieved  a 
large  measure  of  success  entirely  through  his  own 
industr)-,  ability  and  indomitable  will.  He  came 
to  Fillmore  County  when  a  young  man  and  laid 
out  the  village  of  Preston,  building  the  flour  mills 
at  that  place,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  was 
one  of  the  most  prominent  business  men  in 
Southern  ^Minnesota.  He  now  resides  near  South 
Bend,  Washington.  His  wife  was  Barbara 
Kraemer,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Strassburg. 
Mrs.  Kaercher  died  January  12,  1865,  at  Preston. 
Aaron  was  one  of  six  children.  His  early  educa- 
tion was  limited.  He  attended  the  graded  schools 
at  Preston  until  fifteen  years  of  age  when  he  en- 
tered his  father's  office  as  bookkeeper.  After 
three  years  he  went  into  the  mill  as  apprentice 
and  learned  the  trade,  and  when  nineteen  took 
charge  of  the  flouring  mill  at  Kendallville,  Iowa. 
Later  he  returned  to  Minnesota,  and  in  1881  went 
with  his  father  to  Big  Stone  City,  Dakota.  Within 
a  short  time  they  began  the  erection  of  a  mill  at 
Ortonville,  Minnesota,  and  a  few  years  later  en- 
tered upon  the  project  of  dredging  a  canal  to 
connect  Big  Stone  Lake  with  Lake  Traverse. 
After  expending  sixty-five  thousand  dollars  and 
not  receiving  the  assistance  promised,  they  found 
the  undertaking  beyond  their  means  and  were 
obliged  to  abandon  the  scheme  for  a  time.  In 
1884  Mr.  Kaercher  began  the  study  of  law  and 
pursued  it  at  leisure  moments  until  1890,  when  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  at  once  moved  to 
Browns  Valley  and  formed  a  law  partnership  with 
A.  S.  Crossfield.  In  the  political  campaign  of 
that  year  Mr.  Kaercher  took  a  very  active  part, 
and  to  further  his  efforts  he  established  a  news- 
paper, "The  Traverse  County  Times,"  published 
at  Wheaton.  This  adventure  was  followed  a  few 
years  later  by  the  establishment  of  the  Big  Stone 
County  Journal  at  Ortonville,  which  he  controlled 


until  it  was  purchased  by  the  present  owner,  O. 
G.  Wall.  In  the  same  year  Mr.  Kaercher  was 
prominent  in  the  congressional  convention,  but 
withdrew  in  favor  of  the  Hon.  Henry  Feig. 
.Since  1803  his  time  has  been  largely  occupied 
with  his  law  practice.  Mr.  Kaercher's  political 
affiliations  have  always  been  with  the  Repub- 
lican parly,  though  he  has  been  independent 
in  his  ideas.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I. 
O.  O.  F.  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  On 
February  20,  1 881,  he  was  married  to  Gertrude 
Martha  Johnson,  at  Clear  Grit,  Fillmore  County, 
.Minnesota.  Miss  Johnson's  father  was  a  Meth- 
odist minister  and  a  native  of  the  Isle  of  Man. 
They  have  eight  children,  Rubin  Aaron,  Mabel 
Gertrude,  John  Michael,  Grace  Fayette,  Roscoe 
Conklin,  Lemuel  Amerman,  Belva  Lorraine  and 
Cecil  Edison.  Mr.  Kaercher  is  of  a  determined, 
energetic  and  aggressive  disposition,  at  the  same 
time  being  cool  and  deliberate  in  action.  i-\t  the 
age  of  sixteen  he  had  charge  of  important  busi- 
ness affairs  and  managed  them  successfully,  giv- 
ing evidence  of  the  practical  business  abilit)' 
which  has  since  been  made  much  more  promi- 
nent. He  is  still  a  young  man  and  is  regarded 
by  his  friends  as  having  an  excellent  future  before 
him. 


264 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


FRANK  THURSTON  WHITE. 

Sherburne  County,  Minnesota,  has  for  its 
attorney  a  young  man  who  has  carried  on  a  very 
vigorous  contest  for  existence  and  success.  The 
energy  which  he  has  displayed,  even  if  it  were 
not  coupled  with  more  than  ordinary  ability,  must 
insure  results  out  of  the  ordinary.  Frank  Thurs- 
ton White  was  born  April  9,  1866,  at  East  Bur- 
lington, Kane  County,  Illinois,  the  son  of  Edgar 
and  Emma  C.  Thurston  White.  His  parents 
were  farmers  of  moderate  means.  Air.  White  is 
descended  on  his  father's  side  from  good  old 
New  England  stock,  his  great-grandfather,  James 
White,  having  been  an  orderly  sergeant  in  the 
Continental  army,  and  one  of  the  "Green  Aloun- 
tain  Boys."  On  his  mother's  side  the  family  were 
residents  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania,  since  the 
early  settlement  of  that  country.  Mr.  White  was 
brought  to  Minnesota  by  his  parents  when  six 
years  of  age,  coming  overland  in  an  emigrant 
wagon  and  arriving  in  May,  1872.  The  family 
settled  upon  a  farm  near  the  Big  Bend,  in  the 
town  of  Clear  Lake.  In  those  days  game  was 
abundant,  and  the  first  money  earned  by  Frank 
was  for  furs  caught  by  trapping.  It  was  neces- 
sary for  him  to  assist  his  father  on  tlic  farm  as 
soon  as  he  was  old  enougli  to  do  so.  and  his 
education  was  gained    iimlcr   uifru-iihies,   in    tlio 


public  schools  at  Clear  Lake  and  Clearwater, 
Minnesota;  at  Creston,  Illinois,  where  he  acted 
as  a  janitor  of  the  high  school  in  order  to  pay 
tuition;  in  the  high  school  at  Monticello,  and  in 
the  spare  hours  which  he  was  able  to  snatch  from 
his  other  work  at  home.  On  leaving  the  high 
school  at  Monticello,  Air.  White  began  the  study 
of  law  with  J.  W.  Perkins,  in  Alinneapolis.  After 
a  few  montlis  he  returned  to  assist  his  father  on 
the  farm.  Returning  to  Alinneapolis  in  a  short 
time  he  was  employed  in  the  office  of  Hector 
Baxter,  E.  S.  Gaylord,  and  other  attorneys,  as- 
sisting part  of  the  time  in  the  care  of  the  law 
library.  During  this  period  he  worked  at  the 
noon  hour  in  a  restaurant  and  carried  the  morn- 
ing newspapers.  Fie  taught  the  village  school  at 
Clear  Lake  during  the  winter  of  1888  and  1889, 
and  immediately  thereafter  went  to  California, 
where  he  was  employed  in  the  sugar  factory  of 
Claus  Spreckles.  He  returned  to  Alinneapolis  in 
1891,  resuming  the  study  of  law  and  took  lectures 
in  the  night  class  at  the  University.  In  the  winter 
of  1892  and  1893  '""^  taught  school  in  the  Cater 
district  in  the  town  of  Haven,  and  during  the 
spring  of  1893  he  taught  school  in  his  home  dis- 
trict and  managed  his  father's  farm.  The  fall  of 
that  year  he  resumed  his  course  at  the  law  school, 
taking  dav  and  evening  lectures,  and  completed 
his  legal  studies  June  7,  1894.  The  following 
day  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  on  motion  ol 
Dean  William  Pattee,  and  was  ready  to  open  an 
office.  His  financial  condition,  however,  was 
such  that  he  was  not  able  to  do  so,  and  he  re- 
turned to  the  farm  for  a  short  time.  It  was  dur- 
ing this  visit  to  his  home  that  he  was  nominated 
by  the  Republicans  of  Sherburne  County  for 
county  attorney.  He  was  opposed  by  the  party 
l)osses  and  by  a  combinaticju  between  the  Demo- 
crats and  Populists,  liut  he  made  a  vigorous  can- 
vass and  was  elected  1)y  the  narrow  margin  of 
seven  votes.  Air.  White  has  conducted  tlie  office 
with  ability  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  public. 
He  is,  as  already  slated,  a  Republican.  lie  is  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Alaccabees,  the  Odd 
bYdlows  and  the  .Kneient  ( )rder  of  United  Work- 
men. He  jciineil  tlie  state  militia  in  tht-  summer 
of  1887  and  was  a  member  of  Company  B,  h'irst 
regiment,  about  t\\(i  and  a  half  years.  He  lias 
ncxir  mai'ried. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


265 


E.  BENTON  OLMSTED. 


Elmer  Benton  Olmsted  is  a  resident  of 
St.  Paul  and  a  member  of  the  legal  profession. 
He  was  born  December  22,  i860,  at  Jersey  Shore, 
Lycoming  County,  Pennsylvania,  a  beautiful 
town  on  the  west  branch  of  the  Susquehanna 
river,  fifteen  miles  above  Williamsport.  He  is 
a  son  of  Charles  Dwight  Olmsted,  an  iron  manu- 
facturer in  Pennsylvania,  who  has  now  re- 
tired from  active  business  and  resides  in 
St.  Paul.  The  Olmsted  family  came  to 
this  country  from  England  in  1632.  The 
first  mentioned  in  colonial  history  was  Capt. 
Richard  Olmsted,  one  of  the  Puritan  settlers  in 
the  colony  of  Connecticut,  who  founded  the  town 
of  Norwich.  He  was  a  conspicuous  figure  in 
the  Pequot  war  in  1637.  Pie  afterwards  removed 
to  Norwalk,  Connecticut.  Another  Olmsted 
named  Richard,  two  generations  later,  fought  in 
the  Revolution  vmder  Col.  Waterbury.  Stephen 
Olmsted,  the  great  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  a  private  in  Capt.  Dunham's 
company  which  marched  from  Connecticut  for  the 
relief  of  Boston  in  1775,  and  was  afterward  giveti 
an  oflicer's  commission.  Charles  Dwight  Olm- 
sted's wife,  mother  of  Elmer  Benton  Olmsted,  was 
Rachel  Elizabeth  Daily  (Olmsted),  a  native  of 
New  York,  but  of  Irish  descent,  and  a  member 
of  a  distinguished  family,  some  of  whom  served 
in  the  army  in  the  early  part  of  the  century,  while 
others  afterwards  rose  to  distinction  in  the  War 
of  the  Rebellion.  Mrs.  Olmsted's  ancestors  on 
her  mother's  side  were  the  \^an  Houtens.  an  old 
and  distinguished  Holland  family.  Elmer  Ben- 
ton Olmsted  was  instructed  by  a  private  tutor 
until  he  was  ready  to  enter  the  senior  class  of 
the  public  school.  After  finishing  a  course  at  the 
high  school  he  was  admitted  to  Dickinson  Col- 
lege, where  he  graduated  in  1884.  Pie  afterwards 
took  a  thorough  business  course,  studying  book- 
keeping and  banking,  after  which  he  inmiediately 
began  the  study  of  law  at  Williamsport,  Pennsyl- 
vania. Pie  soon  removed  to  New  York  where 
he  continued  his  professional  studies  until  the 
fall  of  1889.  In  December  of  that  year  he  came 
to  Minnesota,  locating  at  St.  Paul,  and  at  once 
"hung  out  his  shingle"  and  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  his  profession  as  an  attorney.       PTis 


first  fee,  amounting  to  three  dollars,  was  paid 
him  by  his  former  law  preceptors  at  Wil- 
liamsport. Mr.  Olmsted  has  made  a  spe- 
cialty of  real  estate,  banking  and  probate  prac- 
tice, and  has  recently  been  engaged  in  pre- 
paring a  digest  of  the  laws  of  the  state  re- 
lating to  estates  of  deceased  persons  and  the 
practice  in  ]jrobate  courts.  He  is  an  ardent 
Republican  and  an  earnest  and  enthusiastic  sup- 
porter of  party  principles,  though  never  having 
any  desire  to  hold  office  himself.  He  was  an  en- 
thusiastic admirer  of  Blaine,  and  an  active  sup- 
porter of  that  great  Republican  at  the  Minneap- 
olis convention  in  1892.  Mr.  Olmsted  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  St.  Paul 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  is  on  the  standing 
commitiee  of  that  bod\-  on  education,  where  he 
has  advocated  diligently  the  adoption  of  the  free 
text  book  system  in  the  public  schools  of  St. 
Paul.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  of 
Republican  League  Clubs  in  1892.  and  a  delegate 
from  the  St.  Paul  Chamber  of  Connnerce  to  the 
Northwestern  Immigration  Convention  in  St.  Paul 
in  1895.  His  church  connection  is  with  the  Park 
Congregational  Church  of  that  city.  He  has 
never  married,  and  assigns  as  a  reason  that  he  is 
too  busv. 


266 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


/• 


"^RlPv  > 


J.  W.  B.  WELLCOME,  SR. 

|.  W.  15.  ^\■ellconle,  Sr.,  of  Sleepy  Eye,  Minne- 
sota, has  practiced  the  profession  of  medicine  for 
many  years  in  this  state.  He  was  born  in  New- 
Portland,  Maine,  on  Jnne  4,  1S25.  Llis  father, 
Timothy  Wellcome,  was  of  German-English  de- 
scent. He  was  liberally  edncated,  and  was  a 
schoolmate  of  Hannibal  Hamlin.  His  wife,  who 
was  Miss  ^Iar\'  E.  Cunmiings,  was  edncated  at 
the  old  Hebron  Academy  of  Maine.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Timothy  Wellcome  was  born  five  sons  and 
one  daughter — the  latter  and  Dr.  Wellcome  be- 
ing the  only  ones  now  living.  Three  of  the  sons 
were  clergymen — two  of  them  for  fifty  years — ■ 
one  was  a  farmer  and  <ine  a  physician.  While  a 
i)oy  1  )r.  Wellcome  attended  school  at  New  Port- 
land. When  he  was  si.xteen  years  old  he  left 
home  and  began  school  again  at  the  high  school 
in  Hallawell,  Maine.  Erom  this  school  he  .grad- 
ated at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  .'\t  once  his  at- 
tention was  tnrncd  tn  meilicine:  he  worked  hard 
to  fit  himself  for  the  ])ractice  of  that  profession. 
He  is  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons  at  .St.  Louis.  1  fe  connnenced 
practice  at  the  age  of  twenty-five.  Tn  1.^58  Dr. 
Wellcome  moved  from  New  England  to  \Viscon- 
sin.  and  soon  afterwards  to  Garden  (it  v.  Minne- 


sota, where  he  resumed  the  practice  of  medicine. 
In  the  fall  of  1862  he  was  appointed  by  Governor 
Ramsey,  of  Minnesota,  examining  surgeon  for 
the  draft,  with  headquarters  at  Jvlankato,  Minne- 
sota. Li  1863  he  was  contract  surgeon  in  the 
Tenth  Regiment  \'olunteer  Infantry,  as  first  as- 
sistant surgeon  in  the  place  of  W.  W.  Clark,  who 
was  sick;  this  position  he  held  for  seven  months. 
He  also  had  medical  charge  of  a  regiment  of 
Confederate  soldiers  who  were  prisoners  at  the 
fort  of  Madelia,  Minnesota.  Dr.  Wellcome  con- 
tinued the  practice  of  medicine  in  Blue  Earth 
County  until  1870,  when  he  moved  to  New 
Ulm,  where  he  lived  and  practiced  for  about  four 
years.  He  then  moved  to  Sleepy  Eye,  where  he 
has  continued  in  the  profession  ever  since,  with 
the  exception  of  two  years,  when  sickness  pre- 
\ented  active  work.  Eor  four  years  he  held  the 
position  of  surgeon  for  the  Winona  &  St.  Peter 
Railway  Company  for  its  lines  west  of  Sleepy 
Eye;  he  also  held  the  position  of  United  States 
pension  surgeon  for  eight  years.  During  his 
long  period  of  practice.  Dr.  Wellcome  has  been 
preceptor  to  the  following  physicians,  who  have 
graduated  from  regular  schools  of  medicine:  Dr. 
J.  W.  Andrews,  of  Mankato;  Dr.  I.  F.  Burnside, 
of  West  Duluth;  Dr.  F.  H.  Wellcome  of  Granite 
Falls:  Dr.  Wm.  P.  Lee,  of  Fairfa.x,  and  Dr.  J.  W. 
B.  Wellcome,  Jr.,  of  Sleepy  Eye.  Dr.  Wellcome  is 
a  member  of  the  St.  Louis  Academy  of  iMedicine, 
and  is  also  a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Soci- 
ety of  Minnesota.  He  has  been  in  the  active 
practice  of  medicine  for  forty-four  years.  His 
practice  has  been  extensive,  and  he  has  accumu- 
lated considerable  property.  Is  a  stockholder  in 
the  Yellow  Medicine  County  Bank.  His  son,  F. 
H.  Wellcome,  is  president  of  the  bank.  At  about 
the  time  he  connnenced  practice  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Abby  C.  Starbird.  Three  sons  and  one 
daughter  were  born  tn  them.  (  )nly  the  daughter 
is  now  living.  .Mrs.  Ella  Case.  Mrs.  Wellcome 
died  in  1857.  In  1858  Dr.  Wellcome  was  mar- 
ried to  Sarah  J-  Hauser,  of  Pennsylvania.  They 
have  had  four  sons;  two  of  them  have  adopted 
their  father's  jirofession.  Though  over  seventy 
years  of  age.  Dr.  Wellcome  is  still  actively  en- 
gaged in  practice  and  in  the  study  and  verifica- 
tion of  tlie  sciences  to  which  he  has  devoted  so 
nnich  of  his  life. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


267 


FREDERICK  CARL  NEUiMEIER. 

Frederick  Carl  Xcumeier,  of  Stillwater,  is  a 
native  of  Langenberg,  near  Duesseldorf,  on  the 
Rhine,  Germany,  where  he  was  born  l""cbruary 
20,  1857.  His  father,  Christian  Neunieier,  was 
by  occupation  a  mechanic.  Up  to  1866  he  was 
in  good  financial  circumstances.  He  discovered 
and  operated  a  copper  mine  for  which  he 
had  an  offer  from  an  I'ln^-lish  C(jm])any  of 
si.xty-eigiit  tlnmsand  marks,  hut  before  the 
sale  had  been  comi^leted  the  war  of  1866 
broke  out  and  he  lost  his  mine  and  every- 
thing he  possessed.  His  wife's  maiden  name  was 
Henriette  Haut  a  native  of  Wiesbaden,  on  the 
Rhine,  whose  father  was  a  hotel  keeper  in  1824. 
In  1864  he  came  to  America,  and  his  family  never 
heard  of  him  afterward.  The  Neunieier  ancestry 
was  of  noble  rank.  The  original  name  was  A'on 
Sande,  but  later  they  adopted  the  name  of  Xeu- 
meier.  .\  br.jther  of  Christian  Neunieier  held 
high  rank  in  the  Prussian  army,  and  was  the  com- 
manding officer  of  the  Fifth  Infantry  Corps  at 
Odessa,  on  the  Black  Sea,  where  he  received  the 
title  of  "Ritter  p.  p."  When  Frederick  Carl  was 
four  years  of  age  he  was  sent  to  the  kindergarten, 
and  two  years  later  to  the  public  schools,  which 
he  attended  until  the  age  of  nine.  He  then  went 
to  the  high  school.  At  that  time  war  broke  out 
between  the  French  and  Prussians,  and  his  parents 
removed  to  Duesseldorf  and  were  employed  in 
a  paper  mill.  In  1880  Frederick  came  to  America, 
his  first  stopping  place  being  Nora  Springs,  Iowa, 
where  he  was  employed  on  a  farm.  In  the  winter 
of  1880  and  1881  he  attended  the  public  school 
in  order  to  learn  the  English  language.  In  the 
spring  of  1881  he  was  employed  as  a  clerk  in  the 
mercantile  business,  and  in  A  lav.  of  the  same  year, 
went  to  Chicago  to  work  at  his  trade  as  a 
machinist.  In  1882  he  went  west  as  far  as  Den- 
ver, but  returned  to  St.  Paid,  and  finally  obtained 
employment  at  Stillwater  with  the  Seyniour-Sabin 
Thresher  Company  as  a  skilled  mechanic.  In 
November,  1886,  he  became  interested  in  the  St. 
Croix  Post,  a  German  newspaper,  of  which  J. 
Duel  was  proprietor.  'Sir.  Neunieier  was  given 
the  management  of  the  establishment,  and  shortly 
afterward,    u[)on    the    death    of    i\Ir.    Duel,    R. 


Lehmicke  and  Mr.  Neunieier  bought  the  Post, 
and  in  1890  Mr.  Lehmicke  sold  his  interest  to 
Mr.  Neunieier,  who  has  conducted  the  paper 
alone  ever  since.  The  same  year  he  started  a 
new  German  paper  in  the  interest  of  the  German 
order,  the  Hermanns  Son  of  the  West,  which  is 
today  the  official  organ  of  that  order  in  this  state 
and  Washingt(jn.  In  1893  he  also  started  an 
English  paper  in  partnership  with  N.  A.  Nelson, 
called  the  Washington  County  Journal.  In  this 
way  Mr.  Neunieier  became  the  proprietor  of  two 
German  papers,  and  had  a  partnership  with  an 
English  publication.  His  papers  are  independent 
in  politics,  with  a  leaning-  toward  Democracy. 
Mr.  Neunieier  is  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  Her- 
mann, the  Royal  Arcanum,  the  Tumverein  and 
the  Stillwater  Maennerchor.  He  is  grand  presi- 
dent of  the  Sons  of  Hermann,  and  is  now  serving 
his  second  term  in  that  office.  He  w'as  also  for 
four  years  grand  vice  president  of  the  order. 
Mr.  Neunieier  is  a  member  of  the  German  Luth- 
eran Church,  and  was  married  February  20.  18S4, 
to  Catharina  Anna  Glade,  daughter  of  John  Glade, 
of  Stillwater,  of  which  place  Mrs.  Neunieier  is  a 
native.  They  have  three  children.  Mabel  Gay, 
Karl  Glade  and  Fritz  Georg-e. 


26S 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ASA  GILBERT  BRIGGS. 

Asa  Gilbert  Briggs  is  a  lawyer  practicing  in 
St.  Paul.  His  father,  Isaac  A.  Briggs,  was  a 
native  of  \'ermont,  but  moved  early  to  Mich- 
igan, and  in  1859  came  to  Trempealeau  valle\-, 
Wisconsin,  when  the  nearest  transportation  was 
the  ^Mississippi  river,  twenty  miles  away.  His  oc- 
cupation, until  age  forced  him  to  retire,  was  that 
of  a  physician,  although  at  different  times  he  was 
interested  in  the  flour  and  woolen  mill  Inisiness, 
and,  also,  in  agriculture.  His  age  is  now  eighty, 
and  he  is  a  resident  of  St.  Paul.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  born  at  Arcadia,  Trem- 
pealeau County,  Wisconsin,  December  20,  1862. 
He  first  attended  the  district  school,  which  was 
above  the  average  for  the  time.  Having  grad- 
uated from  the  graded  schools  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen years,  in  1879,  and  his  father  being  unable  to 
assist  him,  he  began  to  save  his  earnings  with  a 
view  to  obtaining  an  education.  In  various  ways 
he  earned  enough  money  to  justify  him  in  begin- 
ning a  course  at  the  state  university  at  Madison. 
During  the  first  year  he  was  honored  by  being 
elected  by  the  literary  society  of  which  he  was  a 
member  as  one  of  four  debaters  on  a  program 
for  public  entertainment  to  be  given  the  follow- 
ing year.     About  the  middle  of  the  spring  term 


of  the  first  year  he  took  the  examinations  for 
the  full  year's  work  and  went  to  St.  Paul 
and  engaged  in  business  on  salary  and 
commission.  After  four  months'  work  he  was 
able  to  return  to  the  university  as  a  sopho- 
more, with  enough  money  to  be  able  to  get 
through  the  year.  Shortly  after  the  public  enter- 
tainment above  referred  to  he  was  elected,  when  a 
sophomore,  member  of  one  of  the  debating  teams 
for  the  debate  to  take  place  the  next  year,  six 
students  constituting  the  joint  debaters,  three  on 
each  side,  selected  from  about  six  hundred  stu- 
dents. This  was  the  greatest  honor  to  be  con- 
ferred by  the  students  upon  any  one  of  their 
number.  He  was,  of  course,  anxious  to  return 
the  following  year.  He  had  no  money,  but 
vacation  again  brought  him  financial  returns,  and 
with  promises  of  a  loan  ,  if  necessary,  he  returned 
for  the  third  year.  The  third  year  completed,  the 
end  was  now  so  near  that  he  felt  he  must  go 
through  with  his  class  and  complete  the  course. 
Another  summer  vacation,  a  little  borrow-ed 
money  and  employment  when  the  state  legisla- 
ture met  in  the  following  January,  enabled  him 
to  finish  the  course  in  1885,  when  he  graduated 
as  one  of  the  orators  on  commencement  day. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Hesperian  Literary 
Society,  the  Phi  Delta  Theta  fraternity,  and  of 
the  various  athletic  organizations.  He  was  man- 
aging editor  of  tlie  University  Press  for  one  year, 
and  business  manager  of  the  Trochos,  the  first 
college  annual  published  there.  Immediately  after 
graduating  he  returned  to  St.  Paul,  began  the 
study  of  law  and  subsequently  returned  to  the 
university  to  complete  the  law  course  with  the 
class  of  '87.  He  began  the  practice  of  law  in  St. 
Paul,  first  in  the  legal  department  of  the  St.  Paul 
Title  Insurance  and  Trust  Company.  He  after- 
wards opened  a  law  office  on  his  own  account. 
His  legal  business  grew  rapidly  both  in  volume 
and  quality,  and  he  soon  came  to  be  recognized 
as  one  of  the  leading  young  lawyers  of  the  capital 
city.  He  has  always  been  a  Republican,  and  is  at 
present  president  of  the  Young  Men's  Central 
Republican  Club,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Commercial  Club,  of  St.  Paul.  He  was  married 
October  i,  1891,  to  Jessica  E.  Pierce,  of  St.  Paul. 
Thev  have  two  children,  .Mian  and  Patil. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


260 


RANSOM   T..   STILLMA.V. 

Ransom  L.  Stilliiian  was  lioni  at  Chester, 
Geauga  County,  Ohio,  August  18,  1851.  His 
father,  Riley  F.  Stillnian,  was  a  farmer,  and  was 
also  engaged  in  the  stock  business  in  Ohio  and 
Illinois.  He  was  a  direct  descendant  of  George 
Stillman  who  came  from  England  to  Hadley, 
Massachusetts,  in  1683,  and  afterwards  settled  in 
Wethersfield,  Connecticut.  His  mother,  Esther 
Clark  Cutler  was  the  daughter  of  Girard  Cutler 
and  a  cousin  of  Carroll  Cutler,  for  many  years 
president  of  "Western  Reserve,"  now  "Adelbeit 
College."  She  also  came  from  New  England 
stock,  being  a  direct  descendant  of  James  Cut- 
ler, who  came  to  Watertown,  Massachusetts, 
about  1634  and  afterwards  settled  in  Lexington. 
In  1854,  when  Ransom  was  three  years  old,  his 
father  removed  from  Ohio,  and  with  his  family 
settled  in  Minneapolis,  engaging  in  gardening 
and  in  the  freighting  business.  Ransom  at- 
tended school  in  the  public  schools  of  Minne- 
apolis for  a  time,  and  later  attended  Geauga 
Seminary,  at  Chester,  Ohio,  for  two  years.  Leav- 
ing there  he  entered  Hillsdale  College,  Michigan. 
While  there  he  supported  himself  by  working 
on  a  farm  and  elsewhere  during  vacations,  and 
by  teaching  a  part  of  the  time.  He  graduated 
from  there  in  the  classical  course  in  1876,  re- 
ceiving the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  a 
few  years  later  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 
He  was  very  successful  as  a  teacher,  and  on  his 
graduation  several  good  positions  were  open  to 
him  in  that  line,  but  before  he  entered  college 
he  determined  on  the  profession  of  law  and 
never  let  himself  lose  sight  of  that  piupose.  On 
account  of  health  impaired  by  overwork  while  in 
college  he  spent  most  of  his  time  for  a  year  and 
a  half  after  his  graduation  in  traveling.  Late  in 
1877  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  tlie 
offices  of  Senator  Burrows,  and  Judge  Bosworth, 
at  Painesville,  C)hio,  where  he  remained  a  little 
over  two  years.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  l)y 
the  Supreme  Court  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  May  5, 
1880.  On  October  13,  1880,  he  was  married  to 
Ida  J.  IMurray,  of  Concord,  Ohio,  and  imme- 
diately removed  to  Minneapolis,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  In  his  practice  of  law  he  has  been 
very  successful,  having  practiced  in  the  United 
States   District  and   Circuit   Courts  and   in    the 


state  courts  of  Ohio,  JMinnesota,  North  Dakota, 
South  Dakota  and  Colorado.  Among  some  of 
the  important  cases  that  he  has  handled  might 
be  mentioned  the  "Alay  Patent  Cases,"  the  in- 
junction cases  between  the  Western  Union  and 
North  American  Telegraph  Companies,  and 
some  of  the  leading  real  estate  cases  in  the  Min- 
nesota Reports.  He  has  also  had  and  still  has 
an  important  part  in  the  litigation  growing  out 
of  the  bank  failures  of  1893,  being  engaged  in 
one  of  the  cases  brought  by  the  state  against  the 
banks  and  their  bondsmen,  in  four  of  those 
brought  by  the  county  against  the  banks  and 
their  bondsmen,  and  a  number  of  those  brought 
by  the  creditors  against  the  stockholders. 
He  has  also  taken  an  active  interest  in  the 
growth  and  development  of  Minneapolis.  He 
erected  a  number  of  good  buildings,  the  finest  is 
the  Stillman,  now  Rochester  block,  on  Fourth 
street.  His  wife,  Ida  Murray  Stillman,  died  in 
1S91,  leaving  two  surviving  children,  Alice  E., 
aged  nine  years,  and  Murray  L.,  aged  se\en 
years,  both  of  whom  ai"e  in  the  Minneapolis  pub- 
lic schools.  On  April  27,  1896,  he  was  married 
to  Addie  I.  Koehl,  relict  of  the  late  Dr.  Jeremiah 
Koehl.  In  politics  JMr.  Stillman  has  ahvays  been 
a  staunch  Republican,  and  taken  a  lively  interest 
in  all  that  interests  his  party. 


2  70 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JED  L.  WASHBURN. 

Jed  L.  \Vashburn  is  an  attorney  of  Dulutli, 
Minnesota.  His  father,  Christopher  C.  Wash- 
bum,  a  retired  farmer  of  Blue  Earth  County, 
was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Southern  Minnesota. 
He  was  a  native  of  Southern  Ohio  and  settled 
in  Minnesota  in  1856.  The  following  year  he 
brought  his  family  over-land  from  Indiana,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  then  being  Init  a  few 
months  old.  Mr.  Washburn's  wife  was  Miss 
Julian  Showen,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  a 
woman  of  strong  moral  and  religious  convic- 
tions. She  still  lives  with  her  husband  at  Lake 
Crj-stal,  Minnesota.  Their  son  Jed  was  born  in 
Montgomer}-  County,  Indiana,  on  December 
26,  1856.  His  boyhood  was  passed  amid  the  ex- 
citing scenes  of  the  pioneer  life  in  Minnesota 
four  decades  ago.  He  well  remembers  the  In- 
dian outbreak  of  1862,  and  the  final  termination 
of  the  trouliles  by  the  hanging  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Sioux  at  Mankato.  He  received  an  aca- 
demic education,  including  a  limited  course  in 
literature  and  languages,  and  a  good  course  in 
mathematics.  lUit  his  education  has  bet-n 
mainly  self-acquired.  His  reading  has  been  as 
extended  as  a  busy  life  would  ])ermit.  After 
leaving  school  he  taught  fur  a  lunnlier  of  years, 
and  at  one  time,  while  engaged  in  studying  law. 
was  teacliing  in  the  public  schools  of     Mankato: 


afterwards  he  served  for  a  number  of  years  on 
the  Board  of  Education  of  that  city,  and  for  a 
considerable  time  he  was  its  president.  ^Ir. 
Washburn  studied  law  with  Hon.  Martin  J. 
Severance,  of  Mankato,  now  Judge  of  the  Sixth 
district,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
spring  of  1880.  For  ten  years  he  lived  in  Man- 
kato and  built  up  a  large  practice  throughout 
southern  ]Minnesota.  In  1890  Mr.  Washburn 
moved  to  Duluth,  where  he  has  been  equally 
successful  in  his  law  practice.  At  first  he  prac- 
ticed alone,  but  in  September,  1895,  formed  a 
partnership  with  Judge  Charles  L.  Lewis,  who 
resigned  from  the  bench  to  enter  this  connection. 
At  the  same  time  Lucnis  E.  Judson,  Jr.,  and 
Wm.  D.  Bailey  who  had,  for  a  long  time,  been 
employed  bv  Mr.  Washburn,  were  also  taken 
into  the  firm,  the  name  being  Washburn,  Lewis 
&  Judson.  During  Mr.  \\^ashburn's  practice 
he  has  been  engaged  in  many  important  trials, 
and  connected,  in  a  professional  way.  with  nu- 
merous heavy  business  and  financial  transac- 
tions. His  practice  has  covered  almost  the  en- 
tire field  of  litigation,  but  since  his  removal  to 
Duluth  he  has  endeavored  to  confine  himself  as 
nuich  as  possible  to  corporate  and  real  estate 
law.  He  is  counsel  for  many  corporations,  and 
his  duties  have  taken  Inni  to  all  parts  of  the 
countrw  He  is  attorney  at  1  )uluth  for  several 
railway  companies,  including  the  Xorthern 
Pacific,  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  & 
Omaha  Railway  Company,  and  Duluth  Trans- 
fer Railway  Company.  For  the  latter  company 
he  did  the  work  of  its  organization  and  the 
dilticult  legal  work  of  getting  its  lines  estal)- 
lished  in  the  congested  bay  front  of  Duluth. 
Mr.  Washburn  has  consideral^le  property  inter- 
est in  Duluth  and  upon  the  iron  ranges,  and  re- 
sides in  the  suburb  of  Hunter's  Park,  where  he 
has  a  beautiful  home.  In  politics  he  has  been 
classed  as  an  independent  Democrat,  but  has 
rarely  taken  an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the 
party.  In  .May,  1882,  Mr.  \\';islil)urn  was  mar- 
riefl  to  Miss  Alma  J.  Pattce,  who  was  a  graduate 
of  the  .State  Normal  School  ;it  .Mankato,  and 
who  was  a  teacher  for  some  time  in  that  insti- 
tution. Mrs.  Washburn  is  a  native  of  \\'iscon- 
sin,  though  of  New  luigland  desceul.  .'>lie  is  a 
lady  of  nmch  liter;u-y  abilit\.  ;nid  a  frequent  con- 
tributor of  ])a]iers   on    tipii>   considered    in    the 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


271 


numerous  associations  to  which  she  liclongs. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Washburn  have  five  chihlren,  two 
boys  and  three  girls,  Claude,  Genevieve,  Al)bott, 
Mildred  and  Hope.  Mr.  Waslil)urn  has  two 
brothers,  Rev.  Francis  M.  Washburn,  pastor  of 
the  I'lrst  Congregational  Ciinrcli  at  Mankato, 
and  Kdward  W.  Washburn,  merchant,  at  Lake 
Ciystal.  His  only  sister  is  Mrs.  Jennie  W. 
Webster,  of  Juniata,  Nebraska. 


CASSIUS  M.  BUCK. 

Though  comparatively  but  a  young  man  as 
yet,  Cassius  M.  Buck,  cashier  of  the  Security 
Bank  at  h'arihault,  is,  through  his  strict  tidclity 
to  those  principles  which  go  to  make  up  lousi- 
ness success,  one  of  the  most  successful  bankers 
in  the  North  .Star  state,  having  assisted  in  the 
organization  of  four  diiTerent  banks,  and  with 
all  of  which  he  is  still  connected.  He  was  born 
June  19,  1859,  at  Greenwood,  Wright  County, 
Minnesota,  tlie  son  of  William  P.  Buck  and 
jMargaret  Cramer  (Buck).  William  P.  Buck 
was  born  in  Ohio,  and  was  by  occupation  a 
teacher,  ranking  high  in  that  profession.  He 
came  to  Minnesota  in  1854.  At  the  outbreak 
of  the  civil  war  he  enlisted  in  Company  D,  First 
Battalion  of  Minnesota  infantry,  and  served 
throughout  the  war.  He  was  discharged  at 
Jeffersonville,  Indiana,  and  mustered  out  with 
his  company  at  Fort  Snelling,  July  25,  1865; 
but,  having  contracted  a  fever  in  front  of  Rich- 
mond, \'irginia,  he  succumbed  to  it  at  Fort 
Snelling  before  reaching  home.  His  wife,  the 
mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
in  Western  Pennsylvania,  hut  nii:)ved  with  her 
parents,  when  quite  young,  to  ( >hio.  Cassius 
received  his  early  education  in  the  common 
school  at  Watertown,  Minnesota,  and  in  the 
graded  school  at  Howard  Lake.  When  but 
twelve  years  of  age  he  commenced  clerking  in 
the  general  store  of  his  step-father,  J.  V.  Pear- 
son, continuing  at  this  occupation  for  six  years, 
with  the  exception  of  four  months  each  year 
when  he  attended  school.  Li  the  spring  of  1880 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Pearson  and 
engaged  in  the  business  of  shipping  horses  from 
Indiana  and   Iowa  to   Minnesota     and     selling 


them.  This  line  of  trade  he  followed  until  the 
fall  of  1882,  when  he  purchased  the  hardware 
business  of  Smith  Bros.  &  Co.,  at  Howard  Lake, 
and  conducted  the  business  for  nine  years,  it 
having  become  the  largest  hardware  house  in 
Wright  county.  In  the  fall  of  1885,  in  connec- 
tion with  Lemuel  McGrew,  Mr.  Buck  purchased 
the  Bank  of  Howard  Lake  (a  private  bank), 
which  they  still  own.  Four  years  later  Air.  Buck 
organized  the  Bank  of  Dassel,  now  a  state  bank, 
and  has  been  its  president  since  its  organization. 
In  the  fall  of  1893  he  assisted  in  organizing  the 
State  Bank  of  Annandale,  and  has  been  president 
of  it  since  its  organization.  In  July,  1894,  Mr. 
Buck  went  to  Faribault  and  was  the  principal 
organizer  of  the  .Security  Bank  of  that  city.  He 
was  elected  its  cashier,  which  position  he  has 
held  since  the  organization  of  the  liank.  Mr. 
Buck  has  been  very  successful  in  his  l)ank  in- 
vestments, all  the  banks  with  which  he  is  con- 
nected having  l)een  a  success  from  the  time  of 
their  organization.  He  is  also  the  owner  of  a 
number  of  good  farms  in  Wright  County.  He 
has  always  been  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  in 
1888  and  1890  was  congressional  conunitteman 
for  Wright  County.  On  May  9,  1894,  he  was 
married  to  Sarah  E.  Tolerton,  daughter  of  James 
D.  Tolerton,  of  Salem,  Ohio. 


272 


NATHANIEL  FREEMAN  WARNER. 

The  name  vvhich  stands  at  the  head  of  this 
sketch  is  well  known  in  Minneapolis.  ]\Iajor 
Warner,  as  he  is  generally  known,  was  born 
April  i8,  1848,  in  New  York  city.  His  father 
was  George  Freeman  Warner,  and  his  mother, 
Julia  Frances  Wilgus  (Warner).  On  the  pater- 
nal side  he  is  a  descendant  of  German  stock,  and 
on  the  maternal  side  from  a  Holland  family. 
Both  his  grandfathers  were  oiificers  in  the  Amer- 
ican Revolutionary  war.  Nathaniel  came  with 
his  father  to  Minneapolis  in  1856.  He  was  then 
only  eight  years  old.  He  attended  the  public 
schools,  and  afterwards  Carleton  college.  On 
leaving  school  he  worked  with  his  father  in  the 
furniture  and  undertaking  business  imtil  1869, 
when  he  crossed  the  plains  with  a  party  explor- 
ing a  route  for  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad.  On 
his  return  home  he  joined  a  surveying  and  explor- 
ing party  which  went  to  the  Upper  Mississippi, 
where  he  spent  considerable  time  prospecting 
and  exploring.  At  tliis  time  lie  brought  home 
with  him  some  fine  specimens  of  iron  ore  from 
what  is  now  the  Mcsaba  iron  range.  He  also 
pre-empted  a  claim  in  the  same  district,  which 
was  the  first  claim  taken  u])  within  probal)ly  forty 
miles  of  Grand  Raj)ifls.  Minnesota,  and  he  be- 
came well  acquainted  with   the  language  of  the 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 

Indians.  After  returning  home  he  engaged  in 
the  undertaking  business,  and  has  been  in  the 
same  occupation  ever  since,  and  located  in  the 
same  place  for  over  twenty  years.  Major  War- 
ner possesses  an  active  mind  and  contributes 
liberally  to  the  papers  published  in  the  interest 
of  the  funeral  directors.  He  is  the  president  of 
the  Funeral  Directors'  Association  of  Minnesota, 
North  and  South  Dakota,  and  has  been  for  the 
past  six  years.  Mr.  Warner  is  also  a  member  of 
the  board  of  managers  in  the  Sons  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Minne- 
apolis Board  of  Trade,  past  chancellor  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  past  noble  arch  of  Druids, 
past  arch  of  the  Druidic  Circle,  past  commander 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  also  of  the  Select 
Knights  A.  O.  U.  W.;  also  past  president  of  the 
\'eterans'  Association.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  National  Guard  of  the  state  and  a  charter 
member  of  Minneapolis  Lodge,  No.  44,  Brother- 
hood of  Elks.  ]\Ir.  Warner  organized  the  first 
company  of  National  Guards  in  the  state.  This 
was  the  Minneapolis  Light  Infantry,  now  Com- 
pany A,  National  (juard.  This  company  was 
formed  June  16,  1878.  ^Mr.  Warner  has  since  or- 
ganized two  cavalry  companies.  The  first  was 
Warner's  Light  Dragoons,  the  second  was  Troop 
A,  Minnesota  Light  Cavalry.  He  was  captain  of 
each,  and  was  aftenvards  elected  major  in  com- 
mand. Major  Warner  is  also  an  honorary  mem- 
ber of  the  First  Minnesota  Volunteer  Associa- 
tion, having  been  presented  by  them  with  a  fine 
gold  corps  badge  of  the  second  corps.  His  an- 
cestors settled  in  Schoharie  County,  New  York, 
in  the  early  days,  coming  there  from  Hamburg, 
Germany.  The  place  where  they  settled  was 
given  the  family  name,  and  is  still  known  as 
\\'arnersville.  The  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  a  retired  merchant,  a  man  of  consider- 
able wealth,  and  is  the  president  of  the  Diamond 
Iron  Mine  Company,  which  owns  thousands  of 
acres  of  the  most  valuable  projunties  on  the 
Mesaba  iron  range.  His  wife,  mother  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  the  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
Wilgus,  of  Buffalo,  New  York.  The  Wilgns 
family  came  from  Holland.  Major  Warner  is  an 
honorary  member  of  several  military  organiza- 
tions. He  is  a  man  of  cultivated  literary  and  artis- 
tic tastes,  is  a  collector  of  curios,  and  jiossesses 
a  verv  attractive  lilirary.  It  is  rich  in  rare  works, 
partictilai^Iv  art  ])ublications.     He  has  also  a  fine 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


27;f 


collection  of  war  relics  ami  natural  history  spec- 
imens, stulTcd  animals,  heads  and  other  curios. 
In  1878  Major  Warner  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Sullivan,  of  Minneapolis.  She  died  in 
1883,  leaving  a  daughter,  Mary  Ellen.  In  1887 
Mr.  Warner  was  married  again  to  Miss  Anna  P. 
Haskins,  of  Minneapolis.  They  have  two  daugh- 
ters, Callie  Pearl  and  I'rances  Wilgus. 


HER.MAN  EM  IE  ZUCII. 

Herman  Eniil  Zoch  is  a  familiar  name  to 
all  lovers  of  nuisic  in  Minneapolis.  Mr.  Zoch 
is  a  native  of  Prussia,  the  son  of  Carl  Eriedrich 
Zoch  and  Augusta  Kunau  Zoch.  Carl  Fried- 
rich  was  director  of  the  estates  of  the  Polish 
Count  Dzieduszicki.  His  grandfather  Zoch 
owned  property  in  Silesia,  was  an  officer  in  the 
army,  and  distinguished  himself  in  the  war  nf 
1813  against  the  French  usurper.  Herman  Emil 
was  born  in  Theerkeute,  an  estate  of  Count 
Dzieduszicki,  in  the  province  of  Posen,  Prussia, 
April  16,  1857.  He  was  provided  as  a  child  with 
a  private  tutor  at  home,  but  afterwards  entered 
the  state  gymnasium  in  Halle,  Saxony,  and  grad- 
uated at  the  Thomas  gymnasium  at  Leipsic, 
where  he  finished  the  classical  course  of  study. 
Mr.  Zoch  had  early  developed  promising  musical 
talent,  and  was  afforded  opportunity  for  develop- 
ing it.  He  was  sent  to  the  Royal  Conservatory 
of  Music  at  Eeipsic,  where  at  the  end  of  the  third 
vear  he  graduated  with  students  who  had  been 
there  five  or  six  years,  and  took  the  first  prize  in 
piano  playing.  His  instructors  in  piano  were 
Carl  Reinecke,  Jadassohn  and  Coccius.  the  tir.-^t 
two  being  his  teachers  in  counterpoint  and  com- 
position. After  graduating  from  the  Royal  Con- 
servatory Mr.  Zoch  spent  several  months  in  Paris 
hearing  the  great  players  there,  studying  concert 
programs  and  making  the  most  of  the  opportuni- 
ties there  aft'orded  for  advancement  in  his  art. 
He  then  went  to  ^Munich,  where  he  lived  two 
vears,  forming  acquaintance  with  the  best  musi- 
cians of  that  city,  foremost  among  them  being 
loseph  Rheinberger,  the  great  composer, 
for  whom  Mr.  Zoch  performed  Rhcinberger's 
piano  concerto,  op.  94,  ^\hicll  he  subse- 
quently     introduced      for      the      first      time      at 


a  concert  at  Berlin,  with  orchestral  accom- 
paniment. At  this  time  Mr.  Zoch  had  come 
to  be  recognized  as  an  artist  of  great  merit, 
and  he  gave  a  series  of  successful  piano  recitals 
in  Leipsic,  Perlin,  Munich,  \ienna,  Gotha  and 
other  large  nuisic  centers  of  Germany.  In  1883 
he  decided  to  come  to  America,  and  in  1884  he 
settled  in  Minneapolis  as  a  teacher  of  piano. 
Since  1889  he  has  made  three  concert  tours,  and 
has  given  piano  recitals  in  Boston,  Philadelphia, 
Cleveland,  Syracuse,  St.  Louis,  Indianapolis, 
Louisville,  Cincinnati,  and  played  at  the  Music 
Teachers'  National  Convention  in  1892.  He  is 
thoroughly  devoted  to  his  art  and  is  recognized 
as  a  performer  of  great  merit.  His  programs  de- 
note the  possession  of  a  phenomenal  repertoire, 
Names  like  these  are  very  common:  Beethoven 
(Sonatas  op.  53,  57,  81,  iii,  etc.).,  Schuman, 
Chopin,  Brahms,  Liszt,  Rheinberger,  St.  Saens, 
Moszkouski,  Schubert,  Mendelssohn,  Mozart, 
Bach,  Rubenstein,  Haendel,  Henselt,  Joseffy, 
Jensen,  Raf¥,  Taussig,  Scarletti,  Heller,  Wagner, 
Reinecke  and  many  others.  He  has  never  mar- 
ried, and  is  so  devoted  to  his  art  that  he  has 
never  cared  to  join  himself  to  any  orders  or 
societies. 


274 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


DAVID  xMARSTON  CLOUGH. 

David  AJarstou  Clough,  governor  of  Min- 
nesota, furnishes  a  conspicuous  example  of 
the  self-made  man.  Born  of  humble  parentage 
and  spending  his  youth  in  comparative  poverty, 
contending  with  the  obstacles  of  life  on  the 
frontier,  and  without  the  aid  of  influential  friends, 
he  has  achieved  the  position  of  highest  honor  in 
the  state  of  his  adoption.  He  was  the  son  of 
Elbridge  G.  and  Sarah  Brown  (Clough),  of  Lyme, 
Grafton  County,  Xew  Hampshire.  He  was  the 
fourth  in  a  family  of  fourteen  children,  ten  of 
whom  grew  to  maturity.  He  was  born  December 
27,  1846,  at  Lyme,  New  Hampshire,  and  when 
he  was  nine  years  old  his  family  moved  to  Wau- 
paca, Wisconsin,  arriving  there  on  the  fourth  of 
July,  1857:  Within  the  ne.xt  year  they  removed 
to  Spencer  Brook,  Isanti  County,  Minnesota,  a 
little  settlement  on  the  extreme  frontier  in  the 
lumbering  region  of  Rum  River.  His  father  took 
a  claim,  a  cabin  was  built,  a  clearing  made  in  the 
timber  and  the  farm  started.  In  addition  to  work 
done  on  the  farm,  father  and  sons  engaged  in  the 
lumbering  business  in  the  employ  of  companies 
then  operating  in  that  region.  There  was  no 
school  to  attend  and  the  educational  facilities  of 
which  David  was  able  to  avail  himself  were  of 
the  most  limited  kind.     At  sixteen  he  drove    an 


ox  team  in  the  woods,  and  at  seventeen  went  on 
the  logging  drive  and  earned  a  man's  wages. 
Subsequently  he  was  employed  at  the  saw  mills 
in  Minneapolis  in  the  summer  and  continued  to 
work  either  for  his  father,  or  for  wages  for  his 
father's  benefit  until  he  was  twenty.  At  this  age 
it  was  his  father's  custom  to  give  his  boys  their 
time,  having  no  other  endowment  to  bestow. 
David  then  engaged  himself  by  the  month  with 
H.  F.  Brown,  a  lumberman,  and  continued  for 
four  years  in  his  employment,  doing  all  kinds  of 
work  involved  in  the  lumber  business.  After 
leaving  Mr.  Brown  he  and  his  brother  Gilbert 
engaged  in  the  lumbering  business  for  them- 
selves. They  lived  at  Spencer  Brook  and  took 
contracts  for  cutting  and  hauling  logs  in  the  ad- 
jacent pineries.  This  they  continued  for  two 
years,  when,  in  1862,  they  removed  to  this  city. 
They  continued  in  the  logging  business  for  several 
years  and  then  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
lumber,  first  hiring  their  logs  sawed  and  later 
building  a  mill  of  their  own.  Clough  Brothers 
eventually  became  one  of  the  substantial  lumber 
firms  of  Minneapolis,  owning  their  own  timber, 
manufacturing  it  and  cutting  it,  their  annual  out- 
put in  later  years  averaging  fifteen  million  feet. 
Gilbert  Clough  died  six  years  ago,  since  which 
time  David  has  continued  the  business  alone.  He 
also  became  president  of  the  Bank  of  JMinneapolis. 
Although  his  father  died  years  ago,  Mr.  Clough 
has  retained  the  homestead  in  Isanti  County,  and 
added  to  it  until  it  now  embraces  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land,  on  which 
Afr.  Clough  has  a  fine  herd  of  thorough- 
bred Short  Horn  Cattle,  and  his  interest  in  agri- 
culture and  stock  raising  was  recognized  in 
i8()2  by  his  election  to  the  office  of 
president  of  the  .State  Agricultural  Society. 
To  him  belongs  tlie  credit  at  the  close  of  his 
administration  of  turning  over  the  society  to  his 
sticcessor  free  of  debt,  the  first  time  in  its  his- 
tory. Mr.  Clough  has  been  active  in  local  and 
state  politics,  having  served  the  Second  ward  of 
Minneapolis  as  a  member  of  the  council  from 
1885  to  1888.  In  the  second  year  of  his  sei^vice 
he  was  made  i)rt'sident  of  the  council.  At  this 
time  he  was  also  elected  to  represent  East  IMin- 
neapolis,  Isanti  and  Anoka  counties  in  the 
state  senate,  his  term  of  ofTicc  of  four  vears  expir- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


275 


ing  in  i8yo.  What  is  known  as  "the  i)atrol  Hni- 
its  system,"  a  rule  which  confines  the  saloons  to 
the  Intsiness  center  of  the  cit}',  received  Mr. 
Clough's  support  in  the  legislature  and  in  the 
council,  and  to  him  credit  is  given  for  having  de- 
feated an  attempt  in  the  legislature  to  grant  to 
the  council  the  power  of  discontinuing  or  alter- 
ing this  sy.stem.  Mr.  Clough  was  a  member  of 
the  state  Republican  central  committee  for  four 
years,  and  in  1892  was  nominated  by  the  Repub- 
licans for  lieutenant  governor  and  was  elected. 
He  was  re-nominated  in  1894  and  re-elected,  and 
upon  the  election  of  Knute  Nelson  to  the  United 
States  senate  in  1895  he  succeeded  him  in  the 
office  of  governor.  He  was  nominated  liy  the 
Republicans  in  1896  to  succeed  himself  and 
was  elected.  When  the  court  house  and 
city  hall  commission  was  organized  in  Minne- 
apolis, ]\[r.  Clough  was  made  a  member  of  that 
commission,  and  for  a  time  was  its  president. 
His  family  are  identified  w  ith  the  First  Congre- 
gational Church  of  Minneapolis,  of  which  society 
Mr.  Clough  was  for  many  years  trustee.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Masonic  order,  in  which  he  has 
taken  thirty-two  degrees.  Mr.  Clough  was  mar- 
ried April  4,  1867,  to  Addie  Barton,  at  Spencer 
Brook,  Minnesota.  He  has  one  daughter,  Nina, 
the  wife  of  R.  H.  Hartley,  of  Minneajiolis. 


FREUERICIC  11.  UOARDATAN. 

Frederick  Henry  Boardman  comes  of 
good,  old  Colonial  stock  in  New  Brunswick.  His 
father,  George  A.  Boardman,  originally  a  citizen 
of  New  Brunswick,  is  a  retired  lumberman  of 
Calais,  Maine.  He  was  a  man  of  scientiiic  tastes 
and  attainments,  and  is  known  as  one  of  the  lead- 
ing ornithologists  of  the  United  States.  George 
A.  Boardman's  wife  was  Mar\'  Jane  Hill,  a 
woman  of  noble  character,  whose  memorv  is 
held  in  reverent  and  affectionate  regard  by  her 
children.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  at 
Milltown,  New  Brunswick,  .\pril  25,  1848. 
His  early  education  was  obtained  at  St.  Stephen's 
Academy,  and  at  Philliiis  Academy  at 
Andover,  Massachusetts.,  where  he  prepared 
for      college.        He      then      entered      Bowdoin 


college,  where  he  was  a  graduate  of  the 
class  of  1869.  While  in  college  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Psi  Upsilon  society;  was  the  prize  speaker 
of  his  class,  and  a  leader  in  all  college  sports.  He 
was  awarded  by  the  teacher  in  gymnastics  a  spe- 
cial cup  for  being  the  best  at  sparring  and  in  all 
the  athletic  contests  of  the  school.  Having  com- 
pleted his  college  course  he  began  the  study  of 
law  with  E.  B.  Harvey,  of  Calais,  Maine,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1876.  Two  years  later  he 
came  to  Minnesota  and  settled  in  Minneapolis  for 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  C.  M.  Ferguson,  which  con- 
tinued from  1878  to  1885.  He  is  now,  and  has  for 
several  years,  been  associated  professionally  with 
M.  H.  Boutelle,  and  the  firm  has  always  had  its 
share  of  important  litigation.  Mr.  Boardman  has 
always  been  a  Republican,  and  represented  one  of 
the  Minneapolis  districts  in  the  Minnesota  legis- 
lature in  1882  and  1883.  His  home  has  been  in 
the  city  of  Minneapolis  vmtil  recently,  when  he  re- 
moved to  his  farm  at  Blaine,  Anoka  county,  where 
he  now  resides,  although  continuing  his  profes- 
sional business  in  the  city.  He  was  married  in 
Brunswick,  Maine,  in  1870,  to  Harriet  C.  Bou- 
telle. Thev  have  two  children,  Lucv  B.  and 
Ralph  T.   ' 


276 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HOWARD  AIcILNAIX  MORTON. 

Dr.  Howard  .Mcllvain  2\Jorton  is  an  ocu- 
list and  aurist  in  Minneapolis.  His  birth- 
place was  the  old  city  of  Chester,  Pennsylvania, 
and  his  birthday  May,  23,  1866.  His  father  was 
Dr.  Charles  J.  Morton,  a  well-known  surgeon  of 
Eastern  Pennsylvania,  who  had  practiced  in 
Chester  for  more  than  thirty  years.  Dr.  Charles 
Morton  was  the  great  grandson  of  John  Morton, 
a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
whose  monument  erected  to  him  at  Chester  bears 
this  inscription:  "John  Morton,  member  of  the 
Stamp  Act  Congress  from  this  Colony.  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court.  Delegate  to  the  First 
Congress  in  1774.  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Assembly.  Re-elected  to  the  Congress  of  1776, 
where  in  giving  the  casting  vote  of  his  delegation 
he  crowned  Pennsylvania  the  Keystone  of  the 
arch  of  liberty,  and  secured  to  the  American 
people  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Him- 
self a  signer.  Born  1724.  Died  1777."  In  tlic 
rotunda  of  the  old  state  house  in  Philadelphia 
are  portraits  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  but  no  portrait  of  John  Morton 
was  preserved,  and  in  its  place  one  may  see  a 
large  tablet  erected  to  his  distinguished  memory. 
Dr.  Howard  Morton's  mother  was  Annie  Coatcs, 
the  daughter  of  Moses  and  T.ydia  Taylor  Coates, 


Lydia  Taylor  having  been  a  near  relative  of  Presi- 
dent Zachary  Taylor  and  a  cousin  of  Bayard  Tay- 
lor. JMoses  Coates  was  the  founder  of  Coates- 
ville,  one  of  the  old  Pennsylvania  towns,  to  which 
he  gave  his  name.  He  was  a  man  of  remarkable 
inventive  genius,  and  also  a  mathematician  of 
wide  reputation  in  his  time.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch,  Howard  iMcIlvain,  attended  a  private 
school  in  Chester  until  he  was  twelve  years  cf 
age,  when  he  entered  Maplewood  Institute  to 
prepare  for  college.  He  was  admitted  to  Lafay- 
ette College,  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  fall 
of  1884,  and  was  graduated  in  1888.  Howard 
Alcllvain  took  an  active  part  in  all  college  affairs, 
literary  and  athletic  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Delta  Tau  Delta  Greek  fraternity.  He  was  captain 
of  the  college  athletic  team,  manager  of  the  foot- 
ball team  and  was  elected  to  membership  in  the 
Manhattan  Athletic  Club,  of  New  York  City,  the 
third  up  to  that  time  to  be  so  honored  in  his 
college.  He  won  a  number  of  championship 
medals  for  athletic  sports,  and  was  the  referee  of 
many  of  the  principal  football  and  athletic  con- 
tests between  the  large  colleges.  His  purpose 
as  a  student  was  to  prepare  for  the  medical  pro- 
fession, and  in  the  fall  of  1888  he  entered  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, from  which  he  graduated  in  1891.  He 
was  a  charter  member  of  the  Phi  Alpha  Sigma 
medical  fraternity,  of  the  William  Pepper  Medical 
Society,  and  was  honored  in  1891  by  Chancellor 
Pepper  with  the  appointment  as  one  of  the  two 
selected  to  escort  the  visiting  Pan-American  con- 
gress on  the  occasion  of  their  visit  to  the  uni- 
versity. While  at  the  university  and  afterward 
he  studied  with  and  assisted  Dr.  James  Wallace 
and  Dr.  G.  E.  De  Schweinitz  in  treating  the  dis- 
eases of  the  eye,  a  department  of  medicine  which 
he  afterward  made  his  specialty.  For  six  months 
he  was  house  surgeon  for  St.  Luke's  Hospital  in 
Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  received  the  degree  of 
B.  S.  from  Lafayette  College  in  1888,  and  M.  S. 
from  the  same  institution  in  1891.  Dr.  Morton 
has  been  a  resident  of  Minneapolis  for  over  five 
years,  during  which  time  he  has  been  the  oculist 
and  aurist  to  Asbury  Hospital,  and  clinical  pro- 
fessor of  ophthalmology  and  otology  in  the  Col- 
lege of  Pliysicians  and  .Surgeons  in  Minneapolis. 
He  is  now  the  oculist  and  aurist  to  St.  Barnabas 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


277 


Hospital,  and  cliief  of  the  eye  and  ear  clinic  of 

St.  Jiarnalias  Hospital  l""i"ce  ].)ispcnsary.  He  is 
a  niL'iiiljer  of  the  Hennepin  County  Medical  As- 
sociation, the  Minnesota  State  Medical  Society, 
the  American  Medical  Association,  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley  Medical  Society,  of  the  Minneapolis 
Art  .Society,  and  of  the  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution,  and  is  vice-president  of  the  North- 
western Alumni  Association  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  Dr.  Morton  was  married  in  De- 
cemher,  i8gi,  to  Miss  Lucretia  Yale  Jarvis, 
daughter  of  the  late  Charles  H.  Jarvis,  a  musician 
of  considerahle  distinction  in  Philadelphia. 


RICHARD  J.  MENDENHALL. 

The  ancestry  of  R.  J.  Mendenhall  is  traced 
back  to  England  before  the  time  of  William 
Penn.  The  American  ancestry  of  the  family 
emigrated  with  Penn,  and  his  descendants  for 
many  years  lived  in  Pennsylvania.  The  great- 
great-grandson  of  the  Quaker  emigrant,  Richard 
Mendenhall,  was  an  extensive  tanner  at  James- 
town, North  Carolina.  His  wife  was  Mary  Pegg, 
a  descendant  of  an  old  Welsh  family  which  set- 
tled in  America  at  an  early  period.  Their  son 
Richard  was  born  at  Jamestown,  on  November 
25,  1828.  During  his  boyhood  and  youth  Mr. 
Mendenhall's  education  was  more  or  less  inter- 
rupted by  various  pursuits.  In  1848  he  studied  at 
the  New  Garden  Boarding  School.  During  a 
summer  vacation  spent  in  New  Hampshire  he 
met  Cyrus  Beede,  with  whom  he  formed  a 
friendship  and  who  afterwards  became  his  part- 
ner in  business  in  Minneapolis.  During  his 
boyhood  he  acquired  familiarity  with  farm  life, 
and  had  taken  a  special  delight  in  the  culture 
of  fruits  and  flowers.  After  leaving  school  'Sir. 
Mendenhall  went  to  Ohio  and  was  engaged  in 
railroad  work  for  a  time.  He  afterwards  was 
associated  with  his  brother  in  similar  work  in 
North  Carolina,  and  his  experience  in  this  pro- 
fession led  him  to  come  west.  A  year  of  sur- 
veying in  Iowa  satisfied  him  with  that  locality, 
and  at  the  age  of  twentv-eight  he  arrived  at  Min- 
neapolis. His  friend,  Cyrus  Beede.  followed 
a  year  later,  and  they  became  associated  in  the 
land,  loan  and  banking  business,  under  the  firm 


^fl     <^ 


name  of  Beede  &  Mendenhall.  In  the  panic  of 
1857,  which  came  upon  them  before  they  were 
thoroughly  established,  they  suffered  consider- 
able losses  but  succeeded  in  preserving  their 
credit.  In  Novemlier,  1862,  Mr.  Mendenhall  be- 
came president  of  the  State  Bank  of  ]\Iinnesota. 
This  was  afterwards  merged  into  the  State  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Minneapolis,  of  which  Air.  Men- 
denhall also  became  president,  continuing  in  this 
position  until  1871.  He  was  also  president  of 
the  State  Savings  Association,  which  was  forced 
to  suspend  during  the  panic  of  1873.  At  much 
personal  sacrifice  Mr.  Mendenhall  has  satisfied 
most  of  the  claims  growing  out  of  this  failure. 
In  1862  he  was  Town  Treasurer,  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Board 
of  Education.  Air.  Mendenhall  was  married  in 
1858  to  Miss  Abby  G.  Swift,  a  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain Silas  Swift,  of  West  Falmouth,  Massachu- 
setts. They  now  reside  in  a  beautiful  home  on 
Stevens  avenue  in  Minneapolis.  Adjoining  the 
house  are  extensive  green  houses,  w-here  Mr. 
Mendenhall  has  in  recent  years  built  up  a  large 
business  in  flowers  and  plants.  Both  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Mendenhall  have  continued  through  their 
lives  as  active  members  of  the  Friends'  denomina- 
tion. 


278 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


GEORGE  HENRY  FLETCHER. 

George  Henry  Fletcher,  of  Minneapolis, 
traces  his  ancestry  to  Robert  Fletcher,  who 
came  from  England  and  settled  in  Concord,  Jilas- 
sachusetts,  in  1630.  The  Fletchers  for  several 
generations  \\ere  farmers.  Robert  Fletcher,  of 
the  fifth  generation,  served  in  the  early  part  of 
the  Revolutionary  War,  and  with  his  two  sons 
was  in  the  battle  of  Bennington.  He  died  on  his 
way  home  from  the  army  in  1776.  Luke  Fletcher, 
his  son,  also  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and 
Adolphus  Fletcher,  the  son  of  Luke,  served  in  the 
war  of  181 2.  The  Fletchers  were  generally  a  long- 
lived  family.  Adolphus  had  seven  sons  and  four 
daughters,  and  only  one  of  the  eleven  died  at  an 
age  less  than  fifty-eight.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born  T'ebruary  18,  i860,  at  Mankato. 
He  was  the  son  of  Lafayette  Gilbert  Mortiere 
Fletcher  and  Lucina  T.acon  (Fletcher).  L.  G.  .M. 
Fletcher  removed  from  St.  Lawrence  County, 
New  York,  to  Mankato,  Minnesota,  in  1854. 
and  has  been  engaged  since  that  time  in  survey- 
ing, farming,  operating  warehouses,  dealing  in 
real  estate  and  banking.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  ATankato  Hoard  of  Education  for  more  than 
twenty-five  out  of  the  past  thirty  years,  and  for 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  time  was  president. 


He  served  in  the  state  senate  from  1883  to  188G. 
He  married  Lucina  Bacon  I'oote.  a  widow.  Her 
family  name  was  Bacon.  The  Bacons  were  of  En- 
glish descent  and  had  lived  in  New  England  for 
several  generations.  She  died  at  Mankato,  Sep- 
tember 14,  1870.  George  Henry  ITetcher  liegan 
his  education  under  the  direction  of  his  mother, 
but  subsequently  attended  the  public  schools  at 
Mankato,  where  he  graduated  from  the  high 
school  in  1876,  as  valedictorian  of  the  first  class 
after  the  school  was  established.  The  following 
year  he  also  received  a  diploma  from  the  high 
school,  of  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan.  In  September, 
1877,  'is  entered  the  University  of  Michigan, 
where  he  graduated  in  June,  1881,  with  the  degree 
of  A.  B.  He  did  not  attend  the  university  during 
the  junior  year  of  his  class,  but  was  instructor  in 
I^atin  and  mathematics  at  the  Mankato  high 
school.  During  his  college  course  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Psi  Upsilon  fraternity.  His  sum- 
mer vacations  were  spent  on  his  father's  farms 
near  Mankato,  accumulating  health  and  muscle 
and  preparing  himself  for  the  confinement  of  col- 
lege work  during  the  balance  of  the  year.  After 
graduation,  in  ]88i,  ]\lr.  Fletcher  was  placed  in 
charge  of  a  triangulation  party,  under  Capt.  D. 
W.  Wellman,  U.  S.  A.,  then  engaged  in  the  gov- 
ernment survey  of  the  Missouri  river,  and  carried 
on  that  work  from  Fort  Randall  to  Sioux  City, 
beginning  in  August  and  ending  the  following 
October.  In  November,  1881,  he  came  to  r\lin- 
neapolis  to  study  law,  in  accordance  with  a  pur- 
pose formed  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  toward 
which  every  step  after  that  age  was  taken.  He 
entered  the  law  office  of  William  H.  Norris,  coun- 
sel of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Faul  Rail- 
wav,  and  when  not  otherwise  engaged  continued 
his  studies  there  until  August,  1883.  From  June, 
18S2,  to  July,  1883,  he  was  assistant  in  the  office 
of  Superintendent  of  the  Poor,  in  Minneapolis, 
and  also  during  that  time  examined  Latin,  His- 
tory and  Geography  papers  for  the  state  high 
school  board.  In  .Vugust,  1883,  he  entered  the 
office  of  Judge  T'.ll  Torrance  as  clerk,  and  the 
following  Decemlier  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 
Beginning  with  the  following  I'rhi  uar\ .  .-uul  until 
lune  I.  i8()0.  he  was  associated  witli  Judge  Tor- 
ranc-i'.  in   the   law  firm   of  Torraiu'c   iv   Metcher. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


279 


lie  then  formed  a  parliiersliip  wiUi  Kiiljcrt  S. 
Dawson,  to  which  Chelsea  J.  Rockwood  was  ad- 
mitted in  F"ebruary,  1891.  In  March,  1895,  ^^""^ 
firm  became  Fletcher,  Cairns  &  Rockwood,  and 
in  Atignst,  1896,  the  present  firm  of  Fletcher  & 
Taylor  was  formed.  Mr.  Metcher  was  secretary 
of  the  Minneapolis  Bar  Association  from  1887 
till  i8y2.  He  has  taken  an  active  interest  in 
Republican  politics,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Union  League.  He  was  secretary  of  the  League 
in  1883,  vice  president  in  1884,  and  president  in 
1893.  He  represented  the  Thirty-second  district  in 
the  lovi'er  house  of  the  legislature  in  1893,  and  was 
chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee  during  that 
session.  AJr.  Fletcher  is  a  member  of  the  Univer- 
salist  Church,  and  was  secretary  of  the  Church  of 
the  Redeemer  in  Minneapolis  for  ten  years.  July 
28,  1887,  he  married  Annie  Maria  Kimball, 
daughter  of  George  C.  Kimball,  of  Grand  Rapids, 
Michigan.  They  have  two  children,  Kimball  and 
Alice  Kiml)all. 


CARROLL    ANDERSON     NYE. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  brother  of  the 
lamented  humorist,  Edgar  Wilson  Nye,  better 
known  to  fame  as  "Bill  Nye,''  who  died  at  his 
home  in  North  Carolina,  February  22,  1896; 
also  of  Frank  M.  Nye,  county  attorney  of  Hen- 
nepin County,  Minnesota.  The  Nye  family  is  of 
French  and  English  descent  on  the  mother's 
side,  and  French  and  Welsh  on  the  father's.  The 
father,  Franklin  Nye,  w-as  a  farmer  in  rather  poor 
circumstances.  The  mother's  maiden  name  was 
Eliza  M.  Loring.  F)Oth  parents  were  originally 
from  the  state  of  ]Maine,  moving  from  that  state 
to  Wisconsin  in  1852,  and  following  farming  in 
St.  Croix  County  until  1885.  Carroll  Anderson 
Nye  was  born  in  St.  Croix  County,  Wisconsin, 
February  3,  186 1.  Fie  attended  the  conuuon 
school  during  the  winters,  and,  as  usual  in  the 
case  of  farmers'  boys,  worked  on  the  farm  dur- 
ing the  sunuuer,  until  he  was  seventeen  years  of 
age.  He  then  attended,  for  several  terms,  the 
state  normal  school  at  River  Falls,  Wisconsin, 
in  the  meantime  also  teaching  school  several 
terms.  The  first  monev  Mr.  Nye  ever  earned 
was  bv  working  bv  the  month  on  a  farm  in  his 


home  state.  After  leaving  school  he  commenced 
the  study  of  law  with  his  brother,  I'rank  M.  Nye, 
who  at  that  time  was  located  in  Wisconsin.  He 
entered  the  State  University  of  Wisconsin  later, 
graduating  from  the  law  department  in  the  class 
of  1886.  In  January,  1887,  he  came  to  Minne- 
sota, locating  at  Moorhead,  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  law.  When  Mr.  Nye  conmienced  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Moorhead  he  had 
no  money  and  was  in  delit,  having  earned  the 
money  by  his  own  efforts  with  which  to  pursue 
his  studies.  He  is  now  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances and  enjoys  an  extensive  practice.  He 
has  held  the  office  of  city  attorney  of  INIoorhead 
for  four  terms,  and  is  now-  serving  his  second 
term  as  county  attorney  of  Clay  County.  In  pol- 
itics Mr.  Nye  is  independent.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  the  Knights  of  Pyth- 
ias and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  \\'orkmen. 
His  church  affiliations  are  with  the  Congrega- 
tional body,  and  he  is  a  regular  attendant  and 
supporter  of  the  First  Congregational  church  of 
Moorhead,  though  not  a  luember  of  anv  church 
organization.  He  was  married  December  30, 
1886,  to  Miss  Marv  Gordon,  of  Madison,  Wis- 
consin. Thev  have  one  child.  Tames  Gordon, 
aged  five. 


280 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JULIUS  HENRY  ACKER.MANN. 

Julius  Henry  Ackermaun  is  deputy  treas- 
urer of  the  state  of  Minnesota.  He  resides 
temporarily  in  St.  Paul,  but  his  home  is  at 
Young  America,  Carver  County.  Mr.  Ackcr- 
mann  is  a  native  of  Thuringia,  where  he  was  born 
at  Muehlhausen,  January  9,  1844.  His  father, 
Henry  G.  Ackermann,  was  a  successful  miller 
and  land  owner,  who,  when  merely  a  boy  ot 
twelve,  was  compelled,  on  account  of  his  father's 
illness,  to  take  active  management  of  the  mill. 
In  the  year  1813,  when  the  Russians  drove  back 
Napoleon  across  Germany,  large  crowds  of 
Russians  passed  the  mill  at  intervals  for  a  period 
of  several  months.  The  mill  beimj  in  an  isolated 
situation  was  chosen  as  headquarters  by  the 
Russian  officers,  while  the  rest  of  the  army  were 
camped  around  the  mill.  These  Russian  soldiers 
appropriated  every  kind  of  persona!  property  and 
provisions,  and  practically  left  the  young  miller 
destitute.  But,  being  of  a  resolute  disposition, 
he  conducted  the  business  with  great  diligence 
and  perseverance,  and  for  a  period  of  fifty  years 
was  successful  in  his  business  Dpcrations.  After 
losing  his  first  wife  he  married  Henrietta  Henne- 
berg,  the  mother  of  Jnlins  Henry.  The  snbjcct 
of  this  sketch  was  the  voungest  of  a   faniilv  of 


nine.  He  received  a  common  school  education 
and  at  the  same  time  received  a  business  edu- 
cation from  private  tutors.  In  1858,  at  the  age 
of  fourteen,  he  went  into  business  as  a  clerk  in 
a  large  wholesale  and  retail  store  in  his  native 
city.  In  1862  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
and  first  settled  on  a  farm  in  Benton  township, 
Carver  County,  ]\liimesota.  In  1864,  in  com- 
pany with  his  brother,  Christ,  he  engaged  in 
mercantile  business  in  the  village  of  Young 
America.  The  following  year  he  put  up  a  steam 
flouring  and  saw  mill.  The  next  year,  1866,  an- 
other brother,  William,  came  over  from  Germany 
and  entered  into  the  partnership,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Ackermann  Bros.  This  firm  continued 
in  business  initil  1875,  when  it  was  dissolved  and 
Julius  formed  a  partnership  with  John  Truwe, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Ackermann  &  Co.  They 
continued  in  the  mercantile  business  until  1893, 
taking  in  as  partners  in  the  meantime,  August 
F.  Truwe  and  A.  O.  Malmgren.  In  1893  t-'i^ 
firm  was  changed  to  Truwe  &  Co.,  the  milling 
business  being  contintied  under  the  old  name  of 
Ackermann  Bros.,  who,  in  1876,  had  established 
a  branch  in  New  York  City.  In  1893  the  mill 
was  rebuilt  and  incorporated  under  the  name  of 
.\ckermann  Bros,  ^^lilling  Co.,  who  still  con- 
tinue the  business.  In  1895  Mr.  Ackermann  dis- 
posed of  his  interest  in  the  store  business,  but 
continued  his  connection  with  the  mill. 
Julius  has  been  an  active  Republican  ever 
since  he  came  of  age,  and  has  always 
supported  the  Repul)lican  ticket  with  the 
exception  of  1872,  when  he  voted  for  Horace 
Greeley  for  president.  In  1871  he  was  appointed 
postmaster  of  Young  America  and  held  that 
office  until  1893.  He  was  elected  town  clerk  in 
1870,  and  was  re-elected  each  year  uiuil  1892. 
In  1895  he  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  deputy 
state  treasurer  under  August  F.  Koerner,  state 
treasurer.  Mr.  -Vckermann  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Pioneer  Singing  Society  of  Yoimg 
.America  since  1862,  and  joined  the  Masonic 
order  in  1870.  In  1883  to  1885  he  served  his 
district  as  a  member  of  the  state  senate,  and  was 
again  sent  to  the  lower  house  in  1889.  He  is 
now  a  nicnibcr  of  the  Republican  state  central 
committee  and  was  sent  as  a  delegate  from  Car- 


I'KOGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


281 


ver  County  to  the  Republican  state  convention 
in  1881,  and  has  represented  his  county  in  that 
capacity  in  every  Republican  state  convention 
since.  He  was  married  in  1886  to  Paulini  Goetze. 
They  have  three  children,  two  sons  and  one 
daughter,  all  grown,  the  daughter  married  and 
the  sons  engaged  in  mercantile  business. 


MELCHIOR  FALK  GJERTSEN. 
Melchior  Falk  Gjertsen  is  a  Lutheran 
clergyman  of  Minneapolis,  more  familiarly  known 
as  M.  Falk  Gjertsen.  His  father,  Julian  P.  Gjert- 
sen, was  also  a  minister  of  the  gospel  and  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  "Zion  Society  for  Israel," 
a  society  for  the  conversion  of  the  Jews.  Johan 
P.  was  also  the  author  of  ".Missi(jnary  Hymns  for 
Israel."  He  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  who 
knew  him,  and  died  in  his  ninetieth  year  at 
Stoughton,  Wisconsin.  His  wife's  maiden  name- 
was  Bertha  Johanna  Hanson.  She  is  still  living 
in  her  eighty-first  year.  Air.  Gjertsen's  ancestors 
both  on  his  father's  and  on  his  mother's  side  be- 
longed to  the  peasantry  of  Norway,  and  he  was 
born  February  19,  1847,  i"  Sogm,  Norway.  He 
attended  the  Latin  school  or  college  at  Bergen, 
Norway,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  came  to 
America.  He  located  in  Chicago  and  contributed 
to  the  support  of  the  family  by  working  in  a 
chair  factory,  where  his  daily  task  was  to  put  to- 
gether iifty-four  spindle  chairs  a  day,  for  which 
he  received  one  dollar.  After  three  months'  work 
there  he  found  employment  in  a  shingle  mill  at 
one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  a  day.  He 
was      afterwards      ottered      and      accepted      a 


place    in    a    ^Milwaukee    grocer}-    store. 


After 


working  there  a  year,  he  became  ill.  and  was 
brought  near  to  death's  door.  It  was  at  this 
time  that  he  resolved  if  he  got  well  to  change  the 
whole  course  of  his  life.  On  his  recovery 
he  began  to  study  for  the  ministry,  and 
entered  the  theological  seminary  of  the 
Scandinavian  Augustana  Synod,  at  Paxton. 
Illinois.  He  was  ordained  to  the  minis- 
try in  1868,  and  was  a  pastor  of  the 
church  at  Leland,  Illinois,  for  four  years:  at 
Stoughton,  Wisconsin,  nine  years,  and  has  been 
pastor  of  the  same  church  the  Lutheran  Trinity 
church,  in  Minneapolis  for  fifteen  years,  having 
come  to  this  city  in  1881.     Mr.  Gjertsen  was  one 


of  the  first  promoters  of  temperance  work 
among  the  Scandinavians  of  the  Northwest,  and 
the  organizer  of  the  Norwegian  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
work.  He  has  also  been  deeply  interested  in 
hospital  work,  and  in  the  establishment  here  of 
the  Order  of  Deaconnesses.  Air.  Gjertsen  is  a 
very  influential  man  among  the  Scandinavians  of 
Minnesota,  and  was  selected  in  1887  for  member- 
ship on  the  school  board  by  both  the  Republicans 
and  Democrats.  He  is,  however,  a  Republican, 
with  a  strong  sympathy  for  the  cause  of  prohi- 
bition, and  has  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  fight  against  the  liquor  traffic  in  this 
city.  He  was  secretary  of  the  school 
board  for  six  years,  and  in  1894  was  re- 
elected on  both  the  Republican  and  Prohibi- 
tion tickets.  He  was  then  made  president  of  the 
board.  As  stated  above,  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  in  which  he  was  baptized.  He 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Norwegian- 
Danish  Lutheran  Conference  in  1870,  and  also 
of  the  United  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  of 
America,  which  was  organized  in  i8()o.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  and  has  always  been  one  of 
the  most  ardent  supporters  of  Augsburg  Theo- 
logical Seminary.  Mr.  Gjertsen  was  married  in 
1869  to  Sara  Ann""Mosey,  of  Freedom,  Illinois. 
They  have  three  children  living.  Alarie,  Tohan 
and  Lena. 


282 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


FRIEDRICH  SCHMITZ, 

Friedrich  Johann  Philipp  Hubert  Jacob 
Schmitz  since  he  came  to  America  has  dropped 
the  greater  part  of  his  full  name,  and  writes 
as  a  signature  simply,  Fritz  Schmitz.  He  was 
born  in  Duesseldorf,  on  the  Rhine.  Au- 
gust 26,  1867,  the  son  of  Philipp  Schmitz 
and  Carolina  Earths  (Schmitz).  His  ancestors 
on  his  father's  side  were  of  the  Swiss  nobil- 
ity. Their  coat  of  arms  was  a  white  lion  hold- 
ing a  yellow  star  on  a  red  ground,  and  is  entered 
in  the  books  of  European  heraldry.  They  set- 
tled in  Rhineland  early  in  the  Fifteenth  century. 
Philipp  Schmitz  was  an  art  teacher  in  the  Royal 
Academy  at  Duesseldorf.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders,  and  called  the  godfather  of  the  artists' 
society  known  as  Malkasten.  He  was  an  officer 
in  the  Revolutionary  Army  of  1848,  and  after 
the  suppression  of  the  Revolution  was  pardoned, 
being  more  fortunate  in  that  respect  than  one  of 
his  brothers,  who,  in  spite  of  his  position  as  an 
officer  of  the  regular  army,  was  on  the  Revolu- 
tionary side.  He  fled  to  America,  the  refuge  of 
so  many  of  the  revolutionists  of  1848;  entered 
the  Northern  army  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
War  ami  fell  in  battle  near  Nashville.     Carolina 


Earths  was  the  daughter  of  a  Revolutionist  von 
Earths,  who  dropped  the  von  when  he  became  a 
leader  of  the  Revolutionist  party  in  1848.  He 
was  a  prominent  lawyer  in  Duesseldorf.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  attended  the  stadtiches  gym- 
nasium (high  school)  in  Duesseldorf,  from  \vhich 
he  graduated  at  the  age  of  seventeen.  His  pa- 
rents desired  him  to  become  an  army  oificer,  but 
his  wish  was  to  become  a  musician.  He  had  been 
instructed  in  violin  playing  since  his  twelfth 
year,  his  teacher  being  Robert  Zerbe,  a  well- 
known  conductor  of  the  Duesseldorf  symphony 
orchestra.  Later  young  Schmitz  was  under  the 
training  of  a  celebrated  French  violinist,  Emile 
Sauret,  who  induced  his  pupil's  parents  to  send 
him  to  the  famous  Cologne  Conservatory.  There 
Fritz  studied  for  five  years.  His  principal  in- 
structor was  Gustav  Hollander,  now  director  of 
Stern's  Conservatory,  in  Berlin,  on  the  violin. 
His  instructors  in  other  branches  were  Professors 
Huelle,  Jensen,  Neitzel,  Heinrich  Zoellner  and 
Arnold  Mendelssohn.  About  this  time  he  also 
visited  the  Bonn  University.  After  a  year  and  a 
half  of  study  at  the  conservatory,  young  Schmitz 
competed  for  the  Peter  Mueller  "stiftung"  and  a 
government-  prize,  and  held  both  of  them  while 
he  studied  in  Cologne.  Having  completed  his 
studies  in  Cologne  he  was  appointed  concert 
master  in  Duesseldorf,  where  he  became  a 
prominent  soloist  and  teacher  of  the  violin. 
Shortly  afterwards  he  was  appointed  teacher  of 
the  violin  in  a  New  York  conservatory.  He  ac- 
cepted this  position  with  the  intention  of  return- 
ing to  Europe  within  a  year,  his  principal  object 
in  coming  to  America  being  to  see  the  country. 
With  the  same  object  in  view  he  accepted  an 
offer  of  membership  in  the  Theodore  Thomas 
Chicago  orchestra,  where  he  played  in  1891,  1892 
and  1893.  He  had  in  the  meantime  become  so 
well  pleased  with  the  countr}-  that  he  determined 
to  make  America  his  home.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  Columbian  Exposition  he  went  to  New 
York  under  engagement  with  Walter  Damrosch, 
of  the  New  York  Symphony  Orchestra.  While 
there  he  met  Walter  Petzet,  then  director  of  the 
musical  department  of  the  Manning  College  in 
Minneapolis,  who  offered  him  the  isosition  of 
first  violin  teacher  in  this  school.      l'"eeling  that 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


283 


his  forte  was  not  orclicstra  ])layinpf  so  much  as 
teachiuij  and  solo  work,  he  accepted  Mr.  Petzet's 
offer  and  came  to  Alinneai)olis  in  iS()4,  where  he 
is  lield  in  hit^^h  esteem  as  an  artist.  iM(jre  recently 
hoth  Mr.  I'etzet  and  Mr.  Schmitz  have  with- 
drawn from  the  iManninij  school,  and  Mr. 
Schmitz  is  eng-aged  as  a  private  teacher  of  the 
violin. 


CHRISTIAN  J.  ]!.  HIRSCH. 

Dr.  Christian  j.  I!.  Hirsch,  of  New  Ulm, 
Minnesota,  is  a  native  of  Norway,  one  of  those 
who  came  to  America  as  a  young  man  and  cast 
in  his  lot  with  his  adopted  countr}',  fighting  her 
battles  and  participating  in  the  lieneficial  results 
of  the  war.  Dr.  Hirsch  was  born  on  August 
29,  1842.  His  father  was  a  physician  in  the 
employ  of  the  govermnent.  rntil  he  was  six- 
teen years  of  age  he  was  tutored  by  a  lieutenant 
of  the  army.  He  then  tried  the  life  of  a  sailor 
for  two  years,  but  gave  that  up  and  returned 
to  Christiania  where  he  attended  the  university 
for  three  years.  In  1863  he  left  for  the  United 
States  in  a  sailing  vessel.  He  stopped  at  Chi- 
cago, and  during  the  following  year  enlisted 
in  Company  D,  Eighty-ninth  Illinois  \^olunteer 
Infantry,  joining  his  regiment  in  I'last  Tennes- 
see, where  it  was  then  stationed.  His  corps 
started  with  General  Sherman  on  the  "march 
to  the  sea,"  but  after  the  battle  of  Atlanta  was 
detached  to  pursue  General  Hood,  who  was 
threatening  Nashville.  After  the  battles  of 
Nashville  and  Franklin  they  followed  up  the 
remnants  of  the  Southern  army  until  they  scat- 
tered. They  next  went  to  East  Tennessee  to 
help  in  the  final  operations  against  Lee.  and 
after  the  surrender  of  that  famous  fighter  the 
regiment  went  to  Texas,  where  Dr.  Hirsch  was 
finally  nuistered  out  of  service  in  August.  1865. 
By  this  time  the  young  Norwegian  had  seen 
enough  of  war  and  of  the  fighting  qualities  of 
the  Americans  to  convince  him  of  their  ener- 
getic character.  He  had  also  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  a  good  deal  of  the  country. 
Upon  being  discharged  from  the  service  he 
went  back  to  Chicago  and  entered  Rush  ^Fedi- 


cal  College,  from  which  he  graduated  with 
honor  in  1868.  A  year  previous  he  had  been 
married  to  Miss  Canunilla  M.  Thrane,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Marcus  Thrane,  the  leader  of  the  Liberal 
mijvcment  in  Norway  in  1849.  With  his  young 
wife  Dr.  Hirsch  settled  in  Dane  County,  Wis- 
consin, where  he  practiced  medicine  for  nine 
years.  He  then  moved  to  lialdwin,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  lived  for  one  year.  He  was  after- 
wards in  Zumbrota,  Minnesota,  for  a  year;  in 
Lake  Mills,  Iowa,  for  two  years,  and  lUue 
Earth  City,  Minnesota,  for  three  vears.  In  the 
latter  place  he  was  part  owner  in  a  drug  store 
and  lost  all  his  books  and  instruments  in  a  fire 
which  burned  the  store  and  his  office.  It  so 
happened  that  his  insurance  was  small  and  cov- 
ered only  the  drug  stock.  The  next  two  years 
were  spent  in  travel  in  North  Dakota.  Dr. 
Hirsch  next  settled  in  Black  River  Falls,  Wis- 
consin, where  he  remained  for  four  years,  after 
which  he  moved  to  New  Ulm,  in  1890.  Smce 
establishing  himself  in  New  \]\m  he  has  built 
up  a  large  practice.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hirsch  have 
had  ten  children,  six  girls  and  four  boys,  and 
have  lost  one  child,  a  girl.  The  doctor  belongs 
to  the  Brown  County  Medical  .\ssociation  and 
the  Mississijipi  \'allcy  ^Nfedical  .Association. 


284 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JAMES  F.  R.  FUSS. 

James  F.  R.  F'oss  is  president  uf  the  Nicollet 
National  Hank  of  Minneapolis.  Air.  Foss  is  es- 
sentially a  self-made  man.  W  hat  he  has  accom- 
plished is  due  to  his  native  abilities  and  unflag- 
ging industry.  He  is  a  native  of  Biddeford, 
Maine,  where  he  was  born  March  17,  1848.  His 
parents  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Maine, 
his  ancestry  running  back  on  his  mother's  side 
to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jordan,  who  purchased  a  large 
tract  of  land  in  what  is  now  the  state  of  Maine, 
but  at  that  time  was  still  a  portion  of  the  colony 
of  Massachusetts.  His  father,  James  Foss,  died 
when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  only  four 
years  old.  James  I''.  R.  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  lji<ldef()rd,  and  at  the  opening  of 
the  War  of  the  Rebellion  responded  to  the  call 
of  his  country  and  entered  the  naval  service.  He 
served  on  the  United  States  frigates  Sabine, 
Niagara,  Hartford  and  Savannah,  from  1861  to 
1863,  and  was  only  sixteen  years  of  age  when  he 
received  his  discharge.  He  was  among  the  very 
youngest  in  the  scr\'icc  of  the  government  in  the 
Civil  War.  He  was  offered  a  midshi])man's  com- 
mission in  the  nav\-.  but   being  ambitions  for  a 


more  active  and  promising  career,  he  prepared 
himself  at  Llucksport  Seminary  for  business  life. 
During  the  next  ten  years  he  occupied  several 
])ositions  as  clerk  anil  bookkeeper  in     Boston, 
Providence  and  New  York.     In  1873  found  him 
in  the  position  of  bookkeeper  in  the    Shoe   and 
Feather  National  Bank  in  Boston.    He  held  that 
position   for  eighteen   months,   when,   owing  to 
ill   health,  he  resigned  and  went  to   sea  as  the 
second    mate   on  a  coasting  schooner  and   was 
thus  engaged  for  two  years.    In  1875,  with  health 
restored  he  obtained  the  position  of  bookkeeper 
in  the  Market  National  Bank,  of  Brighton,  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  soon  afterward  was  offered  a  like 
position  in   the   Merchandise   National    Bank  of 
Boston.    Here  he  displayed  such  business  capac- 
ity that  the  directors  at  the  end  of  the  first  year 
elected  him  cashier.      He  was  the  }Oungest  man 
who  up  to  that  time  had  held  such  an  important 
position  in  any  national  bank  in  that  city.      He 
discharged  the  duties  of  that  position  for  seven 
years,  when  he  resigned  in  order  that  he  might 
avail  himself  of  the  larger  opportunities  afforded 
to   men  of  his  capacity  and  enterprise    in     the 
West.      He  came  to  ^Minneapolis  and  organized 
the  Nicollet  National  Bank,  and  as  an  evidence 
of  his  standing  among  the  financial  men  of  Boston 
it  is  sufficient  to  state  that  of  the  capital  stock  of 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  that  bank,  three 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  was  sub- 
scribed by  Boston  capitalists  who  knew  Mr.  Foss 
personally  and  knew  his  business  methods.    The 
Nicollet  National  was  organized  in   1884.      Mr. 
Foss  was  its  cashier  for  four  years  and  in   188S 
was  elected  president.    He  has  conducted  the  af- 
fairs  of  this   institution   with   signal   ability   and 
made  it  one  of  the  strongest  financial  institutions 
in  the  state.      His  policy  is  conser\'ative,  and  dur- 
ing the  recent  financial  depression  no  bank  in  the 
state  probably  had  the  confidence  of  the  public 
more  fully  than  this  one.      Mr.  Foss  was  married 
February  22,  1877,  to  Alvena  M.  Baker,  of  Au- 
bumdale,  Massachusetts.  Mrs.  Foss  is  a  descend- 
ant of  an  old  Pilgrim  family,  the  first  members  of 
which  came  to  the  colonies  in  the  Mayflower.  Mrs. 
Foss  has  three  children,  Minnie  Frances,  James. 
Franklin  and  Florence  Fllcn. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


285 


CHARLES  ANSON  ^fOREY. 

Charles  Anson  Alurcy,  of  Winona  was  born 
at  X'crshire,  C)range  County,  X'erniont,  August 
9,  185 1.  His  father,  Royal  Morey,  a  fanner  in 
Vermont,  came  to  Cliester,  Wabasha  County, 
Minnesota,  in  1861.  His  wife,  Jennette  Ellen 
Felton  (Morey),  was  a  native  of  Strafford,  \'er- 
mont.  Her  brother,  Charles  C.  Felton,  for  whom 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  named,  went  over- 
land to  the  Pacific  Coast  in  1848.  He  was  a 
trader  aiul  steamboat  man  on  the  Columbia  and 
Willamette  rivers  and  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  Oregon  Steam  and  Navigation  Company.  Afr. 
Morey  is  of  .Scotch-English  descent,  both  on  his 
father's  side  and  on  his  mother's.  His  great  grand- 
mother on  his  mother's  side  was  Sarah  Putnam, 
a  niece  of  Ceneral  Israel  Putnam.  Charles  Anson 
attended  the  country  school  in  Vermont,  but  was 
onl\-  a  lad  of  about  nine  years  when  his  family 
moved  to  Illinois.  They  spent  one  summer 
there,  but  on  account  of  a  malarial  climate  sought 
a  more  healthful  location,  and  moved  overland 
in  a  covered  wagon  to  Wabasha  County,  Minne- 
sota, in  1861.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Chester,  Wabasha  County,  the  high  school  at 
Lake  City,  the  Normal  School  at  Winona,  and  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  at  Boston. 
He  graduated  from  the  Normal  School  at  Winona 
in  1872,  and  the  special  course  at  the  Institute 
of  Technology  was  taken  preparatory  to  assum- 
ing a  position  as  teacher  of  sciences  in  the  normal 
school,  to  which  place  he  was  elected  in  1874. 
On  the  resignation  of  Professor  Phelps,  in  1876, 
having  been  a  student  of  law  for  several  years, 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1879  and  resigned 
his  position  to  begin  the  practice  at  Winona 
as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Berry  &  Morey.  Mr. 
Morey  has  occupied  a  prominent  and  influential 
position  in  Winona.  He  has  been  president  of 
the  Winona  Savings  Bank  since  the  death  of 
William  Windom,  has  for  fifteen  years  been  sec- 
retarx'  of  the  Winona  I^uilding  and  Loan  Asso- 
ciation, was  a  member  of  the  city  council  for 
four  years  and  of  the  board  of  education  for  six 
years.  He  is  a  trustee  of  the  public  library,  is  the 
Resident  Director  and  Treasurer  of  the  Winona 
Normal  School  and  has  been  a  member  of   the 


State  Normal  Board  since  1883.  Mr.  Alorey 
has  been  a*  United  States  Commissioner  for 
many  years,  and  was  selected  by  the  government 
authorities  to  hear  the  famous  Alinneapolis  cen- 
sus cases.  Mr.  Alorey  has  always  been  a  Re- 
publican, has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  the  party,  and  is  usually  in  county 
and  state  conventions.  His  church  connec- 
tion is  with  the  Episcopal  denomination.  On 
November  28,  1877,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Kate 
Louise  Berr\-,  daughter  of  Judge  C.  H.  Berry, 
of  Winona.  They  have  four  children.  Jcanette, 
Charles  Bern,-,  Frances  and  Bertha  Louise. 
While  Mr.  Alorey  has  been  eminently  successful, 
and  has  won  for  himself  an  enviable  position 
in  the  community  in  which  he  resides,  he 
has  not  done  so  without  having  experienced 
the  hardships  and  privations  of  frontier  life  and 
straightened  circumstances  hi  his  early  years.  He 
learned  to  work  on  the  farm,  served'  his  appren- 
ticeship as  a  country  school  teacher,  learned  the 
trade  of  carpenter  and  millwright  and  used  his 
skill  in  that  direction  to  provide  means  with 
which  to  acquire  an  education.  It  is  not  sur- 
prising that  a  young  man  trained  in  such  a  school 
of  adversity  should  have  learned  self-reliance  and 
obtained  success. 


286 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JOSEPH   P.  \\'ILSON. 

It  is  given  to  comparatively  few  men  to  see 
great  cities  grow  to  metropolitan  proportions  on 
the  site  of  their  frontier  homes.  (.  )ne  of  the  men 
who  pioneered  in  .Minnesota,  who  settled  at  the 
site  of  Minneapolis  wlien  there  were  more  Indians 
in  the  vicinity  than  white  men,  and  who  has  lived 
to  see  the  city  and  state  develop  to  magnificent 
commercial  and  social  proportions,  is  Joseph  P. 
Wilson.  Like  so  many  of  Minnesota's  pioneers, 
Mr.  Wilson  is  a  native  of  Maine.  Pie  was  Ijorn 
at  Columbia  Falls,  March  i6,  1823.  In  1833  tlie 
family  moved  to  New  York  City,  where  he  spent 
his  youth.  At  one  time  he  was  in  the  employ  of 
Horace  Greeley,  and  later,  for  two  years,  was  in 
the  law  office  of  Silas  M.  Stillwell.  When  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  in  1845,  Mr.  Wilson  came  West, 
settling  first  in  Illinois,  where  he  was  for  a  time 
in  the  law  ofificc  of  P>.  F.  Fridlcy  of  Geneva.  The 
next  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  Init  Ik*  has 
never  practiced  his  profcssifjn.  In  1847  Mr. 
Wilson  was  engaged  in  the  purchase  of  govern- 
ment land,  in  Northern  Illinois,  for  Eastern  capi- 
talists. It  was  during  his  service  in  the  aniiv  in 
Mexico    that    he    first    met    C<ilcinrl     lulin    H. 


Stevens,  the  Minneapolis  pioneer.  After  the  war 
with  Me.xico  Mr.  Wilson  took  a  trip  up  the 
Mississippi  River,  visiting  the  towns  of  Cialena, 
Prairie  du  Chicn  and  .Stillwater,  but  he  returned 
to  Oswego,  Illinois,  where  he  engaged  in  business 
in  1849.  But  he  had  his  e}e  on  Minnesota,  and 
made  his  way  to  the  territory  and  settled  at  St. 
Anthony  Falls  on  April  19,  1850.  Inhabitants 
were  then  very  few,  and  the  Indians  of  the  Sioux 
Nation  occupied  the  land  west  of  the  river. 
St.  Anthony  was  the  last  settlement  between  the 
East  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  place  was 
entirely  without  means  of  communication  with 
the  world  except  by  means  of  steamers  on  tlie 
Mississippi,  and  all  groceries  and  other  supplies 
had  to  be  shipped  from  Galena  or  St.  Louis. 
Mr.  Wilson  remembers  well  sending  four  hundred 
miles  to  Galena  for  a  cooking  stove  and  a  barrel 
of  tlour.  .\  Mimieapijlis  man  sending  to  Galena 
for  flour!  And  this  was  only  forty-six  years  ago. 
Upon  coming  to  ■Minneapolis  ]\Ir.  Wilson 
engaged  in  a  mercantile  business  and  continued 
in  that  line  for  some  years.  Later  on  he  engaged 
in  the  real  estate  business,  which  he  has  followed 
ever  since.  In  1851  he  purchased  from  the  gov- 
ernment a  tract  of  land  in  what  is  now  Northeast 
Aiinneapolis,  and  also  a  tract  at  St.  Anthony 
Park,  paying  one  dollar  and  a  r|uartcr  per  acre. 
He  was  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the 
town  site  of  St.  Cloud,  in  1855.  and  in  1882  he 
laid  out  East  .St.  Cloud,  improving  the  place  and 
making  it  what  it  is.  He  still  has  large  interests 
there.  From  1863  to  187 1  he  was  a  government 
c(_intractor  for  transportation  of  armv  stores  and 
for  the  furnishing  of  grain  and  other  army  supplies 
to  the  militarv  posts  on  the  frontier.  Ever  since 
his  arrival  in  Minnesota  Mr.  \\'ilson  has  lieen 
identified  with  the  public  affairs  of  the  state  and 
his  own  locality.  He  was  a  countv  commissioner 
of  Ramsey  Comity  from  1852  to  T855,  a  member 
of  the  constitutional  convention  in  1858,  and  a 
member  of  the  state  senate  in  1864  and  1S65. 
.Since  that  time  he  has  been  ;i  delegate  to  most  of 
the  Democratic  state  and  congressional  conven- 
tions. It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say  after  this 
review  of  Mr.  Wilson's  life  that  he  is  a  self-made 
man — reliant,  energetic,  and  having  the  cunfi- 
dence  and  respect  of  all  who  know  him. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


287 


GE(JRGE   HENRY    \V^•MAl\. 

G.  J£.  Wyinan,  of  Anoka,  Minnesola,  was 
born  in  Chester,  Penobscot  County,  Maine,  on 
August  24,  1852.  He  traces  his  ancestry  baci< 
to  the  best  old  Massachusetts  families.  Erancis 
Wyman  came  from  Westmill,  England,  about 
1640  and  settled  at  Woburn,  Massachusetts.  He 
and  his  brother  John,  who  came  with  him,  ob- 
tained a  large  grant  of  land  from  the  Indians 
and  were  the  third  largest  land  owners  in  the 
colony  of  Massachusetts.  A  later  Francis 
Wyman,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  a  captain  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
others  of  the  family  have  held  important  and 
honorable  positions  in  New  England.  James 
Webster  Wyman,  son  of  the  veteran  of  the  War 
of  1812  and  father  of  Mr.  George  Wyman,  is 
a  farmer  and  lumberman,  and  a  native  of  Orono, 
Maine,  and  is  still  living.  He  has  held  town  and 
school  ofifices  for  twenty  years  in  succession, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  in 
1866  and  1867.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Adams,  who  was  a  direct  descendant  of  the 
famous  Adams  family  of  Massachusetts.  In 
his  bo}-hood  days  Mr.  Wyman  attended  the  pul)- 
lic  schools  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home  and  later 
went  to  the  Mattanawcook  Academy  at  Lincoln 
and  the  Lee  Normal  School  at  Lee,  Maine.  He 
finished  fitting  for  college  at  the  Maine  Central 
Institute  at  Pittstield,  graduating  in  1873.  -He 
entered  Bates  College  at  Lewiston,  in  1873,  and 
graduated  in  1877,  receiving  the  distinction  of 
being  class  orator.  Previously  he  had  received 
a  prize  for  original  orations.  After  leaving  col- 
lege Mr.  Wyman  read  law  in  Lewiston,  Bangor 
and  Dover,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  all 
the  courts  of  Maine  at  Dover  in  1881.  In  1883 
he  came  to  Minnesota  and  settled  at  Anoka, 
where  he  has  since  remained  actively  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  was  made 
court  commissioner  and  held  the  office  for  four 
years.  Later  he  became  county  attorney  and 
afterwards  city  attorney,  holding  the  former  po- 
sition for  six  years  and  being  now  in  his  fourth 
year  in  the  latter  office.     ]\Ir.  Wvman  has  tried 


many  civil  and  criminal  cases  with  success.  The 
analysis  of  testimony  and  the  presentation  of  a 
case  to  the  jury  are  considered  his  strong  points. 
During  ids  service  as  prosecutor  he  never  had 
an  indictment  set  aside  or  a  demurrer  sustained. 
Mr.  Wyman  has  always  been  a  Republican.  He 
is  now  chairman  of  the  Republican  county  com- 
mittee of  Anoka  and  president  of  the  Anoka 
Republican  Club.  His  professional  and  politi- 
cal duties  have  frequently  given  him  occasicjn 
to  exercise  the  oratorical  powers  which  he  de- 
veloped as  a  boy  in  college  and  he  has  the  repu- 
tation of  being  a  public  speaker  of  umisual  elo- 
quence. Mr.  Wyman  is  Past  Chancellor  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  Past  Regent  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Anoka 
library  board  and  of  the  board  of  education, 
being  also  treasurer  of  the  latter  bodv.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church  and  takes  a  lively 
interest  in  all  departments  of  religious  activity. 
On  June  30,  1886,  Mr.  Wyman  married  Miss 
Orie  D.  Storms,  of  Anoka,  daughter  of  Capt. 
L.  P.  Storms,  formerly  of  New  York.  They 
have  two  children,  IMay  and  Orabelle,  aged  nine 
and  five  vears. 


288 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ALFRED  WILSON  PARIS. 

Alfred  Wilson  Paris  is  a  manufacturing  con- 
fectioner and  wholesaler  of  fruits  in  Minneapolis. 
He  is  the  son  of  Henry  Paris,  a  tea  merchant, 
bom  in  Liverpool,  England,  who  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1850.  Henrj-  Paris  married 
Catherine  Tyler,  of  Gloucester,  England,  who  is 
still  living  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  Both 
parents  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  belonged  to 
good  families  in  that  class  in  England  known  as 
"gentlemen  farmers,"'  people  of  comfortable 
circumstances  and  honorable  lineage.  Alfred 
Wilson  Paris  was  born  June  23,  1853,  at  London, 
Ontario.  He  attended  the  public  schools  at 
Detroit,  Michigan,  until  he  was  fourteen  years 
old.  There  being  a  large  family  (eleven  children) 
it  became  nccessarv  for  Alfred  to  go  into  business 
at  an  early  age.  <  )n  this  account  he  was  deprived 
of  the  advantages  of  higher  education.  He  came 
to  Minnesota  in  the  fall  of  ]88i  and  located  in 
Minneapolis,  where  he  embarked  in  the  confec- 
tionery Inisiness  with  a  brotlier  and  a  Canadian 
named  J.  C.  Stuart.  The  style  nf  the  firm  was 
Paris,  Stuart  &  Co.    The  following  spring  Stuart 


died,  when  S.  J.  Murton  bought  his  interest  and 
the  firm  incorporated  their  business  under  the 
name  of  the  Paris-Murton  Company,  of  which 
Alfred  W.  Paris  was  made  president.  He  still 
occupies  that  position.  As  above  indicated,  Mr. 
Paris  has  carved  out  his  own  fortune.  The  first 
money  he  ever  earned  was  paid  him  for  loading 
barrel  staves  on  a  vessel  at  Detroit,  Michigan, 
when  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age.  He  got  twenty 
cents  an  hour  and  worked  one  day  at  the  busi- 
ness, l:)ut  it  made  such  an  impression  on  him  that 
he  has  never  forgotten  it.  He  recalls  it  as  the 
hardest  day's  work  he  ever  did  in  his  life.  Pie 
learned  the  confectioner's  trade  in  E)etroit,  mas- 
tering all  its  branches,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
tVi'O  was  foreman  in  one  of  the  largest  establish- 
ments in  ]\Iichigan,  in  which  over  two  hundred 
people  were  employed.  Subsequently  he  went 
to  Jackson,  Michigan,  where  for  six  years  he  suc- 
cessfully conducted  a  retail  establishment.  He 
then  sold  out  and,  taking  Greeley's  advice,  came 
west.  It  was  then  he  located  in  Alimieapolis. 
Mr.  Paris  does  not  claim  to  belong  to  any  polit- 
ical party,  but  generally  affiliates  witli  the  Democ- 
racy, although  he  never  voted  a  straight  ticket. 
In  1886  he  was  nominated  for  alderman  in  the 
Eighth  ward  in  ^linneapolis,  but  was  defeated, 
although  he  polled  the  largest  vote  ever  cast  for 
a  Democrat  in  that  ward.  'Slv.  Paris  is  an  active 
member  of  the  Jobbers'  Lnion,  a  memljer  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum,  is  a  Mason  and  a  Shriner.  He 
is  not  identified  by  membership  with  any  church 
but  grew  up  in  the  Episcopal  Church.  ( )ctober 
4,  1880,  he  married  Lizzie  Chapman,  at  Jackson, 
Michigan,  and  has  two  sons  living,  Harold  Chap- 
man and  Benjamin  ^Mosher.  Mr.  Paris  is  at 
j>resent  general  manager  as  well  as  president  of 
the  Paris-Murton  Company,  and  devotes  his  per- 
sonal attention  to  the  conduct  of  that  successful 
concern.  He  has  invented  and  patented  a  number 
of  useful  and  valuable  machines  in  coimection 
with  his  business,  which  are  extensively  used 
both  in  England  and  in  this  country.  Mr.  Paris 
is  a  man  who  extracts  a  great  deal  of  pleasure 
out  c.f  life,  is  a  good  entertainer  and  the  life  of 
anv  comiiany  in  which  lie  may  hajtpen  to  be 
thrown. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


289 


DAVID  FERGUSON  SIMPSON. 

David  Ferguson  Simpson  is  a  judge  of  the 
Fourth  Judicial  District.  i\Jr.  Simpson  is  of  Scotch 
descent,  both  his  parents  being  born  in  Scotland. 
He  takes  a  pride  in  his  Scotch  ancestry,  as  is 
shown  by  his  active  membership  in  the  Caledonia 
Club,  and  his  election  to  the  office  of  chief  of  that 
organization.  His  father,  William  Simpson,  was 
a  well-to-do  farmer  near  Waupun,  Wisconsin, 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  Ijorn,  June 
13,  i860.  Mr.  Simpson's  education  connnenced 
in  the  countrv  district  school  near  his  father's 
farm  and  in  the  village  schools  of  Wauinni,  He 
took  the  two  years'  preparatory  course  for 
college  in  Ripon  College,  at  Ripon,  Wis- 
consin, followed  by  a  four  years'  academical 
course  in  the  Wisconsin  .State  University, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1882.  Ffe  was 
given  special  honors  in  the  department  of 
history  and  awarded  the  Lewis  prize  for  the  best 
commencement  oration.  He  had  maintained  a 
high  grade  of  scholarship  through  his  course,  and 
was  appointed  to  fill  the  position  of  professor  of 
rhetoric  during  the  absence  of  the  regular  occu- 
pant of  that  chair  in  the  university  during  the  col- 
lege year  of  1882—83.  He  had  decided  to  become 
a  lawyer,  and  took  the  law  course  at  the  University 
of  Wisconsin  and  at  the  Columbia  Law  School  in 
New  York,  receiving  the  degree  of  LL.  B.,  from 
each  of  these  schools  in  1884.  The  same  year  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  State  of  Wiscon- 
sin, but  came  almost  immediately  afterwards  to 
Minneapolis  and  began  the  practice  of  law  in  this 
city  in  1884.  He  was  appointed  assistant  city  at- 
torney of  Minneapolis  in  1891,  was  elected 
to  the  office  of  city  attorney  in  1893, 
and  re-elected  in  1803.  -^'''-  Simpson  is 
a  Republican,  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  local 
and  national  politics.  He  has  made  a  special 
study  of  municipal  government,  and  assisted  in 
drafting  the  general  municipal  law,  which  was 
adopted  by  the  charter  commission,  sitting  con- 
currently with  the  legislature  in  1803.  -"^t  the  ses- 
sion of  the  Municipal  Reform  League  in  Minne- 
apolis in  1894,  Air.  .Simpson  was  invited  to  be 
present  and  outline  the  system  of  municipal  gov- 
ernment in   operation   in    Minneapolis,   and   pre- 


pared a  paper  which  was  received  with  a  great 
deal  of  interest  by  that  body,  as  an  able  argument 
in  favor  of  what  is  known  as  the  council  system 
of  city  government,  of  which  ;\Ir.  Simpson  is 
an  advocate.  His  conduct  of  the  legal  department 
of  the  City  of  Minneapolis  has  been  characterized 
by  distinguished  ability,  which  has  on  more  than 
one  occasion  operated  to  the  great  advantage  of 
tlie  citv.  Notable  among  the  acts  of  his  adminis- 
tration of  this  office  was  his  successful  prosecu- 
tion of  the  city's  case  before  the  special  commis- 
sion appointed  to  consider  the  demands  of  the 
city  for  reduction  in  the  price  of  gas.  This  case 
was  stubbornly  contested  by  able  legal  counsel  on 
the  opposite  side,  but  Mr.  Simpson's  presentation 
of  the  case  was  so  strongly  made  that  it  resulted 
in  the  reduction  of  the  price  of  gas  to  all  consum- 
ers from  one  dollar  and  sixty  cents  to  one  dollar 
and  thirty  cents  net.  In  1896  Mr.  Simpson 
was  elected  as  a  judge  of  the  Fourth  Judicial 
District.  l\Ir.  Simpson  was  married  January  14, 
1886,  to  Josephine  .Sarles  a  graduate  of  the  Uni- 
versitv  of  Wisconsin  in  18S3.  Airs.  Simpson 
took  the  first  honors  of  her  class,  and  is  active  in 
the  literar\'  and  benevolent  societies  of  Afinneapo- 
lis.  Thev  have  three  children.  Donald.  Harold 
and  John. 


290 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


•SBt, 


:*Sft°  '. 


SEBA  SAJITH  BROWN. 

The  first  shot  fired  by  the  American  patriots  to 
emphasize  their  determination  to  be  freed  from 
the  tyranny  of  Great  Britain  was  from  a  gun  lield 
in  the  hands  of  Captain  David  Brown,  the  great- 
grandfather of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He 
lived  at  Concord,  Massachusetts,  and  commanded 
the  Concord  minute  men  on  April  19,  1775,  when, 
at  the  North  Bridge  the  regulars  poured  their 
first  volley  across  the  river  into  the  ranks  of  the 
farmer  boys  and  instantly  killed  Captain  Davis, 
of  the  Acton  company.  Captain  Brown,  raising 
his  own  gun  to  ready,  gave  the  command,  "Fire!" 
at  the  same  time  firing  his  own  gun  and  bringing 
down  the  first  Britisher  in  the  War  of  the  Revo- 
lution. The  gun  he  used  that  day  is  now  in  good 
condition  at  the  old  homestead  in  Baldwin, 
Maine.  This  branch  of  the  Brown  family  is 
traced  back  to  Thomas  Brown,  who  was  born  in 
1651,  and  died  in  1718.  His  son,  Ephraim,  was 
born  in  1689,  and  was  married  to  Hannah  Wilson. 
Their  youngest  son,  of  a  family  of  eight  children, 
was  Captain  David  Brown.  He  married  Aba- 
gail  Munroe  and  twelve  children  were  bom  to 
them.    Their  son,  Ephraim.  was  tlic  grandfather 


of  Seba  S.  Brown.  He  was  born  at  Concord,  but 
when  a  young  man  moved  to  Maine  and  settled 
upon  and  cleared  from  the  lieavy  woods  the  farm 
upon  which  Cyrus  Shell  Brown,  the  father  of 
Seba,  w^as  born.  Cyrus  was  born  in  1802.  He 
was  a  thrifty  and  frugal  farmer;  a  man  of  good 
judgment  and  absolute  integrity,  held  in  high 
esteem  by  his  neighbors.  He  was  a  colleague 
of  the  late  James  G.  Blaine  in  the  Maine  legis- 
lature in  1862.  His  wife,  Alar)-,  was  boni  in  1805 
in  Parsonfield,  Alaine.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Major  Paul  Burnham  and  Comfort  Pease.  Their 
son,  Seba,  was  bora  August  7,  1841,  on  the  old 
farm  at  Baldwin,  Maine.  The  lad  followed  the 
usual  vocation  of  farmers'  boys  of  that  period — 
worked  on  the  farm  during  the  sunmiers  and  at- 
tended the  district  school  in  the  winters.  This, 
he  did  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  Dur- 
ing the  next  three  years  he  studied  in  Gorham 
Academy,  paying  his  own  expenses  in  part  by 
teaching  in  the  winters.  When  President  Lincoln 
issued  his  call  for  men  in  1862,  Seba  was  at  his 
books ;  these  he  left  with  his  room  mate,  and, 
receiving  a  blanket  from  his  mother,  which  she 
had  woven,  he  started  out  to  serve  his  country. 
He  joined  Company  K,  Twent\-fifth  ]\laine  In- 
fantry, as  a  private,  and  was  chosen  by  his  com- 
rades as  second  lieutenant.  During  the  next 
nine  months  of  his  service,  however,  he  received 
rapid  promotion;  was  commissioned  first  lieu- 
tenant and  then  captain  of  his  company.  A\'ith  it 
he  served  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac;  but  was 
detached  for  picket  duty  at  Chantilly,  Virginia,, 
during  the  sununer  of  1863.  In  November  of 
that  year  the  regiment's  term  of  service  having 
expired,  Mr.  Brown  left  the  army  and  came  to 
Minnesota.  His  first  winter  here  he  spent  in  the 
pineries,  swamping  and  tending  sled  for  a  salary 
of  thirty-five  dollars  a  month.  From  that  time 
to  the  present  Mr.  Brown  has  been  engaged  in 
the  lumbering  business  in  some  form  or  other. 
In  1889  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Merriam 
as  surveyor  general  of  logs  and  lumber  for  the 
second  district  of  Minnesota.  The  fact  that  he  is. 
now  serving  his  fourth  term  in  this  office  is  an  in- 
dication of  his  competency  to  liold  this  respon- 
sible position.    He  has  always  been  a  Republican^ 


PROGKIiSSIVB  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


291 


He  is  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public and  of  the  Loyal  Legion;  also  of  the  Ma- 
sonic body.  October  17,  1877,  he  was  married 
to  Ann  Ehzabeth  Anderson.  Fonr  children  have 
been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown,  of  wlioni  only 
two  are  livin.cr,  Cyrus  Shell,  aged  twelve,  and  Roy 
Stuart,  aged  seven. 


ALEXANDER  McKLVNON. 

Alexander  McKinnon  is  a  resident  of  Crooks- 
ton,  Minnesota,  and  engaged  in  the  real  estate 
and  insurance  business.  He  is  the  son  of  Archi- 
bald and  Jennette  McGillis  Mclvinnon,  both  of 
whom  were  born  in  Scotland.  They  moved  to 
America  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Ontario, 
Canada.  Alexander  McKinnon  was  born  March 
5,  1854,  at  Lancaster,  Glengary  County,  Ontario, 
Canada.  He  only  received  a  common  school 
education,  leaving  school  in  his  fourteenth  year. 
He  learned  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith  and  the 
first  money  he  ever  earned  was  as  head  black- 
smith in  the  shop  of  Wilson,  \'an  Mite  &  Co.,  a 
branch  of  Napp,  Stout  &  Co.,  in  Wilson,  Wis- 
consin. He  remained  in  this  position  from  1875 
to  1877,  working  at  a  salaiy  of  seventy-five  dollars 
per  month  and  board.  He  then  removed  to  Min- 
nesota in  1878,  residing  in  St.  Paul  for  a  time,  Init 
finally  locating  permanently  in  Crookston  in 
the  fall  of  1878.  He  had  seven  hundred  rlollars 
in  cash,  which  he  had  accvnnulated  by  his 
own  industry  and  economical  halsits,  and 
opened  a  small  blacksmith  shop  on  the 
site  now  occupied  b\-  the  McICinnon  block. 
He  shortly  afterwards  associated  with  himself  a 
younger  brotlier,  Allan  J.  McKinnon,  and  con- 
tinued doing  a  very  successful  business.  In 
May,  18S0,  Mr.  McKinnon  associated  with  him- 
self another  brother,  J-  R-  McKinnon,  in  the 
business  of  manufacturing  and  the  handliiig  of 
farm  implements.  J.  R.  Mclvinnon  is  his  present 
partner  in  business,  the  firm  being  known  as 
McKinnon  Bros.  They  are  engaged  in  the  real 
estate  and  insurance  business.  Mr.  McKinnon's 
business  career  has  been  a  very  successful  one, 
considering  that  he  has  had  to  look  out  for  him- 
self since  he  \\-as  fom'teen  vears  of  aere.     He  is 


part  owner  of  the  property  known  as  the  McKin- 
non Block,  in  Crookston,  a  fine  brick  building, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  by  one  hundred  and 
forty  feet,  built  in  1887,  and  costing  seventy-five 
thousand  dollars.  He  also  built  and  owns  what 
is  known  as  the  L  O.  ().  F.  Block,  at  a  cost  of 
forty  thousand  dollars  in  1890.  Mr.  McKinnon 
also  owns  several  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Polk 
County,  Minnesota.  Li  politics  Mr.  McKinnon 
is  a  Democrat,  and  an  active  supporter  of  his 
party.  In  1885  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at 
Crookston  by  President  Cleveland,  but  resigned 
February  14,  1890.  He  was  elected  mayor  of 
Cnmkston  in  April.  1800.  and  re-elected  without 
opposition  in  April,  1891.  He  was  also  elected 
delegate  to  the  Democratic  National  Conven- 
tion in  1892,  and  then  chosen  on  the  com- 
mittee of  permanent  organization,  representing 
the  State  of  Minnesota.  He  was  also  nominated 
by  the  Democratic  party  for  state  senator  from 
his  district  in  1S90,  but  was  not  elected.  He  is  a 
meml^er  of  the  Commercial  Union  of  Crookston, 
and  was  president  of  the  Xorthern  Minnesota 
Agricultural  Driving  Association  for  two  years. 
Mr.  McKinnon  was  married  April  23,  1883,  to 
Miss  Catharine  Macdonald,  in  Glengary  Count}'-, 
Ontario.     Thev  have  one  child. 


292 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CYRUS  LITTLE  SMITH. 

C.  L.  Smith  was  bom  at  Dover,  Wayne  County, 
Ohio,  Jannary  21,  1845.  John  R.  Smith,  his 
father,  was  a  farmer,  and  while  Cyrus  was  still  a 
small  child  his  parerits  removed  to  Southern 
Michigan,  settling  in  an  unbroken  wilderness. 
There  were  no  schools  on  the  ^lichigan  frontier 
in  those  early  days,  and  Cyrus  was  taught  to  read 
by  his  mother.  As  the  country  settled  up,  schools 
of  a  poor  quality  began  to  be  established,  and  at 
the  age  of  eleven  the  bov  secured  his  first  four 
months'  schooling.  This  was  in  a  little  log  school 
house,  where  presided  a  Baptist  preacher.  The 
seats  were  oak  slabs  with  stout  wooden  pins  for 
legs.  He  attended  this  school  for  two  winters, 
learning  the  rudiments  of  reading,  spelling  and 
arithmetic.  During  these  two  terms  he  had  but 
one  book  of  his  own,  the  arithmetic.  In  1858 
he  went  to  Southern  Indiana  and  worked  in  a 
nursery  for  the  next  three  years.  When  the  war 
broke  out  in  1861.  Mr.  Smitli  enlisted,  though 
only  sixteen  years  of  age.  lie  became  a  member 
of  Company  E,  Eleventh  ATichigan  Infantry,  and 
served  three  vcars  and  two  months,  jirincipally  in 
Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  Georgia,     .\mong  the 


noted  battles  in  which  he  participated  were  those 
of  Stone  River,  Chickamauga,  Lookout  Moun- 
tain, Alission  Ridge  and  the  battles  before  At- 
lanta. Soon  after  being  mustered  out  of  the  serv- 
ice he  came  to  Minnesota,  in  October,  1865,  and 
engaged  in  selling  trees  and  shrubbery  for  an 
Eastern  nursery  company.  At  the  same  time  he 
began  planting  and  experimenting  on  his  own  ac- 
count, and  in  this  way  proved  his  inborn  taste  for 
horticultural  affairs.  Mr.  Smith  franklv  admits  a 
financial  failure  at  the  ntirsery  business,  the  prin- 
cipal cause  being  poor  health.  He  suffered  from 
diseases  contracted  in  the  army,  which  prevented 
him  from  working  out  doors  a  large  part  of  each 
year,  but  he  acquired  considerable  practical  ex- 
perience in  nursery  and  gardening  matters  which 
he  turned  to  account  in  newspaper  and  literary 
work.  For  all  this  time  he  has  been  largely 
engaged  with  horticultural  and  agricultural 
papers,  and  addressing  farmers  at  institutes  and 
other  gatherings  throughout  the  state.  At  the 
same  time  he  has  not  abandoned  farming  and  gar- 
dening, but  has  cultivated  a  tract  of  forty  acres, 
where  he  raises  various  trees  and  a  variety  of 
crops,  largely  for  experimental  purposes.  As  a 
Republican  Air.  Smith  has  been  especially  active 
since  1885.  During  these  later  years  he  has  done 
nuich  aggressive  work  for  the  Republican  party. 
His  observation  of  the  condition  of  the  farming 
classes  and  the  common  people  for  manv  years 
have  convinced  him  that,  notwithstanding  all  the 
mistakes  made  by  the  party  of  his  choice,  its 
principles  and  policies  have  been  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  people.  During  the  Fish-Don- 
nelly regime  of  the  Populist  party,  Wr.  .Smitli  was 
state  organizer  of  Republican  League  Clubs,  and 
made  an  aggressive  campaign  against  the  Pop- 
ulistic  influences.  He  frequently  met  the  enemy 
on  the  stump  and  was  active  and  successful  in 
joint  debates.  Mr.  Smith  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  Minnesota  State  Horticultm-al  Society 
in  1866.  Tie  served  as  secretary  of  the  State  For- 
cstrv  Association  fnr  four  \ears  and  a  member  of 
the  executive  conunittee  for  six  years.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  State  Dairymen's  .Associ- 
ation since  its  organization,  and  on,  January  25, 
1805.  ■^^■'^'^  aiipointed  assistant  dair\-  commissioner 


I'KOGRKSSIYE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


293 


of  the  State  Dairy  and  Food  Commission  of  Min- 
nesota. Mr.  Smitli  rendered  valued  service  in 
preparing  the  Minnesota  forestry  exhibit  for  the 
World's  Fair  in  1893.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
the  first  farmers'  institute  held  in  the  state,  and 
aided  in  securing  their  establishment  as  a  perma- 
nent state  institution.  Since  i8(;i  he  lias  been 
agricultural  editor  of  the  Farmers'  Tribune. 


CHRTSTOPTIER  WILLIA:\I    NEY. 

C.  W.  Ney  is  a  lawyer  practicing  in  St.  Paul. 
His  father,  Patrick  Ney,  was,  during  his  life,  a 
railroad  contractor.  He  enlisted  as  a  volunteer 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  and  served  as 
gunner  in  the  Fifth  Indiana  Battery.  At  the  bat- 
tle of  Gettysburg  he  was  seriously  wounded,  the 
bones  of  the  left  leg  being  shattered  Ijy  a  shell. 
From  exposure  at  the  time  of  this  injury  he  con- 
tracted a  disease  of  the  bones  which  caused  him 
great  suffering  throughout  his  life  and  was  the 
immediate  cause  of  his  death.  ]\Ir.  Ney  was  a 
charitable  and  pul^lic-spirited  man  of  excellent 
business  capacity  and  good  executive  ability.  He 
successfully  performed  large  contracts  on  many 
of  the  great  railroad  systems  from  Ohio  to  the 
Pacific  coast.  His  wife  was  Miss  Ann  Corcoran, 
and  she  was  responsible,  on  accovmt  of  her  hus- 
band's absence  in  the  war  and  in  his  business,  for 
the  rearing  and  education  of  her  children.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ney  were  born  in  Ireland  and 
emigrated  to  this  country  at  an  early  age. 
C.  W.  Ney  was  born  at  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana, 
on  October  28,  1869.  His  early  education  was 
very  meagre.  He  was  brought  up  on  a  farm 
near  Independence,  Iowa,  where  his  parents  re- 
moved when  he  was  InU  three  years  old.  During 
the  winter  months  he  attended  the  public  schools 
of  that  city  and  when  sixteen  years  old  was 
granted  a  teacher's  certificate.  He  taught  school 
several  terms  and  in  1888  accompanied  his  father 
to  Sacramento,  California,  where  the  latter  was 
engaged  in  constructing  a  levee  on  the  Sacra- 
mento river.  Assisting  his  father  for  a  year  or 
more  in  this  work,  he  returned  to  his  home  in 
Iowa  in  the  early  part  of  1890,  and  in  the  fall  of 


that  year  entered  the  law  office  of  Governor  Boies 
at  Waterloo,  Iowa.  What  time  he  could  spare 
from  his  law  studies  while  there,  was  given  to 
looking  after  the  extensive  farming  interests  of 
Mr.  Boies.  In  1892  he  was  admitted  to  practice, 
and  in  February  of  1893,  came  to  St.  Paul.  After 
residing  here  the  recjuired  length  of  time  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  state.  As  a  finishing 
touch  to  his  legal  education  he  attended  the  law 
department  of  the  State  University  for  six 
months,  and  graduated  from  that  institution  in 
June  of  1894,  and  the  following  year  took  the 
LL.  M.  course  therein.  While  studying  at  the 
university  j\lr.  Ney  was  engaged  in  the  law  office 
of  P.  J-  McLaughlin.  Upon  his  graduation  he 
opened  an  office  in  St.  Paul,  where  he  still  con- 
tinues a  general  practice,  though  making  some- 
what a  specialty  of  real  estate,  corporation  and 
proljate  law.  He  is  a  strong  Democrat  in  his 
political  affiliations,  and  in  recent  years  has  taken 
an  active  part  in  political  campaigns  of  his  party, 
though  not  an  office  seeker  or  a  machine  poli- 
tician. In  the  campaign  of  1894  he  made  a  repu- 
tation as  a  brilliant  orator,  and  an  unusually 
effective  campaign  speaker. 


294 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES  FREEDURN  HANEY. 

Charles  F.  Haney,  city  clerk  of  the  City  of 
Minneapolis,  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Lewiston, 
Fulton  County,  Illinois,  June  12,  1859.  He  is 
the  son  of  Rev.  Richard  Haney,  D.  D.,  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  Adaline  Murphy  Haney, 
who  was  born  in  New  York.  Dr.  Haney  has 
been  in  the  Methodist  ministry  for  over  sixty 
years,  and  is  at  the  present  time  one  of  the  oldest 
in  the  United  States.  He  is  eighty-four  years  of 
age  and  still  active.  Mr.  Haney's  mother  was  a 
woman  of  lovable  Christian  character  and  suffered 
many  hardships  as  the  wife  of  a  poorly  paid  Meth- 
odist minister  during  pioneer  days  in  Illinois.  She 
died  when  Charles  was  si.x  years  old  and  he 
was  left  in  the  care  of  his  married  brother  and 
sister.  Mr.  Haney's  education  was  obtained  in 
a  similar  way  to  that  of  most  boys  brought  up 
in  the  small  towns  of  Illinois — attending  the  pub- 
lic schools  in  the  winter  and  working  on  the  farm 
in  the  summer.  Yoimg  Haney  earned  his  first 
dollar  at  farm  work.  1  Ic  early  (leveloi)ed  a 
marked  capacity  for  business,  and  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  was  managing  a  numlicr  of  farms 
for  their  owner,   keeping  all    the   necessary    ac- 


counts. By  means  of  persistent  industry,  Mr. 
Hane)-  was  able  to  go  through  Illinois  College 
and  also  to  take  a  course  in  a  business  college, 
from  which  he  graduated  at  nineteen  years  of 
age.  Immediately  after  graduation  he  became 
prmcipal  of  a  high  school  in  Illinois.  Later  he 
received  an  appointment  in  the  railway  mail  ser- 
vice, but  he  preferred  a  business  life  and  made 
an  engagement  with  a  Chicago  grain  firm,  buy- 
ing grain  and  having  charge  of  a  line  of  ele- 
vators. In  the  fall  of  1882  he  visited  his  uncle,  the 
late  Dr.  John  H.  Murjjhy,  of  St.  Paul,  and  hap- 
pened to  attend  the  fair  in  Minneapolis,  con- 
ducted by  Col.  W.  S.  King,  and  concluded  that 
he  had  found  the  right  place  for  a  home.  Upon 
the  day  of  his  arrival  he  accepted  an  offer  from 
J.  B.  Bassett  &  Co.,  manufacturers  of  flour  and 
lumber,  and  was  employed  as  their  head  book- 
keeper and  cashier  for  six  years,  only  resigning 
to  accept  the  position  of  city  clerk.  To  this 
office  Mr.  Haney  was  elected  in  January,  1889. 
He  has  been  re-elected  for  two-year  terms  three 
times,  receiving  support  from  both  Republican 
and  Democratic  parties.  Although  he  has  always 
been  a  Republican,  and  has  been  so  recognized, 
he  is  not  what  would  be  called  an  active  partisan. 
In  his  administration  of  his  office  and  in  his  rapid 
and  effective  manner  of  handling  business  at  the 
meetings  of  the  City  Council,  ^Ir.  Haney  has 
v.'on  merited  praise.  He  has  been  especially 
effective  in  the  management  of  the  clerical  work 
in  connection  with  the  general  and  local  elec- 
tions. He  originated  and  carried  out  the  system 
used  at  the  last  two  elections,  of  gathering  re- 
turns in  an  accurate  and  speedy  manner.  At  the 
last  election  he  employed  one  hundred  expert  bi- 
cycle riders  to  bring  in  the  figures.  At  such  times 
his  power  of  endurance  and  his  executive  ability 
have  been  invaluable  in  handling  the  complicated 
machinery  of  a  metropolitan  election.  .'-^nch 
efforts  are  appreciated  b\-  the  newspaper  men, 
and  were  recognized  when  Mr.  1  lanoy  was 
elcctiil.  in  1893,  ^'i  honorary  mem1)er  (if  the  Min- 
neapolis Press  Club.  At  the  Keiniblican  National 
Convention  of  i8ij2,  held  in  .Minneapolis,  Air. 
Hantn-  was  chief  reading  clerk,  and  acc|uitte<l 
himself  admira1)lv,   his   strong,   clear   voice    and 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


295 


distinct  cmiiu-iation  peculiarly  fitting  iiini  f(jr  the 
duties  of  the  position.  He  is  a  prominent  .Mason, 
and  has  held  prominent  offices  in  the  higher 
Masonic  bodies.  Mr.  Hancy  was  married  in  1881 
to  Augusta  A.  Cosad,  by  whom  he  has  one  son, 
Philip  C.  Haney,  now  seven  years  of  age.  He 
was  married  a  second  time  in  March,  1895,  to 
Mary  J.  Parkhurst. 


ROBERT  JOSEPH  WELLS. 

Robert  J.  Wells  is  a  successful  farmer,  law- 
yer and  local  politician  of  \\'ili<in  County,  Min- 
nesota. He  was  born  in  Dane  County,  Wiscon- 
sin, October  4,  1856.  His  father  is  Andrew  J. 
Wells,  a  native  of  Clermont  County,  Ohio,  and 
now  living  with  a  competence  on  a  fine  farm  in 
Wilkin  County  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight,  look- 
ing back  upon  a  useful  and  successful  life.  The 
elder  Wells  has  always  been  a  farmer  except  dur- 
ing a  short  period  in  \\'isconsin  when  he  oper- 
ated a  saw  mill  at  Eau  Claire.  His  only  official 
position  was  on  the  board  of  commissioners  ap- 
pointed to  make  selection  of  the  state  school 
lands  in  the  northern  half  of  Wisconsin.  His 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Eliza  A.  Wilson, 
was  born  near  Port  Republic,  Maryland,  in  1822. 
Her  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812  and 
her  grandfather  was  in  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. In  the  early  days  her  people  were  slave- 
holders, Init  during  a  religious  revival,  which 
swept  across  Maryland,  nearly  all  of  her  relatives 
liberated  their  negroes.  She  is  of  a  family  related 
by  ties  of  blood  to  old  and  noted  Marsdand  fami- 
lies. Mr.  Wells'  boyhood  was  spent  with  his 
parents  at  their  Wisconsin  home.  He  attended 
the  common  schools  until  about  fourteen  years 
of  age  and  then  went  to  work.  His  first  dollar 
was  earned  in  his  fathers  shingle  mill  at  Eau 
Claire.  When  twenty-two  years  of  age  he  was 
attracted  to  the  Red  River  Valley  by  the  stories 
of  its  wonderful  fertility,  and  with  a  number  of 
young  men  from  the  neighborhood  emigrated  to 
Minnesota.  In  May  of  the  year  1878  he  settled 
in  Mitchell  township,  in  Wilkin  County,  entering 
a  homestead  and  "working  out"  for  the  first  sum- 
mer. His  success  was  instantaneous.  He  took 
up  more  land  and  has  ever  since  farmed   from 


one  thousand  to  sixteen  hundred  acres 
each  year.  But  while  busil\-  engaged  in 
extensive  farming  operations,  Mr.  Wells  found 
time  to  study  law,  and  in  1888  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice.  He  has  been  much  inter- 
ested in  local  politics  and  has  held  many  minor 
offices  such  as  justice,  village  trustee  and  presi- 
dent of  the  board.  Shortly  after  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the 
district  court,  and  in  1892  was  chosen  again  by 
the  citizens  of  the  county.  At  present  he  is  chair- 
man of  the  county  Republican  conmiittee  and  a 
member  of  the  Seventh  district  congressional 
committee.  Two  years  have  been  put  in  by  Mr. 
Wells  as  a  newspaper  man — 1890  as  editor  of  the 
Breckenridge  Mercury,  and  the  year  1893  in  the 
editorial  chair  of  the  Wilkin  County  Gazette.  Mr. 
Wells  belongs  to  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  and  Alasonic 
orders.  He  has  been  secretary',  senior  warden 
and  master  of  Frontier  Lodge,  No.  152,  A.  F. 
and  A.  M.  of  Breckenridge.  He  attends  the 
Baptist  church,  though  not  a  member.  On  Jan- 
uary 17,  1889,  he  was  married  to  Sadie  E.  Lang- 
ford,  at  Dodge  Center.  ^Minnesota.  They  have 
tW'O  children,  Carroll  \'.  and  Donald  J.  Wells. 
In  recent  vears  Mr.  and  Mrs.  ^^'ells  have  resided 
in  Breckenridcre. 


296 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ALBERT  RANDALL  :\[OORE. 

Albert  R.  ?iIoore  is  an  attorney  of  St.  Paul. 
He  was  bom  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  Sep- 
tember 14,  1869,  and  lived  there  until  his 
parents  moved  to  St.  Paul,  in  September,  1878. 
His  father  and  his  mother  were  both  descended 
from  old  Long  Island  families.  Air.  James 
E.  Moore,  his  father,  who  is  now  dead, 
was  for  many  years  Land  Commissioner 
of  the  St.  Paul  &  Sioux  City  Railway  Com- 
pany, and  stood  high  in  business  and  social 
circles  in  St.  Paul.  His  son  Albert  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  St.  Paul  and  at  Harvard 
University.  He  graduated  from  the  high  school 
of  St.  Paul  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1887,  of 
which  he  was  valedictorian.  Tlie  next  two  years 
were  spent  at  Harvard,  his  time  being  devoted 
principally  to  English  and  classical  branches.  In 
the  fall  of  i88g  he  was  matriculated  at  the  law 
school  of  the  Minnesota  State  University,  where 
he  spent  three  years,  receiving  a  bachelor's  de- 
gree in  1891,  and  a  master's  degree  in  1892.  Dur- 
ing the  first  year  of  his  last  course  he  was  also 
a  student  in  the  law  office  of  Cole,  Rramhall  & 
Morris.    The  Hon.  Gordon  E.  Cole,  senior  mem- 


ber of  the  firm,  was  one  of  the  leading  prac- 
titioners ui  the  state,  and  JNIr.  Moore  values 
highly  this  experience  under  Mr.  Coles  wise 
guidance,  kindly  advice  and  excellent  example. 
At  the  close  of  Mr.  Moore's  bachelor  course  at 
the  law  school  he  was  awarded  the  Paige  prize 
of  thirty  dollars  for  the  best  legal  thesis.  There 
were  about  fifty  competitors.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Dillon  chapter  of  the  Phi  Delta  Phi  legal 
fraternit}',  and  has  always  been  active  in  its  behalf. 
Upon  his  graduation  from  the  law  school  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  State  Supreme 
Court,  and  has  been  in  active  practice  since  that 
time.  As  soon  as  adnntted  he  formed  a  co- . 
partnership  with  John  E.  Stryker,  a  gentleman 
of  high  integrity  and  ability.  From  the  time 
that  their  partnership  expired  on  November  i, 
1895,  until  January,  1897.  •^'''-  ^ioore  continued 
alone,  and  established  a  lucrative  practice.  In 
January,  1897.  he  formed  a  co-partnership  with 
Hon.  James  E.  Markham.  one  of  the  most 
prominent  members  of  the  .St.  I'aul  bar,  and  his 
brother,  (Jeorge  ^\'.  Markham,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Alarkham,  ]\loore  &  Alarkham.  This 
firm  occupies  a  pleasant  suite  of  offices  in  the 
Cermaifia  Life  Insurance  building,  and  has  a 
large  and  lucrative  practice.  They  devote  them- 
selves largely  to  corporation,  real  estate  and  com- 
mercial work,  and  are  attorneys  for  several 
financial,  real  estate  and  insurance  corporations, 
as  well  as  for  some  large  Inisiness  houses. 
Though  not  a  politician  in  the  ordinary  accepta- 
tion of  that  term,  yiv.  Moore  takes  the  lively 
interest  of  a  good  citizen  in  political  matters.  He 
is  a  Republican  and  a  firm  believer  in  a  pro- 
tective taritT  and  sound  money.  As  a  member  of 
the  Young  Men's  Republican  Club,  of  St.  Paul, 
he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  that 
organization.  Among  the  associations  to  which 
he  belongs  are  the  Harvard  Club  and  the  "Society 
of  Colonial  Wars,  in  the  State  of  Minnesota." 
Mr.  .Moore  has  ahvavs  taken  a  keen  interest  in 
legal  litcrarv  work,  and  is  an  occasional  con- 
trilnitor  to  the  legal  magazines,  .\mong  his  re- 
cent articles  was  one  on  "Tramp  Corporations," 
]nit)lislu<l  in  the  July  mnnber  of  the  Minnesota 
Law  Journal.  He  has  been  an  active  member 
since     childliood     of    the    Protestant    Ei)iscopal 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


297 


church.  Mr.  Moore  is  not  married.  Though  not 
classing  himself  as  a  society  man,  he  numbers 
among  his  friends  many  of  the  peoijk-  i)niiiiincnt 
in  society  life  of  .St.  Paul. 


MARSHALL  BAILEY  WEIJBER. 

Mr.  Webber  is  senior  ])artner  of  the  law  firm 
of  Webber  &  Lees,  at  Winona,  Minnesota.     He 
was  born  in  Raymond,  Racine  County,  Wiscon- 
sin, August,  2,  1850.    Samuel  Webl)er.  the  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  a  farmer.     The 
farm  on  which  he  resides  is  about  ten  miles  from 
the  citv  of  Milwaukee,  in  Racine  County.    It  was 
patented  by  the  government  to  his  father  in  1837, 
but  since  that  date  no  conveyance  of  the  land  has 
ever  been  made,  and  it  is  at  present  a  most  valu- 
able piece  of  property.     Samuel  Webber   came 
from  Massachusetts,  and    is    of    Puritan    stock. 
His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Sabra  A.   Bailey, 
who  was  born  in  New  Hampshire.    Both  are  still 
living.     Marshall's  early  education  was  received 
in  the  district  school.    Subsequently  he  attended 
the  high  school  at  Racine,  Wisconsin,  and  the 
Rochester  Academy  in  Racine  County,  where  he 
fitted  himself  for  college.    Young  Webber,  how- 
ever, was  compelled  to  earn  the  funds  that  would 
enable  him  to  enter  college.     He  was  ambitious 
and  plucky,  and,  confident  of  his  ability  to  earn 
enough  money  to  support  him,  he  entered  Hills- 
dale  College,   at   Hillsdale,    Michigan.      During 
the  winter  months  he  taught  school,  keeping  up 
with  the  studies  of  his  class  in    the    meantime. 
During  his  vacations  in  the  summer  he  worked 
on  the  farm  and  at  railroading,  in  this  way  get- 
ting   together    enough    money    to    carry    him 
through   college  the  next  year.     He  graduated 
from  Hillsdale  in  the  class  of  1875.    In  his  junior 
year  he  carried  away  the  Melendy  prize  for  ora- 
tory, and  while  at  college  was  a  member  of  the 
Alpha  Kappa  Phi  Society.     In  September,  1875, 
he  came  to  Minnesota   and   located   at   Winona. 
He  had  decided  to  make  the  profession  of  law 
his  vocation  in  life,  and  took  up  his  law  studies 
in    the    office    of    Hon.    W.     H.    Yale.    Two 
years  later  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  was 


taken  into  partnership  by  Governor  Yale,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Yale  &  Webber.  This  partner- 
ship continued  with  nnitual  profit  for  two  years, 
when  it  was  dissolved  and  Mr.  Webber  con- 
tinued his  practice  alone.  In  September,  1895, 
his  increasing  business  necessitating  a  partner, 
he  associated  with  him  Edward  Lees.  This  firm 
is  known  as  Webber  &  Lees.  In  his  practice 
;\Ir.  Webber  has  been  very  successful,  and  has 
succeeded  in  building  up  an  e.Ktensive  and  lucra- 
tive practice.  He  represents  the  Chicago,  Mil- 
waukee &  St.  Paul  and  the  Chicago,  Burlington 
&  Northern  railroads  at  Winona  as  their  attor- 
ney. In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  Though 
he  has  been  an  active  member  of  his  party,  he 
has  never  sought  office,  the  only  office  he  has 
ever  held  being  that  of  prosecuting  attorney  for 
two  years.  At  present  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Republican  State  Central  Committee,  and  takes 
a  prominent  part  in  the  councils  of  his  party. 
He  is  a  Knight  of  Pythias  and  is  a  member  of  a 
number  of  social  clubs.  On  January  2,  1879,  he 
was  married  to  Agnes  M.  Robertson,  of  Hills- 
dale, Michigan.  Mrs.  Webber  is  a  lady  of  re- 
finement and  vice  president  of  the  State  Federa- 
tion of  \\'oman's  Clubs. 


298 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ROBERT  RAXSiJ.M  UJJELL. 

Robert  Ransom  Odell  is  a  lawyer  prac- 
ticing his  profession  at  Minneapolis.  Mr.  Odell 
traces  his  ancestr\-  on  his  father's  side  to  Ethan 
Allen.  His  great  grandmother  was  the  daughter 
of  that  famous  New  Englander.  He  is  a  son 
of  Jesse  Ballou  Odell,  a  farmer  in  comfortable 
circumstances  in  Wayne  County,  New  York,  and 
of  Marie  Ballou  (Odell).  His  mother  was  a 
cousin  of  James  A.  Garfield's  mother,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Eliza  Ballou,  and  in  this  way 
Mr.  Odell  claims  relationship  with  the  martyr 
president.  Mr.  Odell  was  bom  at  Newark,  New 
York,  November  28,  1850.  He  commenced  his 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  Newark,  and 
also  attended  the  Newark  Academy,  but  did  not 
enjoy  the  advantages  of  a  college  course.  He  was 
a  young  man,  however,  of  ambitious  spirit,  and, 
determined  to  better  his  condition  in  life,  he  read 
law  with  Senator  Stevens  K.  Williams,  of  New- 
ark, and  was  admitted  to  practice  January  8, 
1875,  when  barely  twenty-five  years  old,  at  Syra- 
cuse, New  York.  The  following  September  he 
was  admitted  to  practice  before  the  United 
States  circuit  court  at  Utica,  New  York,  for  pur- 
pose of  bringing  an  action  for  the  second  mort- 


gage bondholders  of  the  S.  P.  &  S.  Ry.,  in- 
volving one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars.  He  continued  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  New  York  for  si.x  years, 
when  he  decided  tn  join  the  army  of 
young  and  progressive  men  moving  toward  the 
West  in  search  of  larger  opportunities  and  richer 
fields  of  effort.  He  came  to  Minnesota  October 
5,  1881,  and  located  in  Minneapolis,  where  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Hon.  Frank  F.  Davis, 
and  was  associated  with  him  in  the  practice  of 
law  until  April  I,  1882.  Air.  Odell  has  been 
engaged  in  a  great  deal  of  important  litigation. 
He  prosecuted  the  action  which  involved  the 
whole  of  the  tract  known  as  Forest  Heights,  in 
the  city  of  Minneapolis,  in  1882,  and  more  re- 
cently has  been  engaged  in  litigation  relating 
to  the  excessive  ta.xation  of  outlying  tracts  of 
real  estate  within  the  city's  limits  as  the  attorney 
for  the  property  owners.  He  was  the  attorney 
of  Claus  A.  Blixt.  the  murderer  of  Katherine 
Ging.  Air.  Odell  was  appointed  United  States 
commissioner,  December  5,  1881,  and  still  holds 
that  office.  When  the  census  fight  between  Min- 
eapolis  and  St.  Paul  was  on  in  i8go  the  St.  Paul 
prosecutors  of  the  Minneapolis  census  takers  re- 
fused to  bring  the  cases  before  Mr.  Odell  be- 
cause they  claimed  that  he  being  a  Alinneapolis 
man  would  not  be  unprejudiced  and  filed  their 
complaint  before  a  commissioner  in  St.  Paul. 
This  was,  of  course,  unsatisfactory  to  the  Minne- 
apolis people,  and  resulted  in  the  final  transfer 
of  some  of  the  cases  before  a  commissioner  in 
Winona.  As  he  was  a  friend  of  Deputy  Mar- 
shal John  Campbell,  some  nineteen  cases 
were  returned  before  Mr.  Odell,  and  then  the 
real  trouble  began.  The  authorities  wanted 
them  held  without  examination;  this  he  re- 
fused to  do,  and  an  agreement  was  made  set- 
tling the  whole  matter,  and  Mr.  Odell  claims  to 
have  saved  both  cities  from  further  disgrace. 
While  thoroughly  loyal  to  Minneapolis,  lie 
was  governed  in  his  official  action  by  his 
duty  in  the  premises,  and  was  able  to  render  val- 
uable service  to  the  city.  He  has  always  been  a 
Repulilican  until  1892,  when  he  was  so  disgusted 
at  the  defeat  of  lames  G.  lUaiiic  in  the  convention 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


299 


of  that  year,  that  he  went  over  to  the  Democrats. 
He  is  a  member  of  Minnehaha  Lodge,  A.  F.  and 
A.  M.  September  5,  1876,  he  married  Carrie  C. 
Vorbaugh,  at  Newark,  New  York.  They  have 
two  cliildren,  Clinton  N.,  aged  seventeen,  and 
Corimic  \'.,  aged  six. 


ROBERT  LEE  LEATHERMAN. 

Robert     Lee     Leatherman     is     pastor      of 
the  Salem  English  Lutheran  Cliurch  in     Minne- 
apolis.    He  was  born  at  Lcwistown,  Maryland, 
April   17,  1863.     His  father,  Daniel  Leatherman, 
was  a   farmer,  well-to-do  and   prominent   in  the 
communit\-  in  which  he  lived.       His     wife     was 
Caroline  Michael.    The  family  ancestors  lived  in 
Frederick  County,  Maryland,  since  1765,  most  of 
them  having  been  engaged  either  in  mercantile 
pursuits  or  in  agriculture.     Two  brothers  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  have  attained  eminence  as 
physicians,  one,  Dr.  M.  E.  Leatherman,  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  and  the  other,  IJr.  D.  L  Leatherman, 
at  Williamsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Robert  Lee  began 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Lewistown, 
and  graduated  from  Roanoke  College,  Mrginia, 
in  1888.    He  was  prominent  as  a  student,  having 
been  favored  with  a  great  many  society  and  class 
honors.     He  was  given  the  i)lace  of  honor  in  a 
competitive  contest  as  one   of  three   orators   to 
represent  the  Demosthenean     Society     at     com- 
mencement time:  was  also  one  of  the  speakers  of 
his  class  on  commencement  day.     His  social  re- 
lations as  a  student  were  with  the  Phi  Delta  Theta 
fratcrnit}-.     After  completing  the  course  at  Roan- 
oke he  entered  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Phil- 
adelphia, in  1888.  He  took  the  three  years'  course 
there,  graduating  in  1891,  when  by  a  joint  vote 
of  a  committee  of  his  classmates  and  members  of 
the  faculty  he  was  chosen  as  one  of  four  from 
the  graduating  class  to  give  orations  in    public 
at  the  seminary  conunencement.  While  in  the  semi- 
nary he  also  served  as  business  manager  for  the 
"Indicator,"   a  monthly   magazine   published   by 
the  students.     Mr.  Leatherman  was  ordained  in 
the  office  of  the  Christian  ministr\-  at  Pottstown. 
Pennsylvania,  ^lay  26,  1891.    After  a  short  vaca- 


^^^ 


tion,  having  previously  Ijcen  called  by  the  mis- 
sion board  of  the  linglish  Lutheran  Church  to 
serve  as  one  of  its  missionaries,  he  started  for 
his  new  field  of  labor  in  the  Salem  Church  at 
.Minneapolis.  He  arrived  in  Minnesota,  July 
18,  1 80 1.  He  has  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the 
work  of  this  denomination  and  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  English  Lutheran  Synod  of  the 
Northwest.  He  also  served  as  a  trustee  of  Kee- 
Mar  Seminary  at  Hagerstown,  Maryland.  In 
i8q3  he  received  his  degree  of  A.  M., 
from  Roanoke  College,  and  for  the  past  two 
years  has  been  pursuing  a  post-graduate 
course  of  study  at  the  University  of  Minnesota, 
taking  up  chiefly  psychology,  ethics  and  the  his- 
tory of  philosophy.  This  post-graduate  work  has 
been  done  in  connection  with  his  pastoral  work, 
and  as  further  preparation  for  his  professional 
duties.  Mr.  Leatherman  is  not  married,  and  an 
interesting  fact  in  that  connection  is  that  the  first 
monev  he  earned  by  his  profession  was  that  re- 
ceived for  performing  a  marriage  ceremony  ten 
davs  after  his  arrival  in  Minneapolis.  The  Salem 
English  Lutheran  Church  is  located  at  the  comer 
of  Twenty-eighth  Street  and  Garfield  Avenue, 
Minneapolis. 


300 


PROGRESvSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


EDWARD  SAVAGE. 

Edward  Savage  is  a  member  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession in  Minneapolis.  His  father,  Edward  Sav- 
age, was  a  cousin  of  Chief  Justice  John  Savage, 
of  New  York;  was  a  scientist  of  high  attain- 
ments and  professor  of  chemistry  and  natural 
science  in  Union  College,  Schenectady,  New 
York.  It  was  while  at  work  in  the  class  room 
of  that  institution,  and  at  the  early  age  of  thirty 
years,  that  he  sacrificed  his  life  to  secure  the 
escape  of  all  his  pupils  after  an  accidental  explo- 
sion of  a  deadly  gas  which  was  being  handled  in 
experiment  in  the  class  room.  As  a  consequence 
of  inhaling  the  gas  he  died  soon  afterwards  from 
consumption.  His  ancestry  was  Scotch  and 
Irish,  and  settled  in  Washington  County,  New 
York.  His  wife,  the  mother  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  Sarah  Van  Vechten,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Jacob  \'an  \'echtcn,  D.  D.,  of  Schenectady. 
New  York.  (  )n  her  father's  side  she  was  of 
Dutch  descent,  and  on  her  mother's  side  the 
grand-daughter  of  the  celebrated  Scotch  divine, 
Dr.  John  Mason.  She  was  married  again,  her 
second  husband  being  Professor  Samuel  G. 
Brown,  of  Darlinoutli  College,  afterwards  presi- 


dent of  Hamilton  College  and  biographer  of 
Rufus  Choate.  Professor  Francis  Brown,  now 
of  Union  Theological  Seminary,  and  an  eminent 
Oriental  linguist,  is  their  son.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born  May  26,  1840,  at  Schenectady. 
His  education  began  with  a  private  tutor  under 
the  shadow  of  Dartmouth  College,  and  partly 
under  the  tutelage  of  Walbridge  A.  Field,  now 
chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  Massachu- 
setts. He  afterwards  studied  at  Phillips  College, 
Andover,  under  Dr.  Samuel  Taylor,  and  grad- 
uated from  Dartmouth  College  in  the  class  of 
i860.  Among  his  classmates  were  Judge  Daniel 
Dickinson,  formerly  of  the  Minnesota  supreme 
court;  Daniel  G.  Ravvlins,  at  one  time  surrogate 
of  New  York  City  and  County,  and  Rev.  Arthur 
Little,  D.  D.  Mr.  Savage  took  the  first  honors 
of  his  class  at  graduation,  was  a  member  of  the 
Alpha  Delta  Phi  and  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa.  He 
studied  law  at  the  Albany  law  school  where  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  New  York  state.  He  came 
to  Minneapolis  in  1880  and  has  practiced  law 
here  ever  since.  At  one  time  he  was  in  partner- 
ship with  P.  M.  Woodman,  then  alone  for  several 
years,  and  for  the  last  four  years  has  been  asso- 
ciated with  Charles  E.  Purdy,  the  style  of  the 
firm  being  Savage  &  Purdy.  Mr.  Savage  has 
been  identified  with  much  important  litigation  in 
Minneapolis,  the  case  of  most  interest,  perhaps, 
being  an  action  involving  the  title  of  a  large 
tract  of  land,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
acres,  within  the  city  limits  of  ]\Iinneapolis, 
in  what  was  known  as  the  "Oakland  and 
Silver  Lake  litigation."  For  five  years  he 
bore  the  chief  burden  in  this  defense,  and  finally 
succeeded  in  maintaining  the  title  of  the  defend- 
ants, contrary  to  the  general  expectations  of  the 
public  and  the  bar.  It  is  said  that  the  doctrine 
of  "equitable  estoppel"  was  perhaps  carried  fur- 
ther in  that  case  than  in  any  other  which  pre- 
ceded it  in  English  or  American  practice.  The 
result  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  practice  of  specu- 
lative litigation,  based  on  technical  defects  in  land' 
titles  which  had  previously  been  (juite  prevalent 
in  this  state.  Mr.  Savage  is  an  enthusiast  in 
music,  was  the  organist  in   the  college  church 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


301 


and  chai)L'l,  ami  earned  his  hist  dollar  while 
serving  in  that  capacity.  He  is  not  a  partisan  in 
politics,  but  is  always  interested  as  a  citizen  in 
the  success  of  good  men  and  sound  measures.  He 
was  married  in  1866  to  Sarah  Elizabeth  Smith, 
who  died  in  icSfig.  He  was  married  again  in  1876 
to  Lydia  A.  Hoag.  They  have  two  daughters, 
Euphemia  A.  and  Margaret  H.  Mr.  Savage  is  a 
member  of  the  Prcsl)vterian  church. 


BENJAMIN  F.  BEARDSLEY. 

By  dint  of  youthful  [iluck  and  persistency, 
and  in  the  face  of  adverse  circumstances,  Ben- 
jamin F.  Beardsley  has  succeeded  in  ascending 
the  rounds  of  the  ladder  of  success  to  the  posi- 
tion of  District  Agent  for  the  Employers'  Lia- 
bility Assurance  Coqjoration  (Limited),  of  Lon- 
don, England,  at  St.  Paul.  He  is  the  youngest 
of  a  family  of  twelve,  and  was  born  at  Beardsley's 
Prairie,  St.  Joseph  County,  Indiana,  the  son  of 
Elijah  Hubbel  Beardsley  and  Matilda  Lehman 
(Beardsley).  Elijah  H.  Beardsley  was  a  wagon- 
maker  by  trade.  He  was  the  youngest  of  a  family 
of  fourteen,  and  was  born  in  Delaware  County, 
New  York,  moving  to  Springfield,  Ohio,  when 
four  years  of  age.  He  learned  the  wagon  trade 
and  built  up  a  high  reputation  in  that  line  in 
Ohio  and  Indiana,  though  he  was  always  limited 
in  fortune.  He  was  a  Whig  in  politics  and  a  sup- 
porter of  the  Republican  party  after  its  formation. 
He  never  used  intoxicating  liquors,  nor  have  any 
of  his  children.  His  wife,  the  mother  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Maryland.  Her 
parents  were  originally  from  Holland.  Benjamin 
F.  had  the  advantages  of  only  a  common  school 
education,  attending  the  Buchanan  High  school 
in  Berrien  County,  Michigan.  While  at  school 
at  one  time  he  took  care  of  two  halls  in  Buchanan 
and  served  as  janitor  in  the  Methodist  church. 
He  earned  his  first  money  driving  a  horse,  but 
later  entered  a  furniture  factory,  working  for 
seventy-five  cents  a  day  He  left  this  work  after 
a  short  time  to  keep  a  news  stand  in  the  post- 
ofifice,  but  later  worked  as  a  clerk  in  a  hardware 
store  in  Buchanan.    He  was  nineteen  vears  of  age 


at  this  time  and  decided  to  come  West.  He  came 
to  Minnesota  in  March,  1880,  and  entered  the 
office  of  the  McCormick  Harvesting  Machine 
Company,  at  Minneapolis,  as  a  clerk.  Here  he 
remained  for  five  years,  when  he  became  inter- 
ested in  the  Phelps'  Well  and  Wind  .Mill 
Company,  and  served  as  one  of  the  in- 
corporators of  the  concern.  He  remained 
with  this  company  nearly  seven  years,  but 
in  Januar)-,  1892,  removed  to  -St.  Paul 
to  assume  the  responsible  position  of  District 
Agent  for  the  Employers'  Liability  Assurance 
Company  (Limited),  of  London,  England,  a  posi- 
tion he  has  held  since  that  time,  and  in  which  he 
has  shown  the  ability  of  a  progressive  business 
man.  Mr.  Beardsley  is  quite  active  in  church 
work.  He  is  a  member  of  Christ  church  (Epis- 
copal), of  St.  Paul,  of  which  he  is  treasurer,  also 
being  prominently  identified  with  the  different 
societies  of  the  church,  and  is  president  of  the  St. 
Paul  organizaion  of  the  Brotherhood  of  St.  An- 
drew. He  is  a  staunch  Republican,  with  strong 
convictions  on  what  he  understands  to  be  the 
principles  of  good  government.  He  was  married 
February  19  1889  to  Amelia  P.  Simonds  of  Jeffer- 
son, Ashtabula  County,  Ohio.  They  have  no 
children. 


302 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HERMAXX  .ML-EHLBERG. 

Franz  Otto  Hermann  Ehrenfried  Aluehlljerg 
is  Adjutant  General  of  the  State  of  .Minnesota, 
having  been  appointed  to  that  office  by  Gov. 
Nelson,  February  i,  1893.  His  present  residence 
is  St.  Paul,  Minnesota.  His  father,  l'"rederick 
Muehlberg,  was  a  merchant  in  the  village  of  ( iross 
Floethe,  Hanover,  Germany,  where  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born.  May  3.  1833.  His  mother's 
name  was  Dorethea  Schroeter.  His  ancestors 
were,  so  far  as  known,  ministers  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  except  his  father,  who,  failing  to  get  a 
position  in  the  army  on  account  of  defective 
hearing,  engaged  in  commercial  pursuits.  Nich- 
olas Mclchior  Muehlberg.  the  great-great-grand- 
father of  Hermann,  who  often  wrote  his  name 
jMuehlenberg,  was  a  native  of  Einbeck,  Hanover, 
and  through  this  line  of  descent  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  a  distant  relative  of  Henry  :\Iel- 
chior  Tvluchlenberg,  who  came  to  America  in 
1742,  and  also  of  his  son,  John  Peter  Gabriel 
Muehlenberg,  who  was  known  as  General  Peter 
Muehlenberg.  who  served  with  distinction  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
came  with  his  father's  family  to  America  in  1846 


and  settled  at  St.  Louis.    He  had  received  a  com- 
mon school  education  in  the  old  country,  and  at 
St.  Louis  learned  the  printer's  trade.     In  185 1  he 
removed  to  Dubuque,  Iowa,  and  in  1856  to  Car- 
ver County,  Minnesota.     He  was  principally  en- 
gaged in  surveying,  and  did  a  great  deal  of  gov- 
ernment land  surveying  in  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  state.    During  the  winter  of  1861  and  1862 
he  taught  the  public  school  at  Waconia,  ]\Iinne- 
sota,    and    while      thus    employed,    on     Febru- 
ary   I  (J.    enlisted   as   a   private    in    Company    E, 
I'ifth  .Minnesota  X'olunteer  Infantry.    April  2,  he 
was  appointed  sergeant,  and  April  30,  sergeant- 
major  of  the  regiment.    In  this  capacity  he  served 
till  Mav  4,   1863,  when  he  was  appointed  to  the 
office  of  second  lieutenant  of  Company  D,  of  the 
same  regiment.     Two  days  later    he    was    com- 
missioned captain  of    the    same    company.     He 
participated  with  his  regiment  in  the  battles  of 
Farmington,  Corinth,  luka,  Mcksburg,  Pleasant 
Hill,  Nashville  and  numerous  other  engagements. 
He  was  honorably  discharged  from  the  service 
while  in  a  hospital    at    Jefferson    Barracks,    St. 
Louis,  in  July,  1865.     He  then  returned  to  Car- 
ver County,  Minnesota,  and  resumed  his  former 
occupation.    In  1878  Mr.  JMuehlberg  became  the 
editor  of  a  Republican  German  newspaper,  called 
the  "I'lonier  am  Wisconsin,"  at  Sauk  Cit}-,  Wis- 
consin.   In  1881  he  returned  toCarverCountyand 
purchased  the  Carver  Free  Press,  which  he  edited. 
He  was   several   times  elected  county   surveyor, 
served  two  terms  as  chairman  of  the  board   of 
county  commissioners,  and  held  other  offices  of 
trust.     In   1892  the  Republicans  nominated  him 
for  the  legislature,  but  the  district  was  strongly 
Democratic  and  he  was  defeated  Ity  a  small  ma- 
jority.    He  received  his  appoiiUnient  as  adjutant- 
general  February  i,  1893,  and  has  held  that  po- 
sition ever    since,    being    re-appointed    by    Gov. 
Clough  when   he  succeeded   Gov.   Nelson.     Mr. 
Muehlberg  is  a  member  of  the  William  R.  Baxter 
Post,  G.  A.  R.,  at  Chaska.  and  was  instrumental 
in  organizing  three  (i.  .\.  U.  jiosts  in  his  county. 
It  was  due  to  his  patriotism  that  a  soldiers'  mon- 
ument was  erected  at  Waconia  in  1891,  the  first 
conntv  soldiers'  momuucnt  in  the  state.     He  is  a 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


303 


member  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  and  also  of  the  A. 
O.  U.  W.  While  at  Dubuque,  Iowa,  he  married 
Clara  Freese,  and  has  six  children,  Albert,  Clara, 
Hermann,  Dora,  Elsie  and  Hernia. 


SAMUEL  \ANCE  MORRIS,  JR. 

S.  V.  I^Iorris,  jr.,  an  insurance  man  of  Min- 
neapolis, was  born  on  October  4,  1870,  in  Hamil- 
ton County,  Ohio.  He  is  descended  on 
his  mother's  side  from  Benjamin  Harrison, 
one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  the  progenitor  of  a 
distinguished  line  n[  public  men  of  that 
name.  His  great  grandfather  was  President  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison,  and  his  grandfather  was 
John  Scott  Harrison,  who  served  two  terms  in 
Congress  from  the  Second  congressional  district 
of  Ohio.  Ex-President  Benjamin  Harrison  is  his 
mother's  brother.  Mr.  Morris  is  also  descended 
on  his  mother's  side  from  John  Cleve  Sims,  who 
at  one  time  owned  all  that  part  of  Ohio  between 
the  Ohio  and  the  Miami  rivers,  including  the 
site  of  Cincinnati.  Mr.  Morris'  father,  Samuel 
V.  Morris,  Senior,  is  chief  clerk  in  the  United 
States  engineers'  office  at  St.  Paul,  under  Col.  W. 
A.  Jones.  Previous  to  coming  to  Minnesota  the 
family  lived  in  Indianapolis.  As  a  boy  \lr.  Mor- 
ris attended  the  public  schools  of  Indianapolis. 
His  business  instincts  developed  early,  and  while 
quite  young  he  formed  a  partnership  with  a 
school  mate,  and  contracted  to  keep  seventy-two 
lawns  cut,  in  the  vicinity  of  his  father's  home. 
During  this  season  the  boys  were  kept  busy,  but 
by  working  early  and  late,  before  breakfast  and 
after  school,  the  boys  fulfilletl  their  contract,  and 
Sanuiel  found  that  he  had  earned  aliout  ten  dollars 
per  week  as  his  share  of  the  profits.  During  his 
first  year  in  the  Indianapolis  high  school  he  took 
a  position  with  the  firm  of  B.  D.  Walcott  &  Co., 
fire  insurance  agents  at  Indanapolis.  He  worked 
in  the  morning  as  clerk  in  the  office  and  went 
to  school  in  the  afternoon.  After  some  months 
he  left  school  and  devoted  his  whole  time  to 
business.  It  was  not  long  after  this  that  the 
business  was  sold  and  the  firm  subsequently  be- 
came Walker  &  Prather,  the  head  of  the    firm 


being  Col.  I.  N.  Walker,  past  commander  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  Mr.  Morris  remained  as  policy  clerk 
and  collector  with  the  new  firm  until  his  father 
removed  to  Minneapolis.  Upon  coming  to  Min- 
neapolis he  secured  a  position  similar  to  that 
which  he  had  filled  at  his  old  home,  with  the 
fire  insurance  firm  of  Pliny  Bartlett  &  Co.  He 
remained  with  this  firm  about  three  years,  and 
then  seeing  a  good  opening  in  the  accident  in- 
surance business  he  accepted  a  position  as  local 
agent  for  the  Provident  Fund  Accident  Society, 
of  New  York.  When  that  company  reinstated 
its  business,  ]\Ir.  Morris  accepted  a  position  as 
special  agent  for  the  Preferred  Accident  Insur- 
ance Company,  of  New  York,  under  C.  W.  Bliler. 
During  the  year  Mr.  Bliler  removed  to  Kansas 
City  and  Mr.  Morris  received  the  appointment 
as  general  agent  for  Minneapolis,  and  ever  since 
then  his  territorv'  has  been  increasing  until  he 
now  has  the  entire  state  of  ^linnesota  with  the 
exception  of  the  two  cities  of  St.  Paul  and 
Duluth.  Mr.  Morris  is  an  ardent  Republican, 
and  secretary  of  the  Young  Men's  Republican 
Club  of  Minneapolis.  Though  taking  an  active 
part  in  politics,  he  has  not  yet  aspired  to  public 
office.  He  is  a  mendier  of  the  First  Presb\i:erian 
church,  of  Minneapolis. 


304 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HENRY  WOLFER. 

Minnesota  is  fortunate  in  having  at  the  head  of 
its  chief  penal  institution  a  man  who  has  achieved 
a  national  reputation  as  a  penologist.  Henry 
Wolfer  is  of  German  descent.  His  father,  John 
Wolfer,  was  a  farmer  who  came  from  German}' 
when  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  settled  near 
Munith,  Michigan.  He  soon  owned  a  good  farm 
and  was  considered  a  thrifty,  well-to-do  man.  He 
reared  a  family  of  thirteen  children,  nine  of  whom 
are  now  living.  His  wife,  Sarah  Wolfer,  was  of 
German  parentage,  coming  from  the  old  Dutch 
stock  of  Pennsylvania.  John  Wolfer  was  the 
youngest  of  seven  children,  none  of  whom,  ex- 
cept one  sister,  accompanied  him  to  America.  All 
his  brothers  became  well-to-do  farmers  in  the  old 
country.  Henry  Wolfer  was  bom  on  the  farm 
at  Munith,  Michigan,  March  23,  1853.  He  re- 
ceived a  common  school  education  in  the  district 
country  school,  such  as  could  be  obtained  by  at- 
tending during  the  winter  months  and  working 
on  the  farm  during  the  summer.  This  continued 
until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  then  made 
a  bargain  with  his  father  for  the  purchase  of  the 
remaining  three  years'  time  before  he  became  of 
age,    and    gave    him    a    note    fur    two    hundred 


dollars.  lienr_\-  inimediatel)'  starte<.l  out  West 
and  arrived  at  Joliet,  Illinois,  June  16, 
1871.  There  he  applied  to  ]\lajor  Elmer 
Washburn,  then  warden  of  the  Illinois  state 
l)enitentiary,  for  a  position  in  that  insti- 
tution. After  two  persevering  interviews  he  was 
finally  appointed  wall  guard,  and  discharged  the 
duties  so  satisfactorily  that  he  was  very  shortly 
afterwards,  although  yet  a  mere  youth,  appointed 
overseer  of  one  of  the  largest  shops  in  the  prison. 
W'hen  about  nineteen  years  of  age  he  sent  his 
father  the  two  hundred  dollars  with  interest  and 
took  up  his  note.  He  then  began  an  evening 
course  in  a  commercial  college  at  Joliet  and  con- 
tinued until  he  had  graduated  in  bookkeeping  and 
commercial  law.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  Henry 
^^'olfer  had  saved  up  and  placed  at  interest 
two  thousand  two  hundred  dollars.  He  continued 
in  the  service  of  the  Illinois  state  penitentiary  in 
various  official  capacities  under  five  different 
wardens,  filling  nearly  every  office  in  that  institu- 
tion, covering  a  period  of  about  fourteen  years,  the 
last  four  years  acting  as  steward  under  the  well- 
known  prison  manager  and  penal  reformer.  Major 
R.  W.  McLaughry.  In  September,  1885,  through 
the  influence  of  ^lajor  McLaughry,  and  other 
friends,  -Mr.  Wolfer  was  appointed  deputy  super- 
intendent of  the  Detroit  House  of  Correction, 
under  Captain  Joseph  Nicholson.  Captain  Nich- 
olson enjoys  the  enviable  reputation  of  knowing 
not  only  how  to  conduct  a  prison  on  broad  hu- 
mane principles,  but  how  to  make  it  a  success 
financially  as  well.  That  institution  has  been 
more  than  self-sustaining  for  a  period  of  sixteen 
years.  Mr.  Wolfer's  services  continued  as  deputy 
superintendent  for  nearly  seven  years,  when  he 
was  called  to  the  state  of  Minnesota  to  take  the 
position  of  warden  of  the  state  prison  at  Stillwater. 
Mr.  Wolfer  ranks  among  the  most  scientific  and 
progressive  of  the  penal  officials  of  the  country. 
He  is  always  in  demand  at  national  prison  con- 
gresses and  the  conferences  of  the  charities  and 
corrections,  and  administers  the  oftico  which  has 
been  entrusted  to  him  with  great  ability.  Mr. 
Wolfer  has  always  been  a  Republican.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  IMasonic  fraternity  for  six- 
teen vcars,  and  is  a  member  of  the  <  M'der  of  Elks. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


305 


He  was  married  April  27,  1S76,  tu  Miss  Alice  A. 
Suylant,  of  Munith,  Michigan.  They  have  four 
children,  llar(jl(l  j..  hiaiik  ( '„  Charles  R.  and 
Gertrude  M. 


JONATHAN'  Wl'-.SLl'A'  W  kK.HT. 

The  subject  ut  this  sketch  was  born  July  l^, 
1851,  in  what  was  then  Ivussell  County,  \'irginia. 
His  father,  .Solomon  H.  Wright,  was  a  farmer 
and  blacksmith  of  moderate  means.  His  mother, 
Elizabeth  Colley  (Wright),  was  the  daughter  of 
a  wealthy  slave  owner  in  "the  (  )ld  Dominion." 
His  ancestry  on  his  father's  side  was  Irish,  and 
on  the  mother's,  Welsh  and  (ierman.  They  were 
all  sturdy  pioneers  among  the  early  settlers  of 
North  Carolina  and  \'irginia,  and  participated  in 
the  strifes  with  the  Indians  in  Colonial  times  and 
in  the  Revolutionary  War.  Jonathan  Wesley 
attended  the  only  school  available  in  those  times 
to  the  middle  classes — the  old-fashioned  sub- 
scription school,  which  he  attended  four  terms. 
The  outbreak  of  the  war  when  he  was  onlv  ten 
years  of  age  put  a  stop  to  his  further  schooling 
for  the  time  being.  Solomon  II.  Wright,  his 
father,  was  a  loyal  Union  man,  and  had  his  jirop- 
erty  destroyed  bv  the  rebel  guerilla  bands  which, 
infested  that  ]3art  of  the  South.  He  was  drafted 
into  the  Confederate  army,  l.)ut  deserted  and  had 
a  price  set  on  his  head  for  capture.  This,  in  1863, 
forced  him  w  ith  his  famil)-  to  leave  "between  two 
davs"  and  seek  protection  in  the  North.  He 
lived  in  Ohio  till  the  war  was  over,  when  he 
moved  to  ?\linnesota,  settling  in  what  is  now 
Collinwood  tow^nship.  Meeker  County,  C)ccol>er 
20,  1865.  Here  was  led  the  ordinary  frontier  life, 
Jonathan  Wesley  attending  the  nearest  district 
school.  He  conmienced  teaching  when  twenty 
years  old  with  the  purpose  of  earning  sufficient 
monev  to  ol:)tain  a  better  education.  He  after- 
wards attended  the  State  Normal  school  at  St. 
Cloud  for  two  years,  resumed  teaching-  and  read- 
ing law  as  time  permitted,  until  the  fall  of  i8y<i, 
when  he  received  the  Republican  nomination  for 
county  superintendent  of  schools  and  was  elected. 
This  office  he  held  until  Januar\-  i.  1887.  He  has 
held  various  political  positions  since,  such  as  as- 


sistant enrolling  clerk  of  the  house  in  the  Minne- 
sota legislature  of  1887:  assistant  register  of 
deeds  and  assistant  postmaster  at  Litchfield,  un- 
der Aug.  T.  Koerner,  now  state  treasurer.  Jan- 
uar)-  1,  1893.  lis  ^^'^^  appointed  postmaster  at 
Litchfield  by  President  Harrison,  and  still  holds 
that  office.  Mr.  \\' right  has  always  been  a  stal- 
wart Republican  and  an  ardent  supporter  of  Re- 
publican princii)les,  and  has  always  been  identi- 
fied with  all  efforts  for  the  promotion  of  educa- 
tion in  the  comniunits  in  which  he  lives,  having 
served  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education 
of  Litchfield  for  the  past  fifteen  years  in  the 
capacity  of  secretary.  He  has  also  taken  an  in- 
terest in  National  Guard  matters,  and  for  seven 
years  was  a  member  of  Company  H.,  National 
Guard  of  Minnesota,  and  when  mustered  out  was 
orderly  sergeant.  He  is  a  member  of  and  secre- 
tary of  Golden  h'leece  Lodge,  No.  89,  A.  F.  & 
A.  .M.,  and  also  a  member  of  Camp  No.  2990, 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  Mr.  Wright  is 
a  member  of  the  Trinity  Episcopal  church,  of 
Litchfield.  He  was  married  November  24,  1877, 
to  Alice  E.,  daughter  of  Hon.  Charles  E.  Cutts. 
of  INfeeker  Countv.  They  have  seven  children. 
Charles  Cutts.  Lulu  C,  George  V>..  Cushman  K. 
D.,  Alice  r...  Clara  H.  and  Newell. 


306 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


DEXXIS  EDWARD  RYAN. 

There  are  among  the  young  business  men  in 
the  city  of  MinneapoHs  many  who  can  justly  lay 
claim  to  the  title  of  a  self-made  man,  but  none 
who  have  proven  themselves  more  deserving  of 
it  than  Dennis  Edward  Ryan,  of  the  firm  of  D. 
E.  Ryan  &  Co.,  jobi)ers  and  commission  mer- 
chants. Mr.  Rvan  is  of  Irish  descent.  His 
father.  Thomas  R}an,  and  mother,  Catharine 
Thimlin  (Ryan  I.  were  both  born  in  Ireland. 
Emigrating  to  this  country  they  located  in  Phila- 
dcliihia,  where  Dennis  was  born,  .March  28,  1862. 
When  the  boy  was  but  eight  years  old.  they  re- 
moved West  and  settled  in  l)ul)ui|ue.  Iowa,  sul)- 
setiuently  locating  at  Independence,  in  the  same 
state.  Dennis  received  but  a  connnon  school  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  the  latter  place.  His 
father  having  died  when  he  was  but  fifteen  years 
old,  the  su])i)ort  of  his  mother,  three  younger 
brothers  and  one  si.ster  rested  u])on  him 
until  the  children  had  reached  the  ages  of 
self-support  and  until  his  nmther's  death. 
At  that  early  age  he  secured  employment 
with  M.  M.  Walker  &  Co..  a  whole- 
sale   fruit    lujuse    at    Dubuf|ue.    as    a    salesman. 


Fnjni  that  time  to  this  he  has  followed  the  fruit 
r.nd  produce  business.  He  remained  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  same  firm  at  Dubuque  until  his 
removal  to  Aliimeapolis  in  February,  1884.  Here 
he  secured  the  position  of  salesman  with  the 
fruit  and  produce  firm  of  Miller  &  Miller,  but 
only  remained  in  their  employ  about  a  year.  He 
then  became  engaged  with  J.  C.  Walters,  sub- 
sec|uently  the  firm  of  Walters  &  Wagner,  dealers 
in  fruit  and  produce,  as  a  salesman  in  the  city  and 
on  the  road.  He  was  connected  with  this  house 
until  1891,  at  which  time  he  engaged  in  business 
for  himself  in  the  same  line  of  trade  at  which  he 
had  been  working,  with  offices  located  at  106 
First  Avenue  Xorth.  Mr.  Ryan's  means  were 
rather  limited,  having  less  than  two  hundred  dol- 
lars capital  to  start  in  business  with:  but  business 
rapidly  increased,  and  only  six  months  after  start- 
ing he  took  in  partnership  D.  H.  Thornton.  Mr. 
TlKirnton,  however,  withdrew  from  the  firm  six 
months  later  to  engage  in  the  grocerv  business. 
Since  that  time  Mr.  Ryan  has  continued  the  busi- 
ness alone,  under  the  firm  name  of  D.  E.  Ryan  & 
Co.  In  two  years'  time  the  business  of  this  firm 
had  so  increased  that  it  necessitated  moving  to 
larger  (|uarters  at  129  I'irst  Avenue  Xorth.  where 
it  occupied  the  entire  building.  The  firm  now 
has  commodious  and  spacious  quarters  in  a  three- 
story  building  on  Second  Avenue  North  and 
Sixth  Street,  which  was  fitted  in  all  particulars 
and  details  for  the  carrying  on  of  the  busines?  in 
which  the  firm  is  engaged.  D.  E.  Ryan  &  Co  is 
now  one  of  the  largest  jobbing  and  commission 
houses  engaged  in  the  fruit  and  produce  trade  in 
Minneapolis.  Mr.  Ryan  is  a  young  man  of  enter- 
])rise  and  push,  who  has  succeeded  in  building 
up  a  competence  bv  a  close  apjilication  to  the 
business  in  which  he  is  engaged,  and  gives 
promise  of  taking  a  leading  place  in  the  future 
commercial  life  of  the  City  of  Minnea])olis.  Mr. 
Rvan  is  a  member  of  the  Elks  and  nf  the  Cnmmer- 
cial  Clul)of  .Minnt'apolis.  lie  is  an  .ittendant  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  In  l'"ebruary,  i8(S9,  he 
was  married  to  \ictnria  McCarroll.  They  have 
four  children,  \'ivian  May,  aged  six;  Gerald  Car- 
roll, aged  four:  Dennis  Edward,  aged  two,  and 
Doris  Margaret,  born  Decem1)er  30,  1896. 


FKOC.KHSSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


307 


BENJAMIN'  l"RA.\KI.I.\  I  ARMI'IR. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  Mayor  of 
Spring   Valley,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  the 
place  and  a  man  who  has  done  much  to  huild  up 
that  community.     He  was  l)orn  in   I'.urke,  Cale- 
donia County,  \erniont,  July  14.  i^^^,  I'lt^  ^""  "^ 
Hiram  and  Salina  Snow  Farmer.    On  his  father's 
side  Mr.  Farmer  is  of  English  descent,  his  grand- 
father, Benjamin  J'armer,  being  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,     On  his   mother's  side  the 
family   stock   is   Scotch.     They   settled   in    New 
Hampshire  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness.   Benjamin's  father  moved  to  ^Madison,  Lake 
County  (  )hio,  in  1833,  setding  on  a  farm  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  Erie  and  reared  his  family  there. 
Benjamin  attended  the  district  school  most  of  the 
time  until  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age.    He  was 
then  apprenticed  at  L'nionville,  ( )hio,  to  learn  die 
blacksmith  trade.    During  his  stay  there  he  assist- 
ed in  constructing  the  iron  work  on  thirteen  lake 
vessels.    The  winter  of  1857  he  met  a  gendenian 
who  had  been  in  the  West  and  who  gave  him  such 
an   attractive   description    of    Minnesota    that    he 
made  up  his  mind  to  see  it.    He  arrived  in  Spring 
Valley  April  24,  of  that  year.  In  a  few  days  he  had 
opened  a  shop  and  was  installed  as  the  village 
blacksmith.     He  was  employed  at  his   trade   in 
1861,  when,  in  response  to  the  call  for  volunteers, 
he  raised  a  company  of  forty-five  men,  took  them 
to  Rochester  and  about  forty  were  mustered  into 
service.    Mr.  Farmer  was  appointed  assistant  L'ni- 
ted  States  ^Marshal  and  continued  in  that  branch 
of  the  service  for  a  number  of  years.     In  1865  he 
was  appointed  postmaster  of  Spring  Walley  and 
held  the  ofifice  for  sixteen  years.  In  1871,  in  com- 
pany with  J.  C.  Easton,  now  of  La  Crosse,  and  his 
brother,  J.  O.  Farmer,  he  organized  the  liank  of 
Spring  \'alley,  was  appointed  its  cashier  and  has 
held    that   position    ever   since,    although    in    the 
meantime  the   other  interests   in   the  bank   have 
changed  hands.     Mr.  Farmer  has  been  interested 
in  evervthing  tending  to  build  up  his  town  and 
community.     He  was  elected  Mayor  of  Spring 
Vallev  in  1892,  and  during  his  term  secured  the 
construction    of   the    water   works;      assisted    in 
organizing  the  Spring  \'alley  Electric  Light  and 


I 


Investment  C(ini])any.  of  which  he  was  elected 
president,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in  estab- 
lishing the  first  creamery  started  in  .Minnesota, 
an  enterprise  which  ])roved  profitable  both  to  the 
farmers  and  for  the  proprietors.  Mr.  Farmer  is 
a  member  of  the  Masonic  order  and  has  taken 
the  thirty-second  degree  in  .Masonry.  He  is  also 
a  Knight  Templar  and  (irand  Generalissimo  in 
the  Granrl  C'onnnandery  of  }ilinnesota.  He  is 
also  a  Shrincr  and  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pvthias.  His  church  connections  are  with  the 
First  Congregational  society  of  Spring  \'alley,  of 
whose  b(iard  of  trustees  he  is  president.  He  is 
also  president  of  the  Spring  \'alley  high  school 
board.  He  was  married  in  L'nionville,  Ohio,  in 
1855,  to  Miss  Annette  L.  Wheeler,  who  bore 
him  two  children,  Katie  L,  now  Mrs.  F.  V.  Ed- 
wards, and  Nellie  M.,  who  died  in  infancy.  In 
1S77  the  mother  of  these  children  died,  and  the 
following  vear  Mr.  Farmer  married  Helen  E. 
\\'heeler.  sister  of  the  first  wife.  In  1882  they 
adopted  a  young  girl  from  New  York  City  and 
gave  her  the  name  of  Nellie  M.  Farmer.  She  has 
recentlv  married  L.  3.1.  Schofiekl,  a  relative  of 
Gen.  Schofield. 


308 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


\ 


JOHN  LOUIS  MACDONALD. 

The  subject  of  tliis  sketch  is  a  native  of 
Glasgow,  Scotland,  where  he  was  born  February 
22,  1838.  His  parents  were  Dr.  John  A.  and 
Marjory  (McKinley)  Macdonald.  Dr.  John  A. 
Macdonald  was  a  successful  physician,  who  emi- 
grated from  .Scotland  to  Nova  Scotia  when  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  c|uite  young.  In  1847 
the  family  removed  to  Pittsburg.  Pennsylvania. 
While  they  resided  there  our  subject  obtained  an 
academic  education.  In  the  s]>ring  of  1855  the 
family  moved  to  St.  Paul,  and  in  the  fall  of  that 
year  located  at  ISelle  Plainc,  Scott  Comity.  Here 
he  began  the  stuclv  of  law.  and  in  the  spring 
of  1859  was  admitted  ttj  the  bar.  At  the  next 
election  he  was  chosen  proljate  judge  of  Scott 
County  and  held  that  office  for  two  years.  He 
then  held  successively  the  offices  of  countv  super- 
intendent of  schools  and  prosecuting  attorney. 
Mr.  .Macdcinald  has  also  had  some  newspa]KT 
experience.  In  i860  and  186 1  he  edited  the 
Belle  Plaine  Enquirer,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  latter 
year  removed  to  Shakfjpee,  where  he  founded  the 
Shakopee  Argus,  which  he  edited  for  about  a 
year.  The  war  having  broke  out  lie  was  commis- 


sioned to  enlist  and  muster  in  volunteers  for  the 
union  army.  Mr.  Macdonald's  abilities  and  ster- 
ling qualities  of  character  had  come  to  be  recog- 
nized, and  in  1869  and  1870  he  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  house  of  representatives  of  ?^linnesota, 
and  from  1871  to  1876  as  a  member  of  the  stale 
senate.  In  both  branches  he  served  on  the  judi- 
ciary and  other  important  committees.  It  was 
he  who  introduced  and  secured  the  passage  of 
the  constitutional  amendment  requiring  that  any 
law  amending  or  altering  in  any  way  the  provisions 
that  the  railroads  of  the  state  should  pay,  in  lieu 
of  all  other  taxes,  a  percentage  upim  their  gross 
earnings,  should  be  referred  to  the  people  and 
adopted  by  a  majority  of  their  votes  before  it 
could  take  effect.  This  was  clearly  the  introduc- 
tion into  Minnesota  legislation  of  the  principle  of 
the  referendum.  In  1872  Mr.  Macdonald  was 
chosen  as  the  candidate  of  his  party  (the  Demo- 
cratic) for  the  office  of  attorney  general  of  the 
state,  but  the  times  were  not  favorable  for  the 
DemocracN'  in  Minnesota,  antl  he  was  defeated 
with  his  party  ticket.  In  1875  he  was  honored 
bv  his  fellow  townsmen  of  Shakopee  with  the 
office  of  mayor,  and  the  following  year  was 
elected  judge  of  the  Eighth  judicial  district  for 
a  term  of  seven  years.  At  the  expiration  of  his 
term  he  was  re-elected  without  opposition  and 
served  until  1886,  when  he  resigned  to  take  up 
the  more  lucrative  business  of  practicing  his  pro- 
fession as  a  lawyer.  He  was  not  allowed,  how- 
ever, to  remain  long  in  private  life,  as  the  Demo- 
crats of  his  district  the  same  year  elected  him 
to  the  Fiftieth  congress  from  the  Third  district 
of  .Minnesota,  a  district  which  had  previously 
been  Repuljlican  by  three  thousand  majority. 
Judge  Macdonald  served  on  the  conunittee 
on  public  lands,  merchant  marine  and  fish- 
eries. He  was  re-nominated  by  his  party 
in  1888,  but  the  political  tide  had  re- 
turned, and,  failing  of  re-election,  he  retired 
at  the  expiration  of  his  term,  Ut  the  ])ractice  of 
his  profession  at  .^t.  Paul,  where  he  now  resides. 
Although  he  has  alwa_\'s  been  affiliated  with  the 
Democratic  jiarty,  he  maintains  a  high  degree  of 
independence  in  his  political  beliefs,  and  at  pres- 
ent regards  himself  as  an  independent  in  politics. 
P>eing  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  free  coinage  of 


PKOGKHSSIVH  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


30» 


silver,  he  joined  the  People's  Party  in  1892,  and 
aftenvanls  served  as  chairman  of  the  state  central 
connnittee  of  that  organizalidu.  1  le  was  married 
June  22,  1861,  to  Miss  Mary  llennessy,  of  I'.elie 
Plaine,  Minnesota,  judge  .\lacdonakl  has  had 
a  highly  successful  career,  his  chief  success 
having  been  achieved  in  the  honorable  and  digni- 
fied jjosition  of  judge,  where  he  discharged  the 
duties  of  his  office  witli  such  abilitv  and  great 
satisfaction  to  the  public  that  he  was  the  choice 
of  lioth  the  Reiiuhlicans  and  Democrats  as  his 
own  successor  after  the  cx])iration  of  his  first 
term. 


JOHN  BAPTIST  SCHMID. 

Air.  Schmid,  as  his  name  indicates,  is  of  Ger- 
man origin  on  his  father's  side,  and  on  his 
mother's  side  of  French  extraction.  The  Schmid 
family  to  which  the  subject  of  this  sketch  belongs 
emigrated  from  Hungary  to  Germany  in  the  Six- 
teenth century,  where  they  engaged  in  manufac- 
turing glass.  On  his  mother's  side  Mr.  Schmid 
is  of  Bohemian  descent.  His  father,  Clement 
Schmid,  is  a  farmer  living  at  Mulligan,  Brown 
County,  Minnesota,  having  come  to  this  country 
from  Bavaria,  Germany,  in  1868.  His  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Anna  Leibel.  John  Baptist 
was  born  February  27,  1852,  in  Stadlern,  Upper 
Palatine,  Bavaria,  Germany.  He  received  a  com- 
mon school  education.  Coming  to  this  country 
with  his  parents  in  1868,  he  settled  on  a  farm 
in  Brown  Countv,  Minnesota,  in  the  town  of 
Siegel.  P)y  profession  Mr.  Schmid  was  a  musi- 
cian, and  the  first  dollar  he  ever  earned  was  in 
that  vocation.  For  some  years  he  worked  in  the 
breweries  in  New  L'lm,  Minnesota.  He  then 
took  a  homestead  in  the  town  of  Mulligan, 
Brown  County,  and  proceeded  to  improve  it.  In 
1878  he  engaged  in  the  hotel  business  at  Sleepy 
Eye,  and  in  1882  established  a  general  merchan- 
dise store  in  the  same  city,  continuing  in  the 
same  line  of  business  until  January-  i,  1885,  when 
he  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  and 
elected  sheriff  of  Brown  County.  He  served 
in  the  office  for  three  terms,  after  which, 
in  iSejo,  he  went  into  partnership  with  A.  C. 
Ochs,  of  New  Ulm,  purchasing  the  Springfield 


roller  mill.  In  1893  this  partnership  was  dis- 
solved, the  mill  having  been  sold  and  Mr.  Schmid 
engaged  in  the  elevator  lousiness  and  also  deals 
in  coal  and  other  articles.  To  this  business  he 
gives  his  whole  attention.  He  also  owns  and  ope- 
rates three  large  farms.  He  was  also 
nominated  for  state  senator  in  1894,  but  failed 
of  election  by  a  small  majority.  He  ser\"ed 
for  five  years  in  the  village  council  in  Springfield, 
and  has  been  a  member  of  the  school  board  for 
the  last  five  years,  acting  as  its  treasurer.  He  is 
a  member  of  several  different  Alasonic  bodies,  was 
a  charter  member  of  the  Springfield  lodge  of  Odd 
I'ellows.  Xo.  22^.  serving  for  two  terms  as  Xoble 
( Irand.  In  i8i;5  he  was  the  representative  of  the 
1.  ( ).  O.  i".  to  the  grand  lodge.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  (  ).  D.  H.  S.,  and  was  president 
of  the  Xew  L'lni  lodge.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  Mr. 
Schmid  is  connected  with  the  Catholic  church. 
He  was  married  in  Xew  l'lm  in  1872  to  Anna 
Mary  Adams,  and  has  ten  children  living.  His 
flflest  son  lohn  R.  is  at  present  and  has  been 
for  the  past  three  years,  assistant  cashier  of  the 
State  Bank  of  Springfield.  The  other  living  chil- 
dren are  Emnia.  Louise.  Bertha,  Edward,  Adolph, 
Victoria,  Benjamin,  Constance  and  Elmer. 


310 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


STANLEY  RIC]'.  KITCHEL. 

Stanley  Rice  Kitchel  is  a  niemlaer  of  the 
jNIinneapolis  bar,  where  lie  has  1)eeii  ]iracticiiig: 
law  since  1879.  -Mr.  Kitchel  is  of  English 
descent  and  traces  his  ancestry  to  a  very  early 
period  in  the  settlement  of  this  country.  The 
first  member  of  the  family  to  come  to  America 
uas  Robert  Kitchel,  who  came  with  his  wife, 
Margaret,  as  one  of  a  coni])any  of  Pilgrim  refu- 
gees who  sailed  from  fCngland,  April  26,  1639.  in 
the  first  vessel  that  anchored  in  the  harbor  of 
what  is  now  known  as  .\'ew  Haven,  Connecticut. 
This  colony  settled  in  Guilford,  Connecticut. 
where  Robert  Kitchel  became  a  leader  in  the 
community  and  ac(|uired  a  considerable  estate. 
In  1666  Robert  Kitchel  and  his  family  moved  to 
Newark,  Xew  Terscv.  FTis  descendants  became 
numerous  in  that  vicinity  and  many  families  now 
living  there  and  bearing  the  name  nf  Kitchel 
trace  their  ancestrv  direct  to  iliis  first  membt-r 
of  the  family  in  .\mcrica.  and  allhongh  dil'fercnt 
branches  of  the  family  are  to  be  f'  mnd  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  they  are  more  numerous  in 
New  Jersey  than  anywhere  else.  Among  the 
descendants  of   Robert    !\itchel    was   llarvev    1). 


Kitchel,  D.  D.,  a  Congregational  minister,  who 
began  preaching  in  Detroit,  Michigan,  in  T848, 
and  remained  there  until  1864.  In  1864.  he  went 
to  Chicago,  where  he  had  charge  of  a  large 
church  and  where  he  remained  until  1866.  w'hen 
he  was  elected  president  of  Middlebury  College, 
in  A'ermont.  He  held  this  position  until  1873, 
when  he  resigned.  Since  that  time  he  has  not 
been  engaged  actively  in  any  professional  work. 
He  died  September  11,  1895.  His  wife's  maiden 
name  was  Ann  Sheklon,  w-hose  family  resided  at 
Rupert,  \'ermont.  Among  the  children  of  Ilarvey 
D.  and  Ann  Sheldcjn  Kitchel  is  Stanley  Rice 
Kitchel,  born  at  Detroit,  Michigan,  July  4,  1855. 
Stanley  Kitchel  was  more  fortunate  than  most 
boys  in  his  parentage.  His  father  was  a  man  of 
liright  cheerful,  happy  disposition,  in  thorough 
sympathy  with  his  children,  and.  in  a  larger 
degree  than  usual,  was  the  companion  and  inti- 
mate friend  of  his  sons.  To  the  advantages  of 
the  public  schools  of  Detroit  and  Chicago  were 
added  for  him  the  helpful  counsel  and  guidance 
of  his  father,  who  without  repressing  the  spirits 
of  his  sons,  instilled  in  them  the  habits  of  study 
and  industry.  Stanlev  fitted  for  college  at  Mid- 
dlel)ury.  \'erniont.  high  school  and  entered  Mid- 
(.ilebury  College  in  1872.  remaining  there  two 
years.  In  1874  he  went  to  Williams  College, 
where  he  graduated  in  1876.  While  in  college 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Chi  I'si  fraternity  and 
maintained  a  high  rank  as  a  student.  He  had 
determined  to  be  a  lawyer,  and  on  Abix-  1.  1877, 
arrived  in  ?iIinneapolis  in  search  of  the  larger 
and  better  opportunities  believed  to  e.xist  for  a 
young  lawyer  in  the  rapidly  developing  west. 
In  June  the  following  year  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  Hennepin  (^dunty,  and  has  been 
engaged  in  active  practice  ever  since.  He  began 
without  partners  in  business  and  continued  in 
that  \\a\-  until  1880.  In  that  year  he  became  a 
niembei"  of  the  firm  of  Rea,  Woollev  tS:  Kitchel, 
which  ijartnershi]>  continued  until  1883.  I'rom 
1883  to  1886  tin-  tiiiii  was  Rea,  Kitcliel  \:  Sliaw. 
and  from  t886  to  date  it  lias  been  Kitchel,  t'olien 
tS;  Shaw.  Mr.  Kitchel  is  a  Republican  in  politics 
,-ind  takes  an  actiw  interest  in  ])ublic  allairs. 
;ihliough    he   has   never   asked    for   an\    |)olitical 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


311 


preferment  for  himself.  His  cliurch  coimcclion 
is  with  the  Plymouth  Congregational  Church. 
He  was  president  of  the  Minneapolis  I'>ar  Asso- 
ciation, 1894-97;  president  of  the  Minneapolis 
Club,  1895-97,  and  a  member  of  the  following 
Masonic  bodies:  Khurum  Lodge,  St.  John's 
Chapter,  Minneapolis  Council,  Minneapolis 
Mounted  Commandery  and  the  Scottish  Rite.  He 
was  married  December  2,  1879,  to  Anna  C.  Ger- 
hard, of  Delaware,  Ohio.  They  have  one  child, 
Willanl  Cray  Kitchel,  bom  March  20,  1881. 


GEORGE  ALLAN  LOVE. 

Dr.  G.  -\.  Love,  of  Preston,  Minnesota,  was 
bom  at  Woodstock  McHenry  County,  Illinois, 
on  March  3,  1853.  His  father  was  Robert  Love 
who  was  a  native  of  Glasgow,  Scotland,  where, 
prior  to  his  emigration  to  America  in  1853,  he 
held  a  responsible  position  as  foreman  in  one  of 
the  great  shipyards  of  that  city.  His  wife  was 
]\Iiss  Agnes  Di.xon,  also  a  native  of  Glasgow. 
L'pon  coming  to  America,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Love 
settled  in  McHenry  County,  Illinois,  where  Mr. 
Love  engaged  in  the  business  of  carpenter  and 
builder.  Later  he  removed  to  Alamakee  County, 
Iowa,  and  after  a  time,  in  1856,  to  Fillmore 
County,  Minnesota,  where  he  took  a  farm  in 
what  is  now  the  town  of  York.  ^Ir.  Love  ac- 
cumulated a  competency  and  did!  in  1877.  aged 
sixty-eight.  His  wife  is  still  living.  Dr. 
Love  attended  the  conuuon  schools  in  Fill- 
more County  and  later  studied  at  the  high 
schools  in  Lime  Springs,  Iowa,  and  Preston. 
Minnesota.  While  going  to  school  he  helped  on 
the  farm  or  did  chores  for  people  in  the  village, 
for  his  board.  He  earned  his  first  dollar  by 
driving  four  yoke  of  oxen  hitched  to  a  breaking 
plow.  In  1874  he  graduated  from  Bennett  Med- 
ical College,  standing  third  in  a  class  of  forty- 
three.  For  a  while  after  graduation  he  practiced 
at  Whalan,  but  soon  moved  to  Preston  and  en- 
tered into  partnership  with  Dr.  fohn  A.  Ross, 
who  had  been  his  preceptor  in  former  years. 
After  two  years  this  partnership  was  dissolved  by 
mutual  consent  and  Dr.  Love  opened  an  ofifice 


on  his  own  aecdiuu  and  has  since  continued  in 
active  practice  by  himself.  He  has  built  up  an 
extensive  ]iractice  and  has  been  reasonably  suc- 
cessful financially.  At  present  he  is  jjension  ex- 
amination surgeon,  though  not  a  veteran  of  the 
war.  However,  the  latter  fact  is  no  fault  of  his 
own.  When  eleven  years  old  he  ran  away  from 
home  in  hlUmore  County  and  went  to  Forest 
City,  Iowa,  and  enlisted  as  drummer  boy.  His 
command  had  started  for  the  front  w'lien  at  Mc- 
Gregor, he  was  overtaken  by  his  father  and  taken 
home,  thus  bringing  his  army  career  to  a  sudden 
termination.  Dr.  Love  has  always  been  a 
Democrat.  He  has  been  Mayor  of  the 
city  of  Preston,  and  during  several  terms, 
an  alderman.  At  present  he  is  chairman 
of  the  county  central  committee.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Masonic  order,  being  a  member  of 
Minneapolis  Consistory  Xo.  2:heis  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F., 
of  the  A.  O.  I'.  \\'.  and  of  the  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America.  His  religious  afifiliations  are  with 
the  Presbyterian  denomination,  though  he  is  not 
a  member  of  any  church.  On  !March  5.  1877, 
Dr.  Love  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Kingston, 
a  daughter  of  a  Methodist  Episcopal  clerg^^man. 
Thev  have  had  eight  children. 


312 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


EnW'ARl)  L.  ALLI-:X. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  engaged  in  the 
real  estate,  renting  and  loan  business  in  St.  Paul. 
He  is  a  pioneer  in  the  state  of  Minnesota,  hav- 
ing come  here  in  1857.  -Mr.  Allen  was 
born  at  South  llrittian,  Connecticut,  in  1S29, 
the  son  of  Treat  Allen  and  Sarah  lUakcinan 
(Allen.)  Treat  Allen  was  a  farmer  in  mtxlerate 
circumstances  in  Connecticut.  The  ancestors  of 
E.  L.  Allen  were  of  sturdy  New  England  stock 
and  engaged  in  farming.  An  uncle,  \\  illiam 
N.  Blakeman,  left  the  farm  when  a  lad  and  went 
to  New  York  City  to  study  medicine,  and  was 
for  over  forty  years  a  leading  pliysician  in  that 
city.  Edward  attended  the  district  school  during 
the  winter  montlis  until  he  was  nineteen  years 
of  age,  working  on  his  father's  farm  in  the  sum- 
mer. He  then  tauglit  school  in  an  adjoining  dis- 
trict for  two  winters  at  a  salary  of  twelve  dollars 
and  fifty  cents  ;i  month.  He  left  the  farm  in  1830 
and  clerked  in  a  general  store  at  I'ishkill  Landing. 
The  following  year  he  acted  in  the  same  capacity 
in  iMshkill  X'illage  and  afterwards  at  Xewburgh, 
New  York.  Mr.  Allen  came  to  Minnesota  in  1857, 
locating  in  St.  Paul.  He  brought  a  few  thonsand 
dollars  with  him,  and  this  lu'  loaticd  nut  at  three 


])er  cent  per  month,  securing  what  was  consid- 
ered A I  endorsers,  but  the  crash  of  that  year 
reached  him  and  all  his  h.ard  earnings  disap- 
pearetl.  He  then  began  clerking  with  D.  W. 
Ingersoll,  and  the  following  year  was  taken  in 
as  a  partner.  In  the  spring  of  i860  he  drew  out 
of  the  firm,  taking  what  was  coming  to  him  in 
goods,  and  opened  a  store  on  15ridge  S(|uare, 
Minneapolis,  under  the  firm  name  of  Allen  & 
How.  In  September  of  that  year  Mr.  How  with- 
drew from  the  firm  and  Loren  Fletcher  was  taken 
in  as  ])artner.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  how- 
ever, money  so  depreciated  that  the  business 
was  carried  on  at  a  loss.  In  t86i  Mr.  Allen 
iHiught  nut  .Mr.  I'letcher  and  continued  the  luisi- 
ness  alone  for  some  time.  Stephen  Conislock 
was  admitted  to  the  firm  a  short  time  later,  un- 
der the  firm  name  of  Allen  &  Comstock.  In 
1864  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  business  to  Mr. 
Comstock,  and  the  following  year  bought  a  store 
building  and  lot  on  Hennepin  Avenue,  near 
\\'ashington,  and  opened  with  a  new  stock.  The 
same  year  he  purchased  the  southwest  corner  of 
Xicollet  Avenue  and  Eighth  .Street,  on  which 
was  a  small  house  and  l)arn,  for  one  thousand, 
eight  hundred  dollars,  selling  the  rear  forty  feet 
in  three  }ears  for  three  thousand,  seven  hundred 
dollars.  L.  \  .  X.  ISlakeman  was  taken  in  as  a 
])artner  about  this  time,  and  the  firm  was  laughed 
at  l)y  the  ISridge  Sipiare  merchants  for  going  so 
far  up  town.  Mr.  Allen  got  subscriptions  for  a 
few  hundred  dollars  and  gave  it  to  \\'.  W.  Mc- 
Xair.  then  postmaster,  to  Incate  the  jiostoffice  in 
the  same  I/lock,  and  the  business  of  the  firm  pros- 
]iered  for  awhile.  In  1872  ^Ir.  Allen  bought  out 
Mr.  lUakeman.  In  1874  he  built  a  three-story 
brick  store  and  office  building  in  place  of  the 
(ikl  one.  Also  jmrchased  three  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  of  land  in  \\'est  Minneapolis,  which 
he  later  exchanged  for  inside  propert\'.  Tiie  crash 
of  1873,  however,  severely  afTected  ^Ir.  Allen  and 
he  lost  this  property,  and  nearly  all  the 
lest.  He  was  compelled  to  sell  out  at 
aucticm  in  the  fall  of  1876.  In  politics, 
Mr.  .\llen  h;is  always  been  a  Re])ublican, 
and  his  church  connections  have  been  with  the 
P.aptist  and  Congregational  denominations.  Oc- 
tober 3,   t85(),  he  was  married  to  TIattie  \\'ain- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


313 


wright,  formerly  of  Middlcbury,  Vermont. 
Six  children  were  the  result  of  this  union,  four 
girls  and  two  hoys.  .Mr.  .Mien  was  heavily 
afflicted  in  addition  to  his  business  reverses. 
From  May  13-20.  i<*^75.  there  were  four  deaths  in 
his  family,  three  childrrn  and  a  lovin.L,^  wife.  Later, 
in  1881,  his  oldest  daughter  died.  Air.  Allen  then 
moved  to  St.  Paul  and  engaijed  in  a  real  estate, 
renting  and  loan  business,  which  he  is  still  carry- 
ing on. 


JOHN  D.  ANDERSON. 

John  13.  Anderson,  Af.  U.,  is  the  son  of 
John  Anderson,  a  retired  capitalist,  born  in  Perth, 
Scotland,  and  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Ontario, 
Canada.  John  Anderson's  father,  the  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  captain 
in  the  British  Army,  who  came  to  Canada  in 
1832,  and  in  al)out  five  hours  after  his  arrival  in 
Montreal,  both  he  and  his  wife  died  of  Asiatic 
cholera.  Their  son,  John  Anderson,  survived 
them,  and  is  now  enjoying  good  health  at  the 
advanced  age  of  eighty-eight  years.  John  Ander- 
son's wife,  Janet  McLaren  (Anderson),  was  born 
in  Calendar,  Scotland.  She  came  with  her  par- 
ents to  Ontario,  Canada,  in  1832,  where  her 
father  was  engaged  in  the  banking  business  and 
where  she  married  John  Anderson.  Their  son, 
John  D.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
June  29,  1855,  in  the  county  of  \'ictoria,  Ontario. 
He  began  his  education  in  the  public  schools 
and  from  there  passed  through  the  Oakwood  high 
school.  Lipon  his  graduation  he  received  a 
teacher's  certificate,  without  solicitation  was  ap- 
pointed assistant  teacher  in  the  high  school  in 
1872,  and  in  that  capacity  earned  his  first  dollar 
for  professional  services.  His  inclination  was  to- 
ward the  study  and  practice  of  medicine  and  sur- 
gery, and  in  1875  'le  entered  Trinity  Medical 
School  from  which  he  graduated  in  1879,  also 
from  the  medical  department  of  Toronto  Univer- 
sity, Trinity  College  and  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons  in  the  same  year.  After  a  few- 
weeks'  rest  at  home  he  sailed  to  Edinburgh. 
Scotland,  where  in  May,  1879,  he  entered  the 
Roval  Infirmarv  and  after  a  hard  sununer's  study 


\ 


he  passeil  tlie  examination  for  licentiate  of  the 
Royal  College  of  Physicians.  He  had  the  honor 
of  being  graded  one  hundred  per  cent  in  both  oral 
and  clinical  examinations,  and  therefore  stood  at 
the  head  of  his  class,  which  included  graduates  of 
all  the  leading  medical  colleges  in  Europe.  Dr. 
Anderson  has  been  a  resident  of  Alinneapolis 
since  January  12,  1883,  where  he  has  built  up 
a  large  and  successful  practice.  He  was  an  act- 
ive worker  in  the  reform  party  in  Ontario  and 
since  his  residence  in  the  United  States  has 
affiliated  with  the  Republican  party  and  is  a 
staunch  advocate  of  Republican  principles.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  British  Aledical  Association, 
the  State  Medical  Association  of  [Minnesota,  the 
Hennepin  County  Aledical  Association,  and  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Caledonian  Society.  His 
church  affiliations  are  w-ith  the  Presbyterian  de- 
nomination. In  1881  Dr.  Anderson  married 
Mary  Miller,  daughter  of  Dr.  D.  Gillespie  Car- 
mington,  of  Ontario.  They  came  to  this  city  on 
account  of  her  health,  but  the  change  did  not 
prove  permanently  beneficial  and  she  died  six 
months  after  her  arrival  here.  In  Januar\%  1806, 
he  married  Jessie  C.  MacGregor,  eldest  daughter 
of  Mr.  and  Airs.  A.  MacGregor,  of  this  cit\'.  She 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Universitv  of  Afinnesota. 


314 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ORLO  .AIEL\IN  LARAVVAY. 

One  of  tlic  early  pioneers  of  ^linneapolis  was 
O.  ^I.  Laraway,  the  suljject  of  this  sketch,  who 
came  to  the  village  by  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  in 
1857,  and  has  been  a  prominent  factor  in  its  busi- 
ness life  ever  since,  contributing  much  toward 
making  Minneapolis  the  metropolis  that  it  is  to- 
day. Air.  Laraway  is  a  native  of  the  Ijuckeye 
State.  He  was  born  .September  7,  1832,  in 
Chardon,  Geauga  County,  ( )hio,  the  son  of 
Stephen  \'an  Rensselaer  and  Phoebe  Spafford 
(Barber)  Laraway.  The  father  was  a  native  of 
New  York,  having  been  born  June  4,  1791,  in 
Phillipstown,  and  following  the  occupation  of 
farming.  The  mother  was  born  at  Castleton,  \"er- 
mont,  December  21,  1796.  They  moved  with 
their  family  to  Ohio  in  1830.  Their  son  Orlo 
obtained  his  early  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  town,  and  afterwards  at- 
tended Geauga  Seminary,  where  he  was  for  one 
term  a  schoolmate  of  James  A.  Garfield.  After 
leaving  school  the  boy  worked  on  his  father's 
farm  for  a  year  or  two,  and  then  for  a  few 
years  clerked  in  stores  in  "S'oungstnwn  and  War- 
ren, Ohio.     Tn    1837.  having  made  up  his  nn'nd 


to  come  to  the  North  Star  State  in  order  to 
grow  up  with  the  country,  he  located  in  Min- 
neapolis. Here  he  opened  a  store  for  the  sale 
of  butter,  cheese  and  dried  fruits  (in  the  shipment 
of  which  from  Ohio  he  was  interested).  This 
store  was  located  on  the  corner  where  the  old 
Pence  Opera  House  now  stands.  The  business 
of  this  small  provision  store  rapidly  increased^ 
Mr.  Laraway  gradually  adding  groceries  to  his 
stock,  until  in  1865  he  went  into  the  wholesale 
grocery  business  with  H.  W.  Mills.  Air.  Mills 
later  transferred  his  interest  to  J.  H.  Shuey,  and 
the  firm  continued  business  under  the  name  of 
Laraway  &  Shuey  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Shuey 
in  1870.  Mr.  Laraway  then,  in  connection  with 
some  other  gentlemen,  organized  the  Minneapolis 
Plow  Works.  This  manufacturing  concern  con- 
tinued in  business  until  1882,  when  the  property 
of  the  company  was  taken  for  depot  purposes 
l5y  the  Great  Northern  Railroad  Company.  At 
this  time  Mr.  Laraway  was  appointed  postmaster 
of  Alinneapolis,  which  office  he  held  for  the  ne.xt 
four  years.  He  had  always  taken  an  active  in- 
terest in  the  local  affairs  of  his  city,  and  in  1859. 
was  elected  clerk  of  the  board  of  town  supervis- 
ors, and  a  year  later  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  town  board,  which  then  consisted  of  only 
three  members.  In  1863  he  was  appointed  Sec- 
retary of  the  Sioux  Conmiission,  a  commission 
which  was  authorized  by  Act  of  Congress  to  settle 
claims  of  settlers  for  depredations  committed  by 
the  Sioux  Indians  during  the  outbreak  of  1862. 
In  February,  1867,  when  the  city  of  Alinneap- 
olis  was  organized,  Air.  Laraway  was  elected  city 
treasurer,  which  office  he  held  continuously  for 
a  period  of  ten  years.  In  1886,  after  his  term  as. 
postmaster  had  expired.  Air.  Laraway  engaged  in 
the  fire  insurance  business  with  his  son,  under 
the  firm  name  of  O.  AI.  Laraway  &  Son,  in  which 
business  he  is  still  interested.  He  is  also  secre- 
tary of  the  Alechanics'  &  Workingmens'  Loan  & 
P.uilding  Association,  which  ])Osition  he  has  held 
for  the  past  twenty  years.  Air.  Laraway  is  a 
member  of  the  Zion  Commandery  No.  2,  of  Alin- 
ncapoHs  Lodge  No.  19.  A.  F.  and  A.  AI.,  and' 
the  .'\.  O.  L'.  W.  No.  6.  His  church  connec- 
tions   are    with    the    Plvnioulh     Congregationar 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


315 


Church,  of  which  he  is  a  menil)cr.  In  1857  lie 
was  married  to  Abbic  I".  Clark,  of  Warren,  Ohio. 
They  have  two  cliililrcn,  1'.  .M.  Laraway,  who  is 
in  business  with  his  father,  and  Mrs.  A.  von 
Schlegell. 


.WALLACh:  1!.  ])()L'GLA.S, 

In  1875  the  sul)ject  of  this  sketch  graduated 
from  the  Ann  Arbor  law  school,  and  in  1883  he 
came  to  Minnesota,  locating  in  Moorhead,  Clay 
county,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  applied 
himself  industriously  to  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, and  in  a  few  years  came  to  be  regarded  as 
one  of  the  leading  attorneys  of  the  Red  River  val- 
ley. He  has  liad  no  ambition  save  that  which  has 
had  his  profession  as  a  center,  and  his  occasional 
incursions  into  the  field  of  politics  have  been  en- 
tirely incidental  to  the  chief  purpose  of  his  life. 
During  the  quiet  years  of  his  life  in  Clay 
county,  Mr.  Douglas  came  to  be  city  attorney  of 
Moorhead,  which  position  he  held  for  four  years, 
and  county  attorney  of  Clay  county,  to  which  last 
named  office  he  was  elected  three  times.  I'^or  al- 
most a  dozen  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Moor- 
head pubHc  school  board.  In  1894  and  again  in 
1896  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  as  a  Repub- 
lican, and  before  the  Republican  state  convention 
of  1896  he  was  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  nom- 
ination to  the  ofifice  of  attorney  general,  develop- 
ing a  strength  in  that  canvass  which  was  highly 
gratifying  to  friends  and  himself.  Mr.  Douglas' 
political  sun  has  risen  very  quickly  and  in  an  un- 
clouded day.  At  the  present  time  he  stands  with  per- 
haps half  a  dozen  men  from  various  sections  of  the 
state  as  one  of  the  acknowledged  leaders  of  the 
younger  and  more  progressive  element  in  the  Re- 
publican part}-,  and  the  temptation  to  make  poli- 
tics his  principal  business  is  a  strong  one.  But 
as  already  stated,  he  prefers  to  be  best  known  as 
an  attorney,  and  will  permit  nothing  to  interfere 
with  the  career  which  is  opening  up  so  propitious- 
ly before  him  at  the  bar.  .Sir  \\'illiam  Douglas, 
who  emigrated  to  America  from  Scotland  in  1660, 
is  the  direct  ancestor  of  ^fr.  Douglas,  who 
through  this  Isaron  of  the  days  of  the  Stuart  kings 
traces  his  ancestry    liack    to  the  red   and   black 


Douglases,  wlm  pla\ed  so  conspicuous  a  part  in 
earlier  Scotch  histor)-.  It  is  believed  that  Mr. 
Douglas  is  Scotch  by  both  of  these  first  American 
parents;  at  any  rate,  .Scotch  given  names  have  ])re- 
domiiiated  in  the  American  branch  of  the  famil}-, 
as  witness  his  own  name,  Wallace.  In  matters  of 
recreatiiin  .Mr.  Dciugtas  is  known  as  an  enthusias- 
tic sportsman,  and  an  expert  with  the  rifle  and 
shot  gun.  He  belongs  to  that  class  who  believe 
good  habits  and  good  fellowship  can  go  hand  in 
hand.  He  was  born  in  Leyden,  Lewis  County, 
New  York,  .September  21,  1852.  His  father  was 
A.  AI.  Douglas,  a  farmer,  and  his  mother,  .AlmaE. 
Aliller.  He  received  a  common  school  educa- 
tion, and  attended  the  law  department  of  Michi- 
gan State  L'niversity,  graduating  there,  as  already 
related,  in  1875.  It  was  on  a  dairy  farm,  milking 
cows,  that  he  earned  his  first  dollar.  Mr.  Doug- 
las' Repul)licanism  is  inherited,  and  he  never  has 
belonged  to  any  iither  ])arty.  .^s  a  political 
speaker  he  takes  high  rank,  and  during  the  last 
few  campaigns  he  was  in  constant  demand  in  the 
northern  sections  of  the  state.  Three  secret 
societies  claim  him  as  an  active  member,  the 
?dasons,  r)dd  Fellows  and  Knights  of  Pythias. 
In  1881,  Mav  19,  ^fr.  Douglas  was  married  to 
Ella  M.  .Smith,  and  the  union  has  been  blessed 
with  two  children.  Harold  H.  and  Lulu  L. 


316 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


A>[BROSE  D.  COUNTRYMAN. 

The  paternal  ancestors  of  Ambrose  D.  Country- 
man were  Germans,  and  settled  in  the  Mohawk 
Vallev,  New  York,  earl\-  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury-. His  great  grandfather  was  a  faithful  sol- 
(Her  in  the  army  of  the  revolution,  and  his  father, 
P.  !•".  Countryman,  was  still  living  in  the  empire 
state  when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom, 
Februarv  8,  1850.  On  his  mother's  side,  -Mr. 
Countryman  comes  of  good  old  English  stock, 
and  the  branch  of  the  family  to  which  she  belongs 
were  earlv  settlers  in  \'ermont.  Her  maiden 
name  was  Elizabeth  E.  Gleason.  When  he  was 
five  years  of  age,  young  Countryman  left  St. 
Lawrence  County,  New^  York,  his  birth-place,  and 
came  w^ith  the  other  members  of  his  father's  fam- 
ily to  Nininger,  Dakota  County,  Minnesota,  then 
a  wild  country  on  the  frontier  of  civilization,  and 
here  it  was  that  he  jjassed  his  boyhood  and  youth, 
attending  the  country  schools  in  the  winter  and 
working  on  his  father's  farm  in  the  summer. 
The  family  was  ]joor  and  Ambrose  was  the  eldest 
of  eleven  children.  In  1861  his  father  enlisted  as 
a  member  of  the  second  Minnesota  volunteer  in- 
fantry, serving  until  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1865. 
During  all  these  years,  the  oldest  son,  who.  in 
1861,  was  a  lad  of  eleven,  was  burdened  with  a 


responsibility  far  beyond  his  years  and  compelled 
to  undertake  the  work  of  a  man  on  the  farm.    But 
tliis  turuv  '      "t  to  be  good  training.      The  war 
over,  the  husband  and  father  resumed  his  place 
as  the  head  of  the  family  and  the  eldest  son  was 
permitted  to  finish  his  education.      He  went  for 
one  year  to  Hamline  University,  then  located  at 
Red  Wing;  one  year  to  the  state  university  and 
two  years  to  Washington   L'niversity,  St.  Louis,, 
graduating  from  the  .St.  Louis  law  school   (Wash- 
ington University)  in  June,  1874,  with  the  degree 
of  LL.  B.    Mr.  Countryman  earned  his  first  dollar 
Ijinding   grain   after   a   ^McCormick   reaper,    and 
taicg'ht  school  in  order  to  earn  money  to  carry  him 
through  college.      In  June,    1876,  he  settled  in 
Ajipjeton,  Swift  County,  Minnesota,  on  a  home- 
stead, and  in  March,  1879,  began  to  practice  law 
in  that  place,  which  has  ever  since  been  his  home. 
In  addition  to  the  practice  of  his  profession,  he 
has  for  a  number  of  years  been  engaged  in  the 
newspaper    business,    first    with    the    "Appleton 
Press,"  and  later  with  the  "Appleton  Tribune." 
He  always  has  been  a  Republican,  and  his  party 
locally  has  honored  him  repeatedly.     Erom  1878. 
to   1882  he  was   county   commissioner  of   Swift 
County,  and  from  1882  to  1889  judge  of  probate 
of  Swift  County.      Eor  fifteen  years  he  has  been 
a  member  of  the  board  of  education  of  Appleton, 
and  is  now  president  of  the  board.     Since   1884 
he  has  been  village  justice  of  Appleton.      For 
years  prior  to  1897  he  was  secretary-  of  the  Repub- 
lican club  organization  in  his  home  town.     In  1897 
the  state  senate  elected  him  first  assistant  secre- 
tary', a  position  whose  duties  he  discharged  with 
marked  ability.     Mr.  Countryman  is  past  master 
of  Appleton  Lodge,  No.  137,  A.  V.  and  A.  M., 
and    past    chancellor    commander    of    Appleton 
Lodge,  No.  76,  Knights  of  Pythias.      Of  both 
lodges  he  is  a  charter  member.     As  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  Grand   Lodge  of  Minnesota  he  is 
chairman  of  the  conunittee  on  returns  of  lodges. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and 
senior  warden  of  Gethsemane  parish,  Appleton. 
August  30,  1874,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jane 
Rcswick,  and  three  children  have  been  born  to 
them.     Helen  L.,  December  23,  1876,  Ernest  A., 
March  23,  1882,  and  Peter  F.,  .September  21,  1885.. 
Mrs.  Countryman  was  born  in  England. 


PROGREr='VH  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


317 


Among  ihc  younger  attorneys  of  St.  Paul, 
Pierce  Liutler  stands  as  one  of  the  most  energetic 
antl  successful.  Mr.  Ilutler  is  a  native  of  Alin- 
nesota.  He  was  born  on  March  17,  1866,  at 
Watcrford,  Dakota  County.  His  ])arents,  Patrick 
Butler  and  Alarv  ((lat'fncy)  liutler,  were  natives 
of  Ireland,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1846.  They  first  lived  in  New  York,  and  after- 
wards in  New  Jersey,  Penns}-lvania  and  Illinois. 
In  1855  Mr.  Butler  came  to  .Minnes(jta  and  took 
u])  a  claim  at  Pine  Island.  On  account  of  In- 
dian marauders  he  was  obliged  to  abandon  the 
claim,  and  the  next  year  fountl  him  teaching  in 
one  of  the  first  schools  in  Dakota  County,  at 
Pine  r.end.  In  1S58  he  settled  at  Waterford, 
taking  up  a  farm  and  living  there  continuously 
for  twenty-nine  years.  In  1888  he  removed  to 
St.  Paul.  His  son  Pierce  attended  the  district 
schools  at  W'aterford  until  he  was  fifteen  years 
old,  when  he  entered  Carleton  College  at  North- 
field,  taking  a  six  years'  course,  and  graduating 
in  1887.  Immediately  after  graduation  he  went 
to  St.  Paul  and  commenced  the  study  of  law,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  October,  1888.  He 
first  practiced  by  himself,  but  in  1891  formed 
a  partnership  with  S.  J.  Donnelly,  a  son  of  Igna- 
tius Donnelly.  In  the  same  year  he  was  ap- 
pointed Assistant  County  Attorney  by  T.  D. 
O'Brien,  who  had  been  elected  to  the  county  at- 
torneyship. Mr.  Butler  served  with  success  as 
assistant,  and  in  1892  he  was  elected  to  suc- 
ceed ]Mr.  O'Brien  in  office,  and  was  re-elected  to 
the  same  office  in  1894.  During  his  incumbency 
he  tried  many  important  cases,  and  as  county 
attorney  Mr.  Butler  developed  rapidly  as  a  law- 
yer. His  ability  as  a  speaker  was  known  before 
he  entered  the  office,  but  before  he  left  it  his  ad- 
dresses in  court  were  regarded  as  models  of  the 
prosecutor's  art.  He  became  the  terror  of  the 
criminal  classes,  who  regarded  his  appearance  on 
a  case  as  the  signal  for  conviction.  At  the  same 
time  INIr.  Butler  was  never  a  persecutor  of  per- 
sons indicted  in  his  district.  He  insisted  that 
all  persons  charged  with  crime  should  have  ev- 
ery opportunity  for  defense,  and  that  the  final 


word  was  only  said  when  the  jury  had  returned 
its  verdict.  The  position  of  County  Attorney  is 
a  difficult  one,  but  in  Mr.  Butler's  case  it  was 
filled  with  ability,  and  he  retired  with  the  confi- 
dence and  respect  of  all  who  knew  him.  In 
1896  jNIr.  Butler  formed  a  partnership  with  Eller 
&  How,  under  the  firm  name  of  Eller,  How  & 
Butler.  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Eller,  subse- 
(luently,  the  firm  became  How  &  Butler.  In 
jiolitics  Mr.  Butler  has  always  been  a  Democrat, 
and  his  aggressive,  active  nature  has  naturally 
made  him  a  leader  among  his  friends  in  the 
party.  Personally,  he  is  a  man  of  agreeable  man- 
ners, accommodating,  and  easily  approached. 
These  qualities,  coupled  with  his  success  at  the 
liar,  have  won  him  the  regard  of  the  conmiunity 
in  which  he  lives.  On  August  25,  1891,  Mr. 
Butler  was  married  to  Miss  Annie  M.  Cronin,  of 
St.  Paul.  They  have  four  children.  Pierce,  Wil- 
liam, ]\Iar}'  and  Leo.  In  religion  Mr.  Butler  fol- 
lows the  traditions  of  his  ancestry,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Irish-American  Club  (of  which 
he  was  President  in  1894).  of  the  Commercial 
Club,  and  is  a  director  in  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. 


318 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


AUGUST  T.  KUERXER. 

August  T.  Koerner,  now  serving  a  secund  term 
as  treasurer  of  the  State  of  .Minnesota,  is  a  Ger- 
man by  hirtli.  In  1S43  he  was  born  at  Rodach, 
Saxe-Cobnrn-Gotha,  and  until  he  was  fifteen 
years  of  age  the  fatherland  was  his  home.  It 
was  there  that  he  attended  the  conmion  schools, 
and  leaving  school  at  fourteen  years  of  age,  his 
parents  being  poor,  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  a 
toy  maker.  After  working  at  this  trade  for  about 
a  year  he  came  to  America  alone  and  without 
friends  to  carve  out  his  fortune  among  strangers. 
This  was  in  1858.  The  three  years  that  inter- 
vened before  the  commencement  of  the  civil  W"ar 
he  spent  in  Indiana  and  Missouri.  April  17, 
1861,  at  the  age  of  18,  he  enlisted  for  three 
months  in  Company  C,  Sixth  Indiana  volunteers, 
and  re-enlisted  at  the  end  of  this  short  service 
for  three  years  in  Company  II  Twenty-sixth  In- 
diana volunteers.  January  31,  1864,  he  was  dis- 
charged, but  became  a  veteran  (in  the  same  day, 
and  received  his  final  discharge  June  25,  1865, 
after  a  continuous  service  of  four  years,  two 
months  and  eight  days.  He  can  talk  from  per- 
sonal experienci.-  of  the  campaign  in   W'est   \'ir- 


ginia,  including  the  battles  of  Phillippi,  Laurel 
Hill  and  Carrack's  Ford,  and  of  the  year  and  a 
half  during  which  the  Federal  forces  chased  Price 
through  Missouri.  In  the  }ilissouri  campaign, 
at  tlie  skirmish  of  I'rairie  Grove,  he  was  wounded. 
He  participated  next  in  the  siege  of  Mcksburg, 
and  then  followed  his  regiment  into  Texas  and 
Louisiana,  closing  an  honorable  military  career 
at  Xew  C)rleans,  where  he  was  given  his  final  dis- 
cliarge.  Mr.  Koerner  was  a  bookkeeper  at  Troy, 
Illinois,  for  about  two  years  following  the  close 
of  the  war,  and  then,  in  1867,  came  to  Meeker 
County,  Mimiesota,  settling  on  a  farm  near  Litch- 
field. For  the  thirty  years  that  have  ensued, 
Litchfield  has  been  his  home,  and  the  reputation 
which  he  acquired  there  among  all  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact,  for  integrity,  industry,  sound 
business  judgment,  and  unswen-ing  loyalty  to 
his  friends,  is  the  foundation  upon  which  his 
splendid  public  record  has  been  built.  In  his 
early  manhood  days  he  was  a  Democrat,  and 
from  1868  to  1874  he  was  a  member  of  the  Green- 
back party;  but  since  1874  he  has  been  a  Repub- 
lican. In  the  village  of  Litchfield,  during  the 
early  days  of  his  residence  there,  he  filled  a  num- 
ber of  minor  offices,  among  them  that  of  village 
clerk.  From  1878  to  18S4  he  was  register  of 
deeds  of  JMeeker  Count\'.  In -1891  President 
Harrison  appointed  him  postmaster  at  Litchfield, 
a  position  which  he  resigned  in  i8()2,  preparatory 
to  becoming  a  candidate  for  membership  in  the 
lower  house  of  the  legislature.  He  was  elected, 
and  during  the  session  of  1893  '''is  record  was 
such  as  to  connnend  him  to  the  Republican  party 
as  a  suitable  candidate  for  state  treasurer.  He 
was  elected  to  this  high  ofifice  in  the  fall  of  1894, 
and  re-elected  in  1896.  In  the  spring  of  1894, 
Mr.  Koerner  associated  himself  with  S.  W. 
Leavitt,  ex-state  senator,  at  Litchfield,  for  the 
organization  of  the  Mreker  Countv  Abstract  and 
Loan  Companw  and  was  chosen  president  of  the 
company,  a  ]K)sition  he  still  holds.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Christi.nn  clun-ch  at  Litchfield. 
.Since  1868  he  has  belonged  to  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  since  1878  to  the 
Masonic  frateniit\'.  lb'  lias  been  conunandcr  of 
Milit.'i    Connn;niderv,   No.    17,   Knights  Temiil;u". 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


■M'J 


For  years  he  has  been  an  enthusiastic  member  of 
the  G.  A.  R.,  and  I'rank  Daj^j^ett  post,  No.  35, 
once  honored  him  by  making  him  its  commander. 
Mr.  Koerner  married  Miss  Kate  McGannon,  of 
Litchfiekl,  while  a  resident  of  Troy,  Illinois.  Of 
six  children  born  of  this  union,  three  survive: 
]\'Iamie,  the  eldest,  is  the  wife  of  William  Miller, 
of  Litchfield;  P.  C.  Koerner  is  a  clerk  in  the  state 
treasurer's  oiifice;  I'aiiliiu',  (lie  youngest,  is  a  girl 
of  thirteen,  at  home. 


JOHiNf  COLIN  McINTYRE. 

John  Colin  .Mclntyre  was  born  June  20,  1858, 
at  River  Dennis,  Cape  Breton,  I'rovincc  of  Nova 
Scotia,  Canada.  His  father,  Archibald  Mc- 
lntyre, was  a  farmer  and  merchant  in  fair  cir- 
cumstances. At  the  time  of  the  I'^enian  raid  on 
Canada  he  served  as  a  colonel  in  the  British 
army,  taking  part  in  repelling  the  raiders.  He 
was  always  a  strong  supporter  of  governmental 
and  church  policies,  whose  fundamental  principles 
were  liberty  and  in  tlie  interest  of  humanity,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  confederation  measures  for 
the  provinces.  Flora  Noble  (Mclntyre),  the 
mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the 
eldest  daughter' of  Dr.  John  Noble,  a  prominent 
physician  and  surgeon,  and  a  descendant,  on  her 
mother's  side,  of  the  Campbells  of  Lome,  or  the 
Dukes  of  Argyle.  Her  memory  is  recalled  with 
reverence  by  her  son,  for  her  strength  and  force 
of  character  as  a  good  Christian  woman  and 
mother.  John  Colin  attended  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  town,  later  graduating  from  an 
academy.  He  also  took  a  course  in  a  commercial 
college,  and  entered  upon  the  study  of  law,  but 
was  not  admitted  to  practice.  Mr.  Mclntyre  came 
to  Minnesota  August  22,  1882,  locating  in  Minne- 
apolis the  following  May,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided. Previous  to  settling  in  Minneapolis  he 
was  engaged  in  oil  and  .gold  mining  in  the  prov- 
inces, but  on  locating  in  this  city  he  took  up  the 
fire  insurance,  real  estate  and  loan  business,  first 
as  an  employe  but  later  on  his  own  account.  He 
became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Jones,  Mc- 
Mullan   &  Co.,  which  afterwards  dissolved,  and 


the  firm  of  Jones,  Mclntyre  &  Co.  was  organized. 
Mr.  Mclntyre  is  independent  in  his  political  con- 
victions, yet  a  strong  supporter  of  many  of  the 
principles  of  the  Reimblican  party,  though  believ- 
ing in  the  economic  principles  of  prohibition  of 
trusts  and  the  licjuor  traffic.  He  has  always  taken 
an  active  interest  in  all  matters  relating  to  good 
government,  and  is  at  present  president  of  the 
branch  of  the  Good  Citizenship  League  in  the 
Fourth  ward  of  Minneapolis.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  active  supporters  of  the  measure  establishing 
the  patrol  limit  system  in  Minneapolis,  and  one  of 
the  first  advocates  of  the  free  text  book  law, 
having  been  chairman  of  the  committee  which 
circulated  petitions  for  this  measure  throughout 
the  state,  and  whichi  called  a  mass  meeting  in  the 
Swedish  Tabernacle  in  Minneapolis,  at  which 
were  present  the  principal  educators  of  the  state, 
the  sentiment  crystallized  at  this  meeting  assuring 
the  success  of  the  bill.  Mr.  Mclntyre  is  a  Mason, 
a  member  of  the  Royal  Arcanum  and  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club  of  Minneapolis.  His  church  con- 
nections are  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  body, 
of  which  he  is  a  member.  He  was  married  Octo- 
ber I,  1885,  to  Miss  Hattie  M.  Gunn.  They  have 
four  children,  Jean  E.,  Florence  J.,  \'era  A.  and 
Archibald  W.  D. 


320 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WILLIAM  L(  )CHRLX. 

Judge  \\  illiaiii  Lochreii  was  Ijorn  on  April  3. 
1832,  in  Tyrone  County.  Ireland.  His  father  died 
about  a  )ear  later,  and  in  1834  his  mother,  with 
other  relatives,  eame  to  this  country  and  located 
in  Franklin  County,  W'rniont.  L'ntil  1850,  the 
family  lived  in  northern  N'ermont  and  near  the 
Canadian  line.  William  attended  the  common 
school  and  worked  on  the  farm.  In  the  spring  of 
1850  he  went  to  Auburn,  Massachusetts,  and  for 
three  years  was  engaged  in  farm  labor,  and  in  a 
saw  mill,  dividing  his  time  between  these  occu- 
pations and  his  studies  at  the  academy.  He  then 
returned  to  Franklin  County,  \'ermont.  In  June, 
1856,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  St.  Albans, 
Vermont,  and  in  the  following  month  he  came 
to  Miimesota.  In  .\ugust  he  located  at  St. 
Anthony  where  he  was  engaged  first  in 
the  office  of  J.  S.  and  T).  .M.  Henunon, 
and  later  in  the  office  of  ( leorge  1'"..  II.  Ha}. 
In  the  spring  of  1837  lie  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  James  K.  Lawrence,  tuuler  the  firm 
name  of  Lawrence  &  Lochren.  This  ])artnersliip 
was  dissolved  in  1859,  after  which  Judge  Lochren 
practiced  alone  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
War.     He  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  E, 


First  Regiment  Alinnesota  \'olunteers,  on  April 
29,  1861.  He  was  made  sergeant  and  served  with 
the  regiment  in  the  campaigns  of  1861,  1862  and 
1863.  He  participatetl  in  the  battles  of  Bull  Run, 
lialls  BlufT,  in  front  of  Yorktown,  West  Point, 
Fair  Oaks,  Peach  Orchard,  Savage  Station,  Glen- 
dale,  Frazer's  Farm,  Malvern  Hill,  M&lvern  Hill 
Second,  South  Alountain,  Antietam,  Charlestown, 
rVedericksburg,  (jettysburg  and  many  lesser 
af-fairs.  On  September  22,  1862,  he  was  promoted 
to  be  second  lieutenant  and  on  July  3,  1863,  be- 
came first  lieutenant;  and  acted  as  adjutant  of  the 
regiment  for  three  months  following  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg.  On  December  30,  1863,  he  resigned 
on  a  surgeon's  certificate  of  disability.  Before 
the  war  he  had  been  city  attorney  and  alderman 
of  the  city  of  St.  Anthony.  On  leaving  the  army 
he  returned  to  St.  Anthony  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  law,  and  soon  formed  a  partnership  with 
Captain  O.  C.  Merriman,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Merriman  &  Lochren.  This  partnership  con- 
tinued about  three  vears.  During  most  of  that 
time,  and  vmtil  St.  Anthony  was  merged  into 
Minneapolis,  Judge  Lochren  was  citv  attorney  of 
St.  Anthony.  In  November,  1868,  he  was  elected 
state  senator  and  served  in  the  legislature  of  1869 
and  1870.  In  the  spring  of  1869  he  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  William  W.  .McNair,  and  later 
John  B.  Gilfillan  became  a  member  of  the  firm. 
In  the  years  of  1877  and  1878  Judge  Lochren  was 
city  attorney  of  Minneapolis,  and  in  November, 
1881,  (iovernor  John  S.  Pillsbury  appointed  him 
judge  of  the  district  court  of  the  Fourth  Judicial 
District,  and  in  1882  and  again  in  1888  he  was 
elected  for  the  full  term  of  that  office  without  op- 
piisitinn.  In  April,  1893,  Judge  Lochren  was 
appointed  commissioner  of  pensions  by  President 
Cleveland,  and  continued  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  this  office  until  .May  20,  1896,  when  he 
assumed  the  office  of  the  Cnited  States  district 
judge  for  the  District  nf  .Minnesota,  to  which  he 
had  just  been  apjxiinted  li\  I'rosiik-nt  Cleveland 
and  confirmed  b\  the  Inited  .States  .senate. 
Judge  Lochren  has  always  been  a  Democrat.  In 
1865  he  was  the  candidate  of  that  paity  fur  attor- 
ney general,  in  1874  for  judge  of  the  supreme 
court,  and  in  1875  for  the  I'nited  .States  senate; 
but    u|ion   the  adoption   of  the  platform   of  that 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


321 


party  in  1806,  l)y  the  Chicago  convention,  Jndgc 
Lochren,  re.^'arding  the  same  as  undemocratic, 
unsound  and  dani;er(]Us,  refused  ti)  support  the 
candidates  nominated  by  that  convention.  Judge 
Lochren  was  married  on  September  26,  1871,  to 
Mrs.  Martiia  A.  hemmnn,  whu  died  in  i''ebruary, 
1879.  On  April  i(),  1882,  lie  was  married  to  .Miss 
Mary  E.  Al)bott.  They  have  one  son,  W'iUiam  A., 
vvlio  was  burn  on  b'eljruarv  26,  1884.  Judge 
Lochren,  since  the  war,  lias  maintained  his  resi- 
dence in  Minneapolis,  where  he  is  a  highly  re- 
spected citizen. 


HENRY  E.  LAIH). 

(3ne  of  the  Minneapolis  pioneers  whose 
prosperity  has  been  identified  with  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  city  is  Mr.  H.  E.  Ladd, 
now  a  prominent  real-estate  dealer  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Ladd  &  Nickels.  Mr.  Ladd 
comes  of  a  family  which  has  taken  an  interest 
in  preserving  its  geneological  records,  and  he  is 
therefore  able  to  trace  his  ancestry  back  to  Daniel 
Ladd,  who  came  over  from  England  in  1623. 
Daniel  Ladd  first  settled  at  Epswich.  In  1649 
he  was  allotted  lands  at  Haverhill,  Massachusetts, 
and  for  six  succeeding  generations  his  descend- 
ants remained  in  this  vicinity.  Perley  'M.  Ladd, 
Mr.  H.  E.  Ladd's  father,  married  ]\Iiss  Hannah 
Reidhead,  a  descendant  of  Hannah  Dustin,  of 
Haverhill,  whose  heroic  escape  from  captivity 
among  the  Lidians  in  1697  has  preserved  her 
memory  among  the  heroines  of  early  American 
history.  The  famous  cloth  in  which  Hannah 
Dustin  carried  the  scalps  has  lately  been  left  to 
Mr.  Ladd.  H.  E.  Ladd  was  born  at  Salem,  Rock- 
ingham County,  New  Hampshire,  December  17, 
1847.  When  five  years  old,  his  father  moved  to 
Haverhill,  where  his  ancestors  had  lived  for  so 
long,  and  voung  Henry  grew  up  in  the  vicinity 
of  his  forefathers.  When  Henry  was  nineteen 
years  of  age  the  family  removed  to  ]\Iinneapolis. 
The  young  man  was  willing  to  accept  any  honest 
occupation  and  at  first  was  employed  in  taking 
tolls  at  the  old  suspension  bridge.  After  obtain- 
ing a  foothold  in  his  new  home  he  opened  a 
fruit  and  confectionery  store  at  No.  216  Henne- 
pin Avenue.     This  business  was  afterward    re- 


moved to  Washington  Avenue,  and  continued 
until  1874  when  its  proprietor  sold  out.  He 
went  East,  and  during  his  absence  married  Miss 
Anna  M.  Hagar,  daughter  of  Reuben  Hagar,  of 
Cnion,  iNIaine.  Mr.  Ladd  spent  a  year  in  the 
East,  and  in  1877  again  embarked  in  the  con- 
fectionery business.  But  again  he  sold  out,  and 
made  a  trip  to  the  Pacific  coast.  Returning  to 
Minneapolis  he  engaged  in  the  real-estate  busi- 
ness in  1880.  He  met  with  an  unusual  degree 
of  success.  I'ive  years  later  he  took  his  present 
partner  and  continued  the  business  under  the  firm 
name  of  Ladd  &  Nickels.  The  firm  occupies  a 
fine  suite  of  rooms  on  the  second  floor  of  the 
Minnesota  Loan  &  Trust  Company's  Building, 
and  conduct  an  extensive  real-estate  and  loaning 
business  to  which  they  have  added  an  insurance 
and  rental  department.  I'nder  prudent  and  ener- 
getic management  the  business  has  reached  large 
proportions.  One  of  their  methods  is  to  never 
guarantee  a  loan.  Within  a  few  years  past  Mr. 
Ladd  erected  an  elegant  residence  on  Oak  Grove 
Street,  w-here  he  now  resides.  It  is  a  handsome 
specimen  of  modern  architecture.  The  material 
is  cream-colored  Kasota  stone,  and  though  not 
large,  the  building  is  complete  and  handsome  in 
all  its  details. 


322 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HENRY  WARREN    CHILDS. 

Henry  Warren  Childs,  attorney  general  of 
the  State  of  Alinnesota,  resides  at  Mcrriam  Park. 
Mr.  Childs'  ancestors  on  his  father's  side  came 
to  America  from  England  in  the  early  part  of 
the  Seventeenth  century  and  settled  in  Deerfield, 
Massachusetts.  His  grandfather,  John  Childs, 
moved  to  Chenango  County  about  1800.  He 
became  the  head  of  a  large  family  which  ulti- 
mately scattered  through  New  York,  Michigan 
and  Wisconsin.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a 
son  of  Philander  Childs,  a  native  of  Chenango 
County,  New  York,  a  man  of  upright  life  and 
public-spirited,  although  of  limited  financial 
resources.  Philander's  wife  was  ]\Iary  A.  Preston, 
a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  one  greatly  esteemed 
by  all  who  knew  her.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  born  in  the  small  village  of  Belgium,  Onon- 
daga County,  New  York,  November  24,  1848. 
He  was  educated  in  the  common  or  district 
schools  of  his  native  county,  the  village  academy, 
and  Falley  and  Cazenovia  Seminaries.  He 
was  obliged  to  earn  the  money  to  meet 
his  expenses  at  school,  and  did  this  mainly 
by  teaching  school.  Soon  after  completing 
his    course    at     Cazenovia     Seniinarv,    he    was 


employed  to  take  charge  of  the  Liverpool 
Academy,  where  he  remained  for  upwards  of 
three  years,  Subsequently  he  taught  in  one  of 
the  schools  now  in  the  cit}-  of  Syracuse,  then 
took  up  the  study  of  law,  which  he  pursued  for 
nearly  five  years,  when  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1881.  He  practiced  law  in  Syractise  until 
1883,  when  he  came  west  to  examine  the  country 
and  study  the  inducements  it  had  to  offer  to  a 
young  man  in  his  position.  He  was  attracted  by 
the  natural  beauty  of  Fergus  Falls  and  the  hospi- 
tality of  its  people  and  determined  to  locate  there. 
He  bought  a  ntimber  of  city  lots  and  Ijuilt  a 
house  on  them  with  the  expectation  of  making 
Fergus  Falls  his  home.  But  when  Moses  E. 
Clapp  was  elected  attorney  general  of  the  state, 
in  1887,  Mr.  Childs  was  offered  the  position  of 
assistant,  which  he  accepted.  This  made  it  neces- 
sary for  him  to  remove  to  St.  Paul,  where  he  has 
since  resided,  Merriain  Park  being  a  part  of  that 
city.  In  1892  he  was  nominated  by  the 
Republicans  for  the  office  of  attorney  general, 
was  elected,  and  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office 
in  1894,  and  again  in  1896.  He  has  conducted  a 
great  deal  of  important  litigation  on  behalf  of 
the  state,  and  has  assisted  in  the  prosecution  of 
several  murder  cases  in  different  counties  of  the 
state,  including  the  famous  Rose  and  Holden 
cases,  the  latter  of  which  reached  the  United  States 
supreme  court,  where  he  appeared  for  the  state. 
He  instituted  on  behalf  of  the  state  an  action 
against  all  the  oil  companies  doing  business  in 
Minnesota  and  succeeded  in  recovering  large  stims 
of  money  into  the  treasuiy  of  the  state.  He 
conducted  the  case  for  the  state  in  the  proceed- 
ings against  H.  O.  Peterson,  county  treasurer  of 
Hennepin  County,  involving  the  constitutionality 
of  the  act  of  the  state  providing  for  the  removal 
of  county  officers.  He  represented  the  state  in 
the  United  States  supreme  court  in  the  important 
cases  of  Brown  and  Redwood  counties  against  the 
Winona  and  St.  Peter  Land  company  which  in- 
volved about  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  back  taxes. 
But  the  most  important  official  act  performed  by 
him,  up  to  this  writing,  was  the  institution  of  the 
suit  of  the  state  against  the  Great  Northern  Rail- 
way   Conipanv   to   enjoin   it   from   consolidating 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


323 


with  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad,  lie  made 
the  arg'ument  for  the  state  and  won  his  case 
before  the  district  court.  This  action  is  generally 
regarded  as  the  most  important  legal  procedure 
ever  had  in  the  northwest,  and  ranks  among  the 
most  celebrated  cases  presented  to  the  courts  of 
this  country.  He  is  often  in  demand  for 
puljlic  addresses,  is  a  diligent  student,  a  man 
of  wide  reading  and  a  great  lover  of  books.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Commercial  Club  of  St.  Paul 
and  a  director  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of 
that  city.  He  was  married  in  1883  to  Miss  Alberta 
A.  Hakes,  daughter  of  a  substantial  farmer  of 
Onondaga  County,  New  York.  Mrs.  Childs  is  a 
graduate  of  the  Oswego  Normal  and  Training 
School.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Childs  have  one  child, 
James,  aged  ten  years. 


WILLIAM  GARDNER  WHITE. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  the  distinction 
of  having  been  a  descendant  of  Peregrine  White, 
the  first  white  child  born  in  Plymouth  Colony. 
He  is  the  son  of  William  White,  a  farmer  in 
Chicopee,  Massachusetts,  and  Amanda  Preston 
(White),  a  native  of  South  Hadley,  Massachu- 
setts. The  family  traces  its  ancestry  to  Elder 
John  White,  who  was  one  of  the  charter  members 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony.  He  came  over 
about  1630.  His  son.  Captain  Nathaniel  White, 
was  quite  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  colony, 
and  afterwards  moved  to  INIiddleton,  Connecticut, 
where  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  for  eighty- 
five  successive  terms,  the  elections  occurring 
semi-annually.  This  is,  however,  a  length  of  public 
service  probably  never  equalled  in  American  his- 
tory. Captain  White  was  very  active  in  service 
against  the  Indians.  Another  ancestor,  great- 
grandfather of  William  Gardner,  was  Gardner 
Preston,  who  was  a  minute  man  called  out  at  the 
time  of  the  battle  of  Lexmgton  and  served  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  born  at  South  Hadley,  Massachusetts,  Sep- 
tember 30,  1854.  He  had  the  advantages  of  a 
common  school  education  at  Chicopee,  and  sub- 


sequentl}-  attended  the  Harvard  law  school,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1874.  He  was  employed 
for  three  and  a  half  years  previous  to  entering 
the  law  school  in  a  railroad  office  at  Springfield, 
Massachusetts.  After  graduation  he  practiced  his 
profession  in  Springfield  until  1884,  when  desir- 
ing to  find  a  better  field  for  his  operations,  he 
came  to  Minnesota  and  located  at  .St.  Paul.  Here 
he  became  prominently  connected  with  banking 
institutions,  trust  companies,  wholesale  houses 
and  other  financial  and  commercial  institutions, 
both  as  attorney  and  officer.  Mr.  White  is  secre- 
tary of  the  National  Investment  Company,  and 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  company,  and  its 
attorney.  Real  estate  and  connnercial  law  have 
been  a  specialty  in  his  legal  business.  These 
branches  naturally  open  to  him  from  his  connec- 
tion with  financial  corjDorations.  Mr.  White  has 
always  been  a  Republican,  but  has  never  taken  a 
very  active  part  in  politics.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Park  Congregational  Church,  also  a  member 
of  the  Commercial  Club.  He  was  married 
May  22,  1878,  at  Chickopee,  to  Carolyn  E.  Hall. 
They  have  three  children,  Marion  Louise,  Edwin 
and  William  Preston. 


324 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


SILAS   B.   FOOT. 

I'luck  and  perseverance  will  mure  often  bring 
the  earnest  toiler  success  in  the  financial  world 
than  when  aided  by  fortune  in  the  earlv  start  in 
life.  This  is  e.xeniplified  in  the  case  of  .Silas  !'>. 
I'oot,  who  is  the  senior  nieniljer  of  the  whole- 
sale boot  and  shoe  house  of  Foot,  Schulze  &  Co., 
of  .St.  Paul.  Mr.  Foot  was  born  November  7,  1834, 
in  Xew  Alilford,  .Susquehanna  L'nuntv,  I'ennsyl- 
vania.  lie  is  the  son  of  Belus  H.  Foot,  who 
was  a  farmer  and  shoemaker  bv  occupation,  of 
limited  financial  resources,  and  of  Betsey  Haw- 
ley  (Foot).  Mrs.  I''oot  was  of  Fnglish  and  Scotch 
ancestry.  .Silas  received  his  elementarv  education 
in  the  ]u'^  school  house  of  his  native  town,  later 
attendinjf  the  villajje  academy.  At  the  early  age 
of  ten  the  boy  began  clerking  in  a  country  store, 
going  to  scliool  during  the  mid-day,  and  work- 
ing in  the  store  diu-ing  the  evenings.  This  line 
of  ])rocedure  he  followed  until  he  was  sixteen 
years  of  age.  Wlun  but  nineleen  vears  old  he 
engaged  in  the  grocery  business.  Me  was  (|uitc 
successful,  but  sold  out  a  year  later  and  went  to 
Texas.  He  clerked  in  a  store  in  San  .Xntoniu 
for  eight  months  at  a  salary  of  seventy-five  dol- 
lars a  month,  after  which  he  returned  to  Penn- 


sylvania, where  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness.    Two  years  later,  in  1856,  he  sold  out.    In 
July  of  the  following  year  he  came  to   jNlinne- 
sota,  with  the  avowed  purpose  in  mind  of  grow- 
ing  up   with   the   country.      He   settled   at    Red 
Wing    and    engaged    in    the    clothuig    business^ 
which   he   sold   out   the   following   spring.      But 
thirty  days  had  elapsed  before  he  bought  out  a 
shoe  and  leather  store  and  continued  the  busi- 
ness.    In  i860  he  took  in  partnership  with  him 
Mr.  G.  K.  Sterling  and  began  the  manufacture 
of  boots  and  shoes.     The  business  gradually  in- 
creased to  large  proportions,  so  that  in  1883  Mr. 
Foot  came  to  St.  Paul  and  organized  the  present 
wholesale  house  of  Foot,  Schulze  &  Co.     From 
the  little  lieginning  in  i860  the  business  in  which 
Mr.  Foot  engaged  has  so  increased  that  the  firm 
of  Foot,  Schulze  &  Co.  has  become  one  of  the 
largest  wdiolesale  and  retail  boot  and  shoe  houses 
in  the  state.     The  manufactory  is  located  at  Red 
Wing,  where  Mr.  I-'oot  resides,  and  is  under  his 
personal   supervision.     Mr.   I'oot   has  also   been 
active  in  other  enterprises.     In  1889,  seeing  the 
necessity    for   better    railroad    facilities    for    Red 
Wing,  ancl  ])articularly  for  a  direct  line  to  Lake 
-Superior,    he    associated    with    himself    ex-Gov. 
Flubbard.  T.  B.  Sheldon,  V.  W.  Hoyt  and  other 
caiMtalists  of  Red  \\'ing,  and  organized  the  Du- 
luth,  Red  Wing  &  Southern  Railway  Company, 
of  which  company  he  is  Vice  President.  This  com- 
liauy  built  and  put  into  successful  operation  that 
part  of  the  line  running  south  to  Zumbrota,  adi.s- 
tance  of  twenty-five  miles.     It  has  been  operated 
to  the  mutual  advantage  of  the  promoters  and 
the  general  public,  and  it  is  the  intention  of  the 
company  to  extend   this  line   to   Lake   Superior 
on  the  North  and  C)maha  on  the  .Southwest  at  an 
early  date.     Mr.  Foot  has  always  affiliated  with 
the   Democratic  party,  and  has  voted  for  e\ery 
Democratic  presidential   nominee,   with   the   ex- 
ception of  Horace  Greeley.     He  has  had  no  de- 
sire for  ])olitical  preferment,  and  the  serving  of 
one  term  as  mayor  at  the  solicitation  of  the  peo- 
j)le  of  Red  Wing  has  sufficed  to  take  awav  all' 
desire    for   holding   office.      He    is   a    prominent 
member  of  the  Masonic  biulv.with  which  he  has 
been  connected  since  1855.     He  received  his  first 
three  degrees  in  Honcsdalc  Lodge  in   Pennsvl- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


325 


vania,  and  the  next  fuin"  at  Red  W  ing,  becoming 
a  charter  member  of  the  La  Grange  Royal  Arch 
Chapter  in  i860.  Five  years  later  he  was  created 
a  Knight  Templar  in  Damascns  Commandery, 
and  received  the  degree  of  the  Ancient  and  Ac- 
cepted Scottish  Rite  from  Gen.  All^ert  Pike  a 
little  later.  He  has  taken  the  thirty-second  de- 
gree. He  was  Worshipful  .Master  of  Red  Wing 
Lodge  No.  8  for  two  years;  Most  E.xcellent  High 
Priest  of  La  Grange  Royal  Arch  Chapter  No. 
4  for  ten  years,  and  Eminent  Commander  of  Red 
Wing  Commandery  Knights  Templar  for  two 
years.  He  is  also  a  Past  Grand  King  of  the 
Grand  Chapter,  and  is  a  life  member  of  the 
Grand  Commandery  Knights  Templar  of  Minne- 
sota. He  is  an  Episcopalian  in  his  religious  af- 
filiations, and  was  confirmed  in  1882  by  Bishop 
E.  R.  Welles.  He  has  served  as  a  vestryman 
at  Christ  Church  in  Red  Wing  continuously 
since  1883.  ?Ie  was  married  July  6,  1858,  to  L. 
Lorana  Park,  daughter  of  Dr.  E.  S.  Park,  of 
Montrose,  Pennsylvania.  They  have  four  chil- 
dred  living:  Ezra  P.,  assistant  superintendent 
of  the  P'oot,  Schulze  &  Co.'s  shoe  factory:  I-'red 
W.,  an  attorney  at  law,  with  the  law  firm  of 
C.  1).  &  T.  D.  (')'P.rien,  of  .St.  Paul;  Edwin  H.,  a 
student  at  Trinit\'  College,  at  Hartford,  Connecti- 
cut: also  a  daughter  of  eighteen  living  at  home. 


EMERSOX  HADLEY. 

Emerson  Hadley,  of  St.  Paul,  is  an  attorney- 
at-law,  practicing  his  profession  in  that  city.  He 
is  the  son  of  Andrew  J.  Hadley,  of  Marion,  Massa- 
chusetts. The  family  of  both  his  father  and 
mother  have  resided  in  Plymouth  County,  Mas- 
sachusetts, since  early  colonial  times.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Marion,  Plymouth 
County,  Massachusetts,  December  27,  1857.  Mr. 
Hadley  enjoyed  superior  educational  advantages, 
having  graduated  at  Phillips  Academv,  .^ndover, 
Massachusetts,  in  1876,  and  from  Harvard  Col- 
lege in  1881.  He  attended  the  Columbia 
Law  School  in  New  York  City  in  1S82  and 
1883.  and  also  studied  law  in  the  office  of 
Scudder  &  Carter  in  that  city.  He  was  admitted 
to  practice  in  the  supreme  court  of  New  York  in 


May,  1884.  In  the  following  October  he  came 
to  Minnesota  and  located  in  .St.  Paul,  where,  in 
1885,  he  formed  a  partnership  for  the  practice 
of  law  with  Edward  G.  Rogers,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Rogers  &  Hadle\.  In  1890  he  became 
a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Lusk,  Bunn  &  Had- 
ley. This  firm  continued  until  1893,  when  Judge 
Lusk  retired.  The  firm  of  Lusk,  Bunn  &  Had- 
ley were  general  solicitors  for  the  Chicago  Great 
Western  Railway  Compan)',  and  the  St.  Paul  & 
Duluth  Railroad  Company.  Bunn  &  Hadley,  as 
partners,  continued  as  general  solicitors  for  the 
St.  Paul  &  Duluth  Railroad  Company  until  1895, 
when  Mr.  Bunn  withdrew  to  become  the  general 
solicitor  of  the  receivers  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railrt)ad  Compan \-.  Mr.  Hadley  then  formed  a 
partnership  with  James  D.  .\rmstrong,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Hadley  &  Armstrong.  This  firm 
are  general  solicitors  for  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth 
Railroad  Company,  and  do  a  general  law  busi- 
ness. Mr  Hadley  is  a  luember  of  the  House  of 
Hope  Presbyterian  Church  in  St.  Paul,  and  one 
of  its  trustees,  and  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  the 
people  of  that  city.  He  was  married  September 
15,  1887,  to  Man,'  M.  Luce,  of  Marion,  .Massa- 
chusetts. They  have  one  child,  Louise  D.,  born 
June  16,  1892. 


;i26 


PROGKESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


GEORGE  WALTER  JENKS. 

A  type  of  the  successful  business  man,  who 
succeeds  by  sheer  pluck  against  all  obstacles  in 
his  path  is  George  Walter  Jenks,  a  prominent 
banker  and  broker  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 
Mr.  Jenks  was  born  April  lo,  1852,  in  Warwick, 
Rhode  Island,  and  comes  from  good  old  Colonial 
stock  on  both  sides  of  the  family.  His  paternal 
ancestor,  Joseph  Jenks,  born  in  England  in  1602, 
and  who  died  in  I-ynn,  Massachusetts,  in  1683. 
was  the  first  man  to  make  cast  iron  in  America. 
The  iron  founder's  son,  Joseph,  setded  in 
Pawtucket,  Rhode  Island,  where  his  grandson, 
Jonathan  Jenks,  married  the  grand-daughter  of 
Roger  Williams,  who  had  founded  the  state  in 
1636,  or  a  few  years  only  after  the  arrival  of  the 
IMayflower.  Many  of  the  descendants  of  this 
couple — among  others  sisters  of  the  subject  of 
sketch — are  still  living  at  Pawtucket  on  the 
original  grant  of  land  occupied  by  Jonathan 
Jenks  and  wife.  TTis  mother,  Phoebe  .'\nn  I'.ldrcd 
rjenks),  was  the  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Eliza- 
beth (Thomas)  Eldrcd,  both  r>f  old  New  England 
fainilies.  George  received  but  a  cnmmnn  school 
education    in    the    public    school    <if    his    native 


village.    Though  it  was  the  intention  to  give  the 
lad  a  college  education,  the  sudden  death  of  his 
father,  when  George  was  only  fifteen  years  old, 
called  him  from  his  studies  to  take  temporary 
charge  of  his  father's  country  store.    He  show^ed 
such  an  adaptability  for  business  that  this  arrange- 
ment became  a  permanent  one.     He  continued 
the  business  successfully  for  several  years,  and 
then  left  for  wider  business  fields.    After  leaving 
his  old  home  he  secured  a  position  in  a  grocery 
store  in  Central  Falls,  Rhode  Island.     Here  he 
was  advanced  to  the  best  position  in  the  estab- 
lishment, but  the  work  not  being  congenial,  he 
removed  to  Boston  and  secured  a  position  in  a 
publishing    house  in  that   city.      He  was   soon 
promoted  to  the  superintendency  of  the  business 
in  seven  different  states,  and  assisted  in  building 
up  several  magazines.    In  the  fall  of  1877,  having 
contracted  a  severe  cold  on  his  lungs,  he  came 
West  in  search  of  health,  and,  visiting  Minne- 
apolis, decided  to  locate  here.     Finding  no  posi- 
tion vacant  to  which  he  was  adapted,  he  secured 
work  in  a  saw  mill.    The  next  year,  having  recov- 
ered his  health,  he  returned  to  his  old  business 
and    more    congenial    work    of    publishing.      In 
January,    1880.   he   began   the   publication   of   a 
magazine    called    the    "^linnesota    Homestead," 
\vhich  was  aftcnvards  changed  to  the  "Homestead 
Monthly."  for  which  he  built  up  a  large  subscrip- 
tion list.     The  work  was  too  confining,  however, 
and    Mr.  Jenks  decided   to  sell   out.      He  then 
changed   to   investment   banking,   which   line   of 
business  he  has  followed  to  the  present  time.     In 
this  l)usiness  ]Mr.  Jenks  has  been  very  successful; 
l)Ut  during  the  panic  of  '93  a  considerable  portion 
of  his  fortune  was  swept  away,  due,  in  a  large 
measure,   to    his   rigid   adherence   to   the   honest 
purpose  in  his  mind  of  standing  the  loss  himself 
rather   than    to    knowingly    unload    doubtful    or 
rotten    securities   upon   others.      Air.   Jenks   is   a 
loyal   Minncapolitan,  has  always  been   identified 
with  the  business  interests   of  the  city  and   the 
various  business  organizations,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  Poard  of  Trade,  Stock  Exchange,  Chamber 
of  Conunerce,   P.tisiness  Afen's  l^iion.  Connner- 
cial  Club,  Northwestern  Home  Trade  .Association, 
etc.  lie  is  a  prohibitionist  in  politics  as  well  as  in 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


327 


practice,  as  were  his  parents  before  him,  and  has 
done  many  deeds  of  pliilanthropy  in  a  (|uiet  way 
for  the  needy  and  unfortunate.  In  January,  1874, 
he  was  married  to  Rosic  I!.  Arnold,  an  early 
schoolmate,  who  died  a  year  later,  leaving  one 
son,  Walter  llertram.  now  a  farmer  near  Redwood 
Falls,  JMinnesota.  Air.  Jenks  was  married  again 
on  June  8,  1879,  to  jNHss  T.  Addie  Gail,  a  daughter 
of  James  P.  Gail,  an  early  settler  in  Minnesota. 
Mrs.  Jenks  is  an  accomplished  artist  and  musician, 
and  a  writer  of  marked  ability,  widely  known 
through  her  contributions  to  religious  weeklies. 
Two  children  are  the  result  of  this  union,  George 
Ernest  and  William  Gail. 


OLIN  WILLIS  KINGSBURY. 

O.  W.  Kingsbury  is  a  successful  newspaper 
man  of  Preston,  Fillmore  County,  Minnesota. 
He  is  the  proprietor  of  the  Courier,  a  weekly 
Populist  paper,  published  at  Preston,  and  of  die 
Harmony  Courier,  issued  at  Harmony,  in  the 
same  county.  Mr.  Kingsbury's  father  is  Martin 
Kingsbury,  a  retired  farmer,  now  living  at  Cen- 
tral City,  Nebraska,  who  is  a  native  of  Oneida 
County,  New  York.  He  married  Miss  Caroline 
Leach,  of  the  same  county,  who,  like  himself,  was 
well  educated  and  a  teacher.  They  came  to  Min- 
nesota in  1853  and  settled  in  Fillmore  County, and 
their  eldest  daughter,  Orissa,  was  the  first  white 
child  born  in  that  county.  Mr.  Kingsbun,'  be- 
came the  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  Fillmore 
County.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kingsbury  take 
active  part  in  the  affairs  of  their  church.  Their 
son,  Olin,  was  born  at  Waukokee,  Fillmore 
County,  on  May  3,  1859.  He  had  the  usual  ex- 
perience of  a  farmer's  boy  in  a  new  country.  It 
was  a  course  of  hard  work,  scant  schooling  and 
very  little  to  vary  the  monotony  of  existence. 
As  Mr.  Kingsbury  grew  to  manhood  he  broad- 
ened in  his  ideas,  and  studied  to  fit  himself  for  a 
station  in  life  above  that  in  which  he  found  him- 
self. During  his  struggle  to  get  on  he  taught 
school  and  worked  at  various  employments.  For 
a  while  he  was  in  the  lumber  and  sash  and  door 
business  in   Minneapolis,  and   for  five  vears  he 


worked  a  farm  in  Fillmore  County.  On  March 
4,  1893,  he  started  the  Courier  at  Preston.  He 
had  always  been  independent  in  politics  and  had 
taken  part  in  the  formation  of  the  Alliance  party 
and  worked  for  the  success  of  the  Populist  party 
from  its  beginnings.  His  fitness  for  conducting 
a  Populist  paper  became  manifest.  Within  a 
year  after  the  paper  was  founded  it  had  the  largest 
circulation  of  any  paper  in  the  county;  within 
three  years  its  owner  was  ready  to  start  another 
paper.  He  chose  for  this  venture  the  village  of 
Harmony,  a  few  miles  south  of  Preston,  and 
there  commenced  the  publication  of  the  Har- 
mony Courier.  Both  papers  have  been  a  suc- 
cess. Mr.  Kingsbury  has  never  been  a  candidate 
for  any  office.  He  has  taken  a  great  interest  in 
co-operation  and  has  been  instrumental  in  found- 
ing several  co-operative  elevators  and  creamer- 
ies in  Fillmore  County.  He  assisted  in  founding 
the  first  farmers'  creamery  in  Alinnesota.  It  was 
he  who  originated  the  movement  for  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  salaries  of  county  officers  in  Fillmore 
County.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows, 
A.  O.  'U.  W.  and  N.  W.  L.  of  H.  In  1886  Mr. 
Kingsbury  was  married  to  Aliss  Clara  M. 
Kingsbury.  They  have  two  children,  Clinton 
Willis,  aged  eight:  and  Alerle  Clara,  aged  six. 


328 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ROBERT  L.  PEXXliY. 

Robert  L.  Peiinev  is  a  native  nf  Connecticut. 
He  was  Ijom  at  W'atertow  n,  in  that  state.  William 
Penney,  his  father,  for  nian\-  years  followed  the 
occupation  of  farming.  In  1870  he  moved  to 
New  Haven,  Connecticut,  and  engaged  in  the 
boot  and  shoe  business,  at  which  he  was  mode- 
rately successful.  He  died  at  New  Haven  in 
1884,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  Julia  Maria 
W'eller  (Penney),  the  mother  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  a  daughter  of  Justus  W'eller,  of  Cridge- 
w'ater,  Connecticut,  who  for  many  years  was  a 
justice  of  the  peace  in  Litchfield  County,  and  had 
the  confidence  of  the  community  in  which  he  lived 
for  his  honesty  and  integrity.  Mrs.  Penney  was 
for  many  years  a  contributor  to  the  popular  maga- 
zines of  her  time,  and  was  a  woman  possessed  of 
rare  graces  of  mind  and  ])erson,  her  life  being  an 
inspiration  and  a  benediction  to  her  children  as 
well  as  to  all  with  whom  she  came  in  contact.  Her 
demise  occurred  at  New  Haven  a  year  previous  to 
licr  husband's  death.  The  parents  were  not  able 
to  give  their  son  a  collegiate  education,  l)ut  Rob- 
ert possesed  a  strong  will  and  sufficient  courage 
to  work  his  wav,  which  he  ultimatelv  clid,  but  onl\- 


after  suffering  many  hardships.  Up  to  his  thir- 
teenth N'ear  his  education  was  received  in  the  dis- 
trict schools.  He  then  went  to  Millertown, 
Duchess  County,  New  York,  and  for  three  years 
attended  an  academy  at  that  place.  Desiring  to 
enter  the  ( Jneida  Conference  Seminars-  at  Caze- 
novia.  New  York,  and  not  having  sufficient  funds 
to  do  so,  he  set  about  earning  mone}-  for  that  pur- 
pose. By  working  on  neighbors'  famis  he  w-as 
able  within  a  }car  to  accumulate  enough  money 
to  i^a}'  for  the  first  quarter's  tuition  at  that  insti- 
tution. Additional  funds  were  obtained  by  teach- 
ing school.  He  graduated  from  the  Seminary  as 
salutatorian  of  his  class.  He  then  entered  Yale 
College  Law  School,  graduating  in  1876.  He 
stood  third  in  his  class  and  received  honorable 
mention  by  Chief  Justice  Waite,  of  the  United 
>tates  Stipreme  Court,  who  delivered  the  graduat- 
ing address.  For  some  time  afterward  he  lived 
at  Newark,  New  Jersey,  but  thinking  the  West 
afforded  him  better  opportunities,  he  came  to 
}\Iinnesota  in  October,  1880,  and  located  at  Min- 
neapolis. His  practice  at  first  was  rather  limited, 
l)Ut  in  1882  he  went  into  partnership  with  L.  L. 
Baxter  (now  judge  of  the  district  court  at  Fergus 
Falls,  ^linnesota,)  and  Anton  Grethen,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Baxter,  (irethen  &  Penney.  This 
partnership  continued  until  Mr.  Baxter's  elevation 
to  the  bench.  He  continued  in  practice  alone 
for  some  time  until  the  law  firm  of  Jordan,  Penney 
&  Hammond  was  formed.  This  partncrshii)  was 
dissolved  by  the  removal  of  Messrs.  Jordan  and 
Hammond  to  Tacoma,  Washington.  In  18S6 
Mr.  Penney  was  elected  tn  the  office  of  special 
judge  of  the  municipal  court,  but  the  supreme 
court  declared  the  election  miconstitutional  and 
void.  Two  years  later  he  was  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  for  cotmty  attorney,  btit  was  defeated  by 
T^obert  Jamison.  In  1890  Mr.  Pennev  was  nomi- 
nated on  the  legislative  ticket,  his  former  op- 
ponent being  nominated  by  the  Republicans  to 
the  same  office.  Mr.  Penney  won,  and  his  nomi- 
nation had  not  been  amiounced  more  than  ten 
minutes  before  he  and  Mr.  Jamison  had  formed  a 
law  ])artnership,  under  the  name  of  Pennev  8c 
Jamison,  which  continued  until  Mr.  Jamison's  ap- 
pointment 1(1  the  <listrict  bench.  Mr.  Penne\'  then 


PKOGRESSIVH  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


329 


formed  a  partnership  with  X'iclor  Welch  and 
Marcus  1'.  Hayne,  under  tlie  name  of  Penney, 
Welch  iv  llayne.  This  partnership  was  »-lis- 
solved  in  April,  1.S1J5,  since  which  time  Mr.  Pen- 
ney has  practiced  alone.  He  has  enjoyed  a  large 
practice,  and  one  that  has  proven  quite  renumera- 
tive.  In  national  politics  he  is  a  sound  money 
])eiuocrat.  hut  independent  in  local  matters.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  A.  V.  &  A.  Al.,  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  B.  P.  U.  E.,  and  the  A.  ( ).  LI.  W.,  also  of 
the  Commercial  Club  of  Minneapolis.  He  was 
married  in  1875  to  Mary  E.  Leete,  daughter  of 
Thaddeus  Leete,  of  Madison,  Connecticut,  and 
has  one  child.  Florence  J.  Mrs.  Penney  is  a 
direct  descendant  of  William  Leete,  one  of  the 
first  governors  of  Connecticut. 


CHRLSTOPHER  A.  FOSNES. 

C.  A.  Eosnes  is  an  attorney  of  Monevideo, 
Minnesota.  He  is  a  native  of  Fosncs,  Norway, 
where  he  was  born  on  July  2,  1862.  When  only 
five  years  old  he  came  to  this  country  with  his 
parents.  Amund  Eosnes,  liis  father,  was  a 
farmer,  and,  like  many  of  the  emigrants  from  the 
Scandinavian  peninsula,  was  very  poor.  His  wife 
was  Miss  Britha  Sherdahl.  LTpon  arriving  in 
this  country  Mr.  Eosnes  settled  in  Winona  County, 
Minnesota.  He  afterwards  removed  to  Earibault 
County,  and  it  was  in  the  district  schools  of 
these  two  ]\Iinnesota  counties  that  young  Chris- 
topher obtained  his  early  education.  As  is  com- 
mon with  farmers'  boys,  he  went  to  school  in  the 
winter  only  and  worked  on  the  farm  in  the  sum- 
mer. Even  when  going  to  school  he  worked 
for  his  board.  As  he  approached  manhood  he 
determined  to  liecome  a  lawyer,  and  he  left  the 
farm  and  went  to  Winona,  where  he  attended 
the  State  Normal  school  and  afterwards  studied 
law.  In  the  fall  of  1884  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  at  Montevideo,  Minnesota,  and  has  since 
practiced  law  in  that  place.  Eor  the  first  year  of 
his  legal  practice  Mr.  Eosnes  was  associated  with. 
Owen  J-  Wood,  the  firm  being  Wood  iS:  Eosnes. 
After  the  dissolution  of  this  partnership  the  firm 
of  Smith  &  Eosnes  was  formed,  the  senior 
member      of      the      firm      being      I^vndon     A. 


Smith.  Air.  l*"osnes  ctnitinued  his  partner- 
ship with  Air.  Smith  until  Alay,  1890,  and 
since  that  time  lie  has  practiced  alone.  He 
has  a  large  and  well  established  business  which 
consists  almost  exclusively  of  court  w'ork.  Dur- 
ing his  twelve  years  of  legal  life  Mr.  Eosnes  has 
accumulated  one  of  the  best  law  libraries  in  the 
state,  west  of  Minneapolis.  He  has  had  numer- 
ous important  cases,  one  ot  which  was  the  defense 
of  George  AI.  Clark,  undertaken  in  1896.  Clark 
was  charged,  at  Alilbank,  South  Dakota,  with 
securing  from  New  York  bankers  the  sum  of  forty 
thousand  dollars  on  forged  paper.  He  left  the 
country  last  January,  1)Ut  has  since  been  arrested  in 
Alexico  and  brought  back  for  trial.  Air.  Eosnes 
is  independent  in  politics.  He  was  a  candidate 
for  congress  in  1888  on  the  Prohibition  ticket 
and  a  delegate  to  the  National  Prohibition  Con- 
vention in  the  same  year.  Li  his  home  town  he 
has  been  mayor,  member  of  the  school  board  and 
for  several  }-ears  city  attorney,  and  in  1896  was 
elected  to  the  state  legislature  on  the  fusion 
ticket.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  E.  and 
Masonic  bodies.  On  July  3,  1883,  Air.  Eosnes 
and  Aliss  Sarah  .Arneson  were  married.  They 
have  four  children,  \\'alter,  Alfred,  Ernest  and 
Carl. 


330 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


MARTIX  E.  TEW. 

Martin  E.  Tew,  editor  of  the  Clarkficld  Advo- 
cate, is  of  Norwegian  extraction,  thougli  a  native 
of  Minnesota.  His  parents  came  to  this  country 
from  Vallers,  Nonvay,  in  1863.  His  father  was 
a  man  of  fair  education,  physically  strong,  en- 
joyed rugged  health  and  was  of  strong  character. 
Mr.  Tew's  mother  was  a  woman  of  strong  intel- 
lectual traits  and  deep  religious  temperament. 
.*^he  died  when  he  was  five  years  old.  The  fam- 
ily was  then  living  in  the  southern  part  of 
Winona  County.  It  was  here  that  \lr.  Tew  was 
born  on  February  11,  1869,  in  a  log  house  on  his 
father's  farm.  With  an  elder  brother  and  sister, 
Martin  attended  the  connnon  school  in  the  vicin- 
ity for  a  few  months  each  winter,  and  worked  on 
the  farm  at  home  and  for  the  neighbors  during 
the  summer.  When  he  was  thirteen  years  old  he 
moved  with  his  father  to  Swift  County,  Minne- 
sota, and  during  the  first  summer  there,  took 
charge  of  a  herd  of  cattle.  For  this  work  he 
received  fifty  dollars  for  the  entire  season.  It 
was  lonesome  work  for  a  boy  of  thirteen,  but 
while  out  on  the  prairie  he  made  good  use  of 
his  time,  reading  all  the  good  books  he  could 
obtain,  and  studvinLT  faithfullv.  Later  he  attended 


the  high  school  at  Morris  during  two  winters, 
making  his  way  by  doing  chores  for  his  board. 
In  these  short  terms  of  three  months  each  winter, 
he  covered  the  full  course,  which  was  as  much 
as  the  regular  classes  required  nine  months  each 
year  to  finish.  From  the  age  of  fifteen  until  he 
was  nineteen  he  traveled  considerably  and  en- 
gaged in  various  occupations,  though  making' 
his  permanent  home  in  Yellow  ^ledicine  County. 
All  this  time  he  spent  his  spare  moments  in 
studying,  and  at  nineteen  he  taught  his  first 
school.  He  was  then  in  Day  County,  South  Da- 
kota. During  the  next  two  years  he  obtained  a 
few  months  training  at  the  Normal  School  at 
Madison,  South  Dakota,  and  by  persistent  out- 
side work,  succeeded  in  covering  the  studies  of 
a  three  years'  course  in  only  four  months  of 
actual  attendance,  finishing  all  the  examinations 
with  some  of  the  highest  standings  ever  obtained 
in  the  institution.  His  excellent  work  obtained 
for  him  the  special  commendation  of  President 
Beadle,  of  the  Normal  School.  Returning  to 
Yellow  Medicine  County  in  1891,  he  was  nom- 
inated the  following  year  for  County  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools  by  the  People's  party.  In  the 
election  of  that  year  he  received  almost  twice  as 
man}'  votes  as  the  candidates  of  his  party  on  the 
state  ticket,  but  not  enough  to  overcome  the  Re- 
publican majority  in  the  county.  This  was  his 
first  entrance  in  political  work.  During  that 
campaign  he  commenced  stump  speaking,  and 
has  since  made  many  addresses  in  the  interests, 
of  his  party.  In  1894  he  had  a  debate  with  J.  T. 
McCleary.  In  the  spring  of  1894,  when  principal 
of  the  Clarkficld  schools,  Mr.  Tew  was  urged  to 
become  the  editor  of  the  Reform  Advocate,  a 
Populist  paper,  then  published  at  Granite  Falls. 
The  paper  was  in  financial  straits.  Mr.  Tew  took 
hold  of  it,  moved  the  plant  to  Clarkficld,  in- 
creased the  size  of  the  paper  from  four  to  eight 
pages,  and  has  since  secured  for  it  a  wide  recog- 
nition. In  1895,  H.  P.  Knappen,  of  Minneapolis,, 
became  his  partner.  His  journalistic  ventures 
brought  ]\Ir.  Tew  more  than  ever  into  politics. 
The  last  few  years  he  has  attended  nearly  all  of 
the  state  and  congressional  conventions  of  his 
iiart\',  and  in  iRi)6  was  a  delegate  to  the  National' 


PROGRESSIVE  MENIOF  MINNESOTA. 


:{3i 


Convention  at  St.  Louis.  Some  of  his  friends 
requested  liini  to  be  a  candidate  for  congress 
from  the  Second  District,  Init  lie  refused  to  let 
his  name  he  used.  Mr.  Tew  has  a  decided  taste 
for  literature  and  is  an  admirer  of  Milton,  Shaks- 
pere  and  other  great  authors.  He  has  also  writ- 
ten a  number  of  poems  and  songs,  several  of 
which  have  appeared  in  publications  of  national 
circulation. 


GUSTAVUS  JOHN.SON. 

Gustavus  Johnson  is  a  teacher  of  music 
and  composer  in  j\Iinneapolis.  His  father,  Peter 
Johanson  (Johan  being  the  Swedish  for  John), 
was  a  merchant  in  Stockholm  from  i860  until 
his  death  in  1887.  Previous  to  i860  he  was  for 
some  twenty-five  \'ears  a  successful  business  man 
in  England,  whither  he  went  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen from  Sweden,  the  country  of  his  birth.  In 
England  he  married  Henrietta  Hole,  daughter 
of  the  late  Admiral  Lewis  Hole,  of  the  English 
Navy.  Admiral  Hole,  grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  for  seventy-five  years  in  her 
majesty's  naval  service  and  was  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  his  age  being  ninety-two,  the  oldest  officer 
in  the  English  navy.  He  had  fought  in  many  bat- 
tles, the  most  notable  being  that  of  Trafalgar, 
where  he  was  lieutenant  under  Lord  Nelson  and 
where  he  fought  on  the  same  ship  on  which  Nel- 
son was  killed.  Gustavus  Johnson,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  at  Hull,  England,  November 
2,  1856.  He  was  four  years  of  age  when  his 
father  returned  with  his  family  to  Sweden  and 
located  at  Stockholm.  Gustavus  attended  the 
regular  high  school  there  and  the  Royal  Con- 
servatory of  Music.  His  principal  teachers  were: 
In  piano,  Linstrom,  Mankell  and  Nordquist;  in 
theory,  Mankell,  and  Winge  and  in  singing,  Haek- 
anson.  Mr.  Johnson  continued  the  study  of  music 
until  1875.  He  was  also  given  a  business 
training  in  a  commercial  college  in  Stockholm, 
and  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  in  1875,  came 
to  Minneapolis,  where  he  has  been  en- 
gaged in  teaching  the  piano,  with  short  inter- 
vals of  residence  in  other  places.     For  three  years 


his  residence  was  in  Wisconsin,  and  at  various 
times  he  has  traveled  and  played  in  concerts  in 
every  city  of  any  consequence  in  the  Northwest. 
He  has  achieved  especial  distinction  as  a  per- 
former and  for  his  general  theoretical  knowledge 
of  his  art.  ;\lany  of  his  pupils  have  become  fin- 
ished artists  and  others  successful  teachers.  He 
has  also  attained  to  some  eminence  and  popu- 
larity as  a  composer,  many  of  his  compositions 
having  been  published — among  them  a  piano 
concerto,  with  full  orchestra  accompaniment;  a 
trio  for  piano,  violin  and  'cello;  a  violin  sonata; 
numerous  smaller  works  for  the  voice;  anthems, 
quartets,  songs,  etc.,  and,  besides,  several  piano 
pieces,  some  of  which  are  used  in  their  instruc- 
tion by  the  best-  teachers  all  over  the  country. 
Prof.  Johnson  is  a  member  of  Hennepin  Lodge, 
A.  F.  an<l  A.  ]\I.  He  was  married  in  1882  to 
Caroline  Francis  W'inslow,  of  South  Royalton, 
Vermont.  Mrs.  Johnson  is  of  an  old  New  England 
family  and  a  direct  descendant  of  Edward  Win- 
slow,  who  came  over  in  the  Mayflower,  and 
one  of  the  early  Colonial  governors  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  have  one 
daughter,  Laura  Louise,  born  in  1890. 


332 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HEXRY  JOSEPH  LEWIS. 

It  is  perhaps  indicative  of  the  cosmopolitan 
character  of  the  city  of  INlinneapoHs  that  men 
who  have  traveled  widely  find  the  city  a  con- 
genial place  of  residence.  Among  the  numerous 
men  of  this  class  is  Henry  J.  Lewis,  dealer  at 
wholesale  in  cigars.  Mr.  Lewis  is  but  forty 
years  of  age,  but  has  seen  more  of  the  world 
than  falls  to  the  lot  of  one  man  in  a  thousand 
in  a  whole  lifetime.  While  still  a  }-oung  man 
he  was  appointed  foreign  agent  for  the  White 
Sewing  Machine  Company,  of  Cleveland,  L^hio. 
In  the  interests  of  that  concern  he  visited  all  the 
South  American  countries — United  States  of 
Colombia,  Ecuador,  Peru,  Bolivia,  Chili,  Pata- 
gonia, the  Argentine  Rc])ublic,  Uruguay,  Para- 
guay and  I'.razil.  He  afterwards  visited  the  West 
Indies.  In  the  course  of  his  travels  in  South 
America,  in  many  places  rarely  visited  by  North 
Americans,  lie  had  many  entertaining  and  ex- 
citing adventures.  Mr.  Lewis  is  of  Welsh  de- 
scent. His  father's  ancestors  emigrated  to  Rhode 
Island  from  Wales,  and  afterwards  moved  to 
South  Wales,  Eric  County,  New  York,  about 
twenty-five  miles  south  of  P)ufifalo.    Here  Joseph 


B.  Lewis  was  born  and  grew  to  manhood,  marr}'- 
ing  Martia  Ann  Baker,  whose  Welsh  ancestors 
had  also  found  their  way  to  the  same  locality. 
Their  son  Henry  was  born  at  South  Wales,  and 
the  family  lived  there  until  he  was  nine  years 
old,  when  Mrs.  Lewis  died.  She  was  an  earnest 
Christian,  a  member  of  the  Free  Will  Baptist 
church,  and  a  woman  of  strong  personal  char- 
acter. After  the  death  of  his  wife  Mr.  Lewis 
moved  to  St.  Joseph,  Michigan.  He  is  a  farmer 
in  good  circumstances,  and  having  a  reputation 
for  honesty  and  square  dealing.  The  education 
of  young  Henry  was  that  afforded  by  the  district 
schools  of  New  York  and  Michigan.  He  early 
entered  business  life  as  a  clerk  for  M.  &  A.  Shep- 
ard,  jewelers  of  St.  Joseph,  in  whose  employ  he 
continued  for  several  years.  His  engagement 
with  the  White  Sewing  Machine  Company  was. 
made  while  he  was  still  a  very  young  man.  While 
in  the  West  Indies  he  became  interested  in 
Havana  tobaccos,  and  secured  a  thorough  ac- 
quaintance with  the  business  which  has  since 
been  invaluable  to  him.  In  1886  he  came  to 
Minnesota  as  the  Northwestern  representative  of 
Spaulding  &  Merrick,  tobacco  manufacturers  of 
Chicago,  and  made  his  headquarters  in  ^linneap- 
olis.  Three  years  later  he  was  called  to  Chicago 
by  the  firm  to  manage  the  sales  department  of 
their  business.  However,  the  climate  of  Chicago 
was  not  congenial,  and  he  soon  removed  tO' 
Duluth  and  entered  the  wholesale  and  retail 
cigar  and  tobacco  business,  the  firm  being  Lewis 
&  Swain.  In  1890  he  was  induced  by  Harrison, 
Farrington  &  Co.,  wholesale  grocers  of  ]\Iimie- 
apolis,  to  remove  to  their  city  and  take  the  man- 
agement of  the  wholesale  cigar  department  of 
their  business.  Mr.  Lewis  continued  with  the 
house  until  1895  when  he  again  commenced 
business  on  his  own  account  in  the  same  lino — 
wholesale  cigars.  In  politics  Mr.  Lewis  is  a 
Republican.  He  is  not  a  politician,  but  takes, 
a  citizen's  interest  in  political  afifairs,  and  in  1894 
was  a  delegate  to  the  Congressional  convention 
that  nominated  Lorcn  Fletcher.  Mr.  Lewis  is  a. 
Scottish  Rite  Mason,  and  has  taken  the  thirty- 
second  degree.  He  is  a  nieml)er  df  the  Minne- 
apolis Connnerctfll  Club.  On  August  21,  1875, 
he  was  married  to  Miss   Carrie  Amelia  Bovee^ 


PROGRESSIVIi  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


333 


of  Cukhvalcr,  Alichigan,  dauyliti.T  of  Mr.  ami 
Mrs.  Eli  W.  Bovee,  prominent  ptoplc  oi  that 
place.  Miss  Jennie  Georgiana  Lewis  is  their  only 
child.  Mrs.  Lewis  and  her  daughter  are  both 
menii^ers  of  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Churcli  of  Min- 
neapolis. Mr.  Lewis  has  been  uniformly  suc- 
cessful in  his  business  enterprises.  lie  is  a  lirm 
believer  in  advertising,  and  has  demonstrated  its 
efficacy.  In  the  course  of  his  extensive  travels 
in  this  country  and  abroad,  and  in  his  active 
business  career  of  ten  }ears  in  the  Xortlnvest,  he 
has  made  hosts  of  friends  and  tnijoys  a  very  wide 
accjuaintance. 


GEORGE  WARREN  STEWART. 

George  Warren  Stewart  is  a  lawyer  at  St 
Cloud.  His  father,  Joseph  Stewart,  came  to  Min- 
nesota from  Prince  Edward's  Island  in  1853  and 
located  at  P)ellevue,  Morrison  County,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  farmng  and  lumbering  for 
the  next  ten  \ears.  In  1863  he  went  into  the 
army  as  a  member  of  the  Seventh  .Minnesota 
regiment,  and  died  in  the  service  at  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  of  smallpox  contracted  while  in  the 
army.  He  was  a  native  of  Greenock,  Scotland. 
His  wife  was  Joanna  B.  Hill,  of  New  Brunswick, 
her  parents  both  being  natives  of  Maine  and 
members  of  the  well-known  families  of  Hill  and 
Phillips  in  that  state.  The  ancestors  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  both  on  his  father's  and 
mother's  side,  were  honest  and  well-to-do  farmers 
and  lumbermen,  none  of  whom,  however,  ever 
occupied  any  very  prominent  positions  except 
in  local  affairs,  but  have  Ijeen  recognized  as  in- 
telligent and  worthy  people  in  the  limited  circle 
in  which  the\-  moved.  George  W^arren  was  born 
at  Bellevue,  Morrison  County,  Minnesota,  June 
18,1859.  After  preparing  in  the  district  schools 
he  entered  the  State  Normal  School  at  St.  Cloud 
and  graduated  from  the  advanced  academic 
course.  In  August,  1883,  he  began  the  study 
of  law  in  the  office  of  Taylor  &  Taylor  at  St. 
Cloud.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  December 
14,  1884,  and  tried  his  first  case  the  following 
January  in  a  justice  court,  twenty-three  miles 
from  St.  Cloud,  having  driven  there  before  nine 
o'clock   in   the   morning  with   the   thermometer 


at  thirty-five  degrees  below  zero.  He  w<jn  his  case 
before  the  jury  and  returned  the  same  night,  with 
the  magnificent  fee  of  five  dollars,  four  of  which 
went  to  pay  his  livery  bill.  However,  his  legal 
practice  is  not  to  be  judged  by  the  financial  results 
of  its  beginning.  He  has  since  practiced  his  pro- 
fession continuously  at  St.  Cloud,  for  one  year 
with  Oscar  Tavlor,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Taylor  &  Stewart;  for  a  short  time  with  Hon. 
D.  B.  Searle;  then  with  George  H.  Reynolds  for 
three  years,  and  since  January  i.  1891,  has  been 
practicing  by  himself.  ]\lr.  Stewart  takes  an 
active  interest  in  the  affairs  of  St.  Cloud,  and 
has  for  eight  years  been  a  member  of  the  school 
board,  and  for  the  last  six  years  its  secretary.  For 
five  years  he  has  sen-ed  in  the  city  council,  and 
at  this  writing  is  the  president  of  this  body.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  beyond  the  local 
offices  undertaken  in  the  service  of  his  fellow 
citizens  of  .St.  Cloud,  he  has  never  held  any 
office.  He  is  a  member  of  St.  Cloud  Lodge,  No. 
32.  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  St.  Cloud  Royal 
Arcanum  Council.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Uni- 
tarian church,  of  St.  Cloud,  and  has  been  secre- 
tary of  the  society  since  its  organization,  about 
eight  years  ago.  Mr.  Stewart  was  married  August 
23,  1888,  to  Aliss  ^lary  L.  Huntsman,  and  has  two 
sons,  Warren  H.  and  Donald. 


334 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


DAVID    SECOR. 

One  of  the  most  suecessful  bankers  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  state  is  David  Secor, 
president  of  the  I'^aril^ault  County  Bank,  at  Win- 
nebago City.  Mr.  Secor  comes  from  good  old 
Colonial  stock.  The  founder  of  the  Secor  family 
in  America  was  Ambrose  -Secor  a  Huguenot,  who 
emigrated  to  this  country  from  France  about 
1665,  settling  at  New  Rochelle,  New  York.  Isaac 
Secor,  the  great-grandfather  of  David,  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  serving  in  the 
Harvestrow  Regiment,  from  Orange  County, 
New  York.  He  married  Alarv  Gedney,  and  their 
son,  Gedney  Secor,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  married  Catharine  Strang,  who  was 
related  to  Major  Henry  Strang,  a  Revolutionary 
hero.  Gedney  Secor  was  a  direct  descendant  of 
Henry  L'Estrange,  one  of  the  persecuted  French 
Huguenots,  who  fled  to  England,  where  he 
remained  a  few  months  serving  as  a  member  of 
the  King's  staff,  and  then  came  to  America, 
settling  in  Westchester  County,  New  York.  The 
patronymic,  originally  L'  Estrange,  is  now  written 
Strang,  and,  by  some  of  the  descendants,  .Strong. 
The  parents  of  David  .Secor  were  Alson   Secor, 


oldest  child  of  Gedney  and  Catharine  (.Strang) 
Secor,  and  Sarah  C.  Knapp  (Secor),  natives  of 
Putnam  County,  New  York.  The  father  was  a 
prominent  and  influeiUial  citizen  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lived,  and  held  several  oiTices 
of  trust  during  his  life  time,  among  which  was 
that  of  one  of  the  associate  justices  of  his  native 
county.  The  mother  was  born  in  1806,  and  died 
at  Peekskill,  New  York,  in  1881.  Their  son 
David  was  the  fourth  of  a  family  of  eleven 
children,  and  was  born  in  Putnam  County,  New 
York,  on  January  6,  1836.  He  resided  with  his 
parents  on  the  farm  until  he  reached  his  twentieth 
year,  attending  a  country  district  school  in  the 
winter  and  working  on  the  farm  in  the  sununer. 
In  ^lay.  1856,  he  came  West  to  seek  his  fortune 
and  located  in  Linn  County,  Iowa,  where  he 
remained  three  years,  working  at  such  employ- 
ment as  he  could  get  in  the  summer  and  attending 
Western  College,  a  United  Brethren  institution, 
in  the  winter.  Young  Secor's  financial  resources 
having  been  exhausted  in  his  endeavors  to  secure 
a  college  education,  he  removed  to  Forest  City, 
Winnebago  County,  Iowa,  in  the  spring  of  1859. 
Here  he  conunenced,  without  the  aid  of  fortune 
or  friends,  to  carve  out  his  future  business  career, 
and  by  dint  of  perseverance  antl  industry  he  grad- 
ually climbed  the  ladder  of  success.  His  spare 
time  he  devoted  to  the  study  of  law,  and  after 
being  admitted  to  the  bar  he  followed  that  pro- 
fession. Within  ten  years,  however,  the  business 
interests  with  which  he  had  Ijecome  connected, 
especially  banking,  had  assumed  such  proportions 
that  he  was  compelled  to  give  up  his  law  practice 
altogether.  Mr.  Secor  held  a  number  of  public 
offices  of  trust  while  in  Iowa.  He  was  elected  to 
the  Iowa  legislature,  and  re-elected  to  a  second 
term.  His  popularity  is  attested  by  the  fact  that 
each  time  he  received  the  full  vote  of  the  district, 
no  opposition  candidate  having  been  nominated 
against  him.  He  was  postmaster  of  Forest  City 
for  nine  years,  and  resigned  that  ofiflce  on  his 
election  to  the  legislature.  In  1874  he  was  elected 
to  the  ofifice  of  register  of  the  Iowa  .state  land 
office,  which  he  held  for  two  successive  terms. 
His  political  affiliations  have  always  been  with  the 
Republican  jiarty.    'Mr.  .Secor  came  to  Miiniesota 


rKOGKUSSJVli  MEN  OV  MINNESOTA. 


335 


in  1887,  and  located  at  Winnebajii^o  City,  becoming 
interested  in  tlie  banking  l)iisiness  in  J'"ariljault 
Connty.  lie  is  now  president  of  the  l'"aril)ault 
County  Bank,  at  Winnel)ago  City,  and  is  part 
owner  of  the  Granada  State  liank,  the  Banlv  of 
Delevan  and  the  J'.ank  of  Aniboy,  in  Minnesota; 
also  director  and  ])art  owner  of  tlie  i''irst  National 
Bank,  of  Forest  City,  Iowa.  When  the  Civil  War 
broke  out  Mr.  Secor  responded  to  his  country's 
call  and  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  C, 
Second  Iowa  Infantry.  He  sen-ed  in  the  Georgia 
compaign,  participating  in  Sherman's  celel)rated 
march  to  the  sea.  Mr.  Sccor,  aside  from  his  large 
business  interests,  takes  a  deep  interest  in  educa- 
tional matters.  He  is  president  of  the  board  of 
education  of  Winnebago  City,  and  one  of  the 
trustees  of  Parker  College.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  commander 
of  Clabaugh  Post  at  Winnebago  City.  His  church 
connections  are  with  the  Presbyterian  body,  and 
he  is  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
church  at  \'\1nnel)ago  City.  Un  the  tenth  day  of 
December,  1862,  he  was  married  to  .Samantha  E. 
Van  Curren,  of  Mason  City,  Iowa,  by  whom  he 
had  three  children:  Ellsworth  E.,  cashier  of  the 
Buffalo  Center  State  Bank,  at  Buffalo  Center, 
Iowa;  Stanley  S.,  cashier  of  the  Faribault  County 
Bank  at  Winnebago  City,  and  Mary  Myrtle,  wife 
of  Paul  M.  Reagan,  residing  in  Chicago.  His 
wife  died  in  July,  1871.  He  was  married  again 
May  20,  1878,  to  S.  Jennie  Lyons,  at  Des  Moines, 
Iowa.  Two  daughters  are  the  result  of  this  union, 
Joy  and  Ruth,  who  reside  with  their  father.  The 
mother  died  in  Chicago  in  November,  1886. 
whither  she  had  gone  for  medical  treatment. 


FR.\NK  JOSEPH  BRABEC. 

Dr.  F.  J.  Brabec,  of  Perham,  is  by  birth  and 
education  a  Minnesota  man.  His  father,  F. 
Brabec,  of  Hutchinson,  is  the  oldest  established 
merchant  of  that  place  and  is  in  comfortable 
circumstances.  Frank  was  born  at  Watertown, 
Minnesota.  His  schooling  was  obtained  at  the 
Htitchinson  public  schools  and  the  state  luii- 
versity.  At  Hutchinson  he  had  the  advantage 
of   the   excellent   svstem    of   arraded    and    high 


schools  which  were  brought  up  to  their  high 
standard  through  the  efforts  of  Professor  W. 
W.  Pendergast,  now  State  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction.  Frank  Brabec  graduated 
frcjm  the  university  in  the  class  of  1890,  taking  the 
degree  of  B.  S.  He  at  once  entered  the  medi- 
cal department  and  took  his  M.  D.  degree  in 
1893.  While  in  the  university  he  was  a  member 
of  Delta  Upsilon  fraternity  and  he  was  also  a 
member  of  Nu  Sigma  Nu  medical  fraternity. 
He  secured  additional  medical  training  in  St. 
Joseph's  Hospital  in  St.  Paul  and  Asbury  Hos- 
pital in  Minneapolis.  For  a  time  he  was  in  the 
office  of  Dr.  C.  A.  Wheaton,  of  St.  Paul,  to 
whom  he  feels  indebted  for  his  surgical  training. 
Since  settling  in  Perham,  Dr.  Brabec's  work 
has  been  mostly  surgical.  He  has  taken  a 
prominent  place  among  the  professional  men  of 
that  part  of  the  state.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat, and  was  chairman  of  the  county  convention 
of  Otter  Tail  County  in  1894.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  of  the  A.  O.  U. 
W.  and  Knights  of  Pythias.  In  1894  Dr.  Bra- 
bec was  married  to  Miss  Eliza  Bedient,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  J.  Bedient,  of  Kasson,  Minnesota. 
Mrs.  Brabec  died  in  June,  1895,  leaving  one 
child. 


336 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


EDWARD  C.  KILEY. 

From  his  early  youth  Mr.  Kiley  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  newspaper  Jjtisiness.  He  has  had 
to  rely  upon  his  own  efforts  from  his  thirteenth 
year,  and  is  now  tlie  editor  and  proprietor  of  the 
Herald-Review  at  Grand  Rapids,  one  of  the  best 
newspaper  plants  in  Xorthern  Minnesota.  He  is 
also  judge  of  probate  of  Itasca  County.  He  is 
of  Irish  parentage,  and  was  born  February  28, 
1865,  at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  the  son  of 
James  and  Agnes  (McXulty)  Kiley.  When  he 
was  but  two  years  of  age  his  parents  came  West 
and  settled  on  a  farm  in  ( irant  County.  Wisconsin. 
The  father's  death  occurred  in  l-'ebruary,  1878: 
the  mother's  a  year  and  a  half  earlier.  The  farm 
property  was  left  cncumbi'red,  and  :ifter  settle- 
ment had  been  made  there  was  nothing  left  for 
the  su]j])ort  of  seven  orphans — six  daughters  and 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Edward  worked  lor  a 
few  months  after  the  death  of  his  father,  on  the 
farm  of  an  uncle,  and  the  first  money  he  ever 
earned  was  in  the  employ  of  l^edman  ( Ionian,  a 
farmer,  at  six  dollars  a  month  and  board.  He 
then  went  to  Lancaster,  Wisconsin,  and  attended 
the  winter  term  of  school.     After  having  earned 


a  living  as  best  he  could  until  May,  1880,  young 
Kiley  went  into  tlie  office  of  the  Odebolt  Ob- 
server, at  Odebolt,  Iowa,  and  commenced  to  learn 
the  printing  trade.  That  he  was  especially  adapted 
to  newspaper  work  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  two 
years  later,  when  but  seventeen  years  old,  he  was 
offered  and  accepted  the  position  of  editor  and 
manager  of  the  jMcCook  County  News,  at  Salem, 
South  Dakota,  a  Democratic  paper  having  con- 
siderable infltience.  From  Salem,  Air.  Kiley  re- 
moved to  Northwood,  North  Dakota,  where  he 
purchased  the  Headlight.  He  was  appointed 
postmaster  of  Northwood  l3y  President  Cleveland, 
but  there  being  little  opportunity  to  build  up  a 
liusiness  in  that  town,  he  went  to  Grafton,  North 
Dakota,  where  he  purchased  the  Grafton  Herald. 
He  conducted  this  paper  for  a  time,  when  he  sold 
out,  and  for  the  next  two  years  traveled  exten- 
sively throughout  the  United  States,  doing  repor- 
torial  work  on  vari(  lus  metropolitan  papers,  and 
at  intervals  worked  at  the  printing  trade.  In 
iSgo  he  purchased  the  Progressive  Age,  at  Du- 
luth,  a  Democratic  paper  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  the  laboring  classes.  He  spent  the  following 
year  in  the  upper  peninsula  of  Michigan,  where 
he  was  married  at  Marquette,  July  30,  1892,  to 
Mrs.  Wilhelmina  Desjardins  Yates,  daughter  of 
Dr.  J.  A.  Desjardins,  a  prominent  physician  of 
that  place.  In  Jamiarv,  1893  -^I''-  Nilev  located  at 
Grand  Rapids,  Minnesota,  and  assumed  the  man- 
agement of  a  local  ]>aper.  On  September  15, 
1894,  he  established  the  Grand  Rapids  Herald. 
The  outlook  for  the  success  of  his  new  venture 
did  not  appear  inviting,  as  two  papers  already 
occupied  the  field.  Put  \\itli  careful  and  pains- 
taking work  he  endeavored  to  outrank  his  com- 
petitors by  i)ublishinig  a  bright,  attractive  and 
aggressive  country  weekly.  In  May,  1896,  he 
purchased  the  Review,  and  consolidated  the  two 
papers.  In  politics  Mr.  Kilev  has  always  been  a 
Democrat,  and  is  ;in  ardent  advocate  of  free  silver. 
In  i8<)6  he  was  unanimously  tendered,  by  the 
legislati\-e  conventions  of  the  Democrats  and 
Po]nilists,  a  nomination  to  the  house  or  senate, 
but  declined.  Instead,  however,  he  accejited  the 
Democratic  and  Populist  nominations  for  judge 
of  probate  of  Itasca  Comity,  and  was  elected,  be- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


337 


ing  the  only  free  silver  Democrat  elected  in  the 
county.  lie  is  a  member  of  the  Democratic  state 
central  connnittee,  and  chairman  of  the  Itasca 
county  committee.  Mr.  Kiley  has  achieved  con- 
siderable i^opularity  in  his  home  district,  though 
a  comparatively  \'oung  man  as  yet,  but  the  enter- 
prise and  business  ability  which  he  has  exhibited 
in  the  management  of  his  i)aper  promises  still 
greater  success  for  him  in  the  future. 


EMIL  STRAKA. 

Emil  Straka,  of  St.  Paul,  is  a  violinist  who 
has  won  a  high  place  in  the  hearts  of  nuisic  lovers 
in  both  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis.  Mr.  Straka  has 
had  a  rather  remarkalile  career.  His  father,  John 
Straka,  when  twenty-two  years  old  went  to  Con- 
stantinople, where  he  was  engaged  in  an  orches- 
tra playing  in  the  sultan's  palace,  and  also  play- 
ing for  the  amusement  of  Turkish  and  foreign 
notables.  While  traveling  in  the  East  he  met 
Francisca  Guenzl,  at  Cairo,  Egypt,  where  she 
was  engaged  with  a  ladies'  orchestra,  called  the 
first  Vienna  Ladies'  Orchestra.  They  were  mar- 
ried, and  as  a  result  of  that  union,  Emil  was  born 
June  10,  1866,  in  Suez.  His  parents,  fearing  that 
the  climate  of  that  country  would  be  unfavorable 
to  him,  took  him  a  few  months  after  his  birth 
to  his  father's  birthplace,  Neuhaus,  in  Bohemia, 
to  his  grand  parents,  where  they  left  him  while 
they  continued  their  professional  work,  and  for 
nineteen  years  thereafter  he  did  not  see  his  par- 
ents. When  si.x  years  old  he  began  to  take 
violin  lessons  from  an  uncle,  Franz  Neuwirth,  and 
piano  lessons  from  a  cousin  Charles.  During 
this  time  he  attended  the  public  primary  and 
high  schools,  and  upon  his  arrival  at  the  age  of 
thirteen  he  went  to  Prague,  the  capital  of  Bo- 
hemia, where  he  passed  the  examination  and  was 
accepted  as  a  pupil  of  the  organ  school.  This 
was  in  1879.  He  began  his  studies  here  under 
Blazek.  The  second  and  third  year  he  was  un- 
der the  instruction  of  Prucha  and  Skuhersky, 
studying  counter-point  and  fugue.  He  continued 
his  studies  there  with  organ,  score  playing,  etc., 
and  in  1882  received  a  diploma  of  high  honors  for 


excellence  as  an  organist  and  church  choir 
director.  Subsequently  he  took  an  examination 
on  the  violin  and  was  entered  as  a  pupil  at  the 
Conservatory  of  Music  in  Prague  among  the 
advanced  pupils.  He  stayed  at  the  conservatory 
until  1885,  from  which  he  received  a  diploma  with 
a  recommendation  as  an  accomplished  solo  and 
orchestra  violin  player.  The  same  year,  1885, 
after  appearing  in  several  concerts  at  his  old 
home,  Xeuhaus,  Bohemia,  he  came  to  America, 
arriving  in  Chicago  in  November.  He  then  gave 
several  concerts  in  that  city  among  his  country- 
men and  also  before  the  American  public  with 
great  success.  Emil  took  part  in  his  father's  or- 
chestra as  a  solo  violinist,  giving  concerts  in  sev- 
eral of  the  leading  cities,  until  finally  he  came  to 
Minneapolis,  where  he  was  attached  to  Danz's 
orchestra,  and  also  played  in  connection  with 
Seibert's  orchestra  in  St.  Paul.  Emil  Straka's  in- 
troduction to  the  music-lovmg  public  of  Minne- 
apolis and  St.  Paul  has  made  for  him  many  ad- 
mirers and  friends  who  enjoy  and  appreciate  his 
rare  talent  as  an  artist.  At  the  present  time  he  is 
teaching  the  violin  and  piano,  harmony  and 
counterpoint,  and  has  devoted  some  of  his  time 
to  composing  music,  particularly  for  the  violin. 


338 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


SAMUEL   EMERY  ADAMS. 

Samuel  Enien-  Adams,  a  member  of  the  city 
council  of  }ilinneapolis,  was  born  in  Reading, 
Windsor  County,  Vermont,  December  i,  1828. 
He  is  a  descendant  of  the  old  Lexington,  ^lassa- 
chusetts,  family  of  that  name.  His  great-grand- 
father served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary 
War  as  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  troops  under 
General  Israel  Putnam.  Solomon  Wright  Adams, 
the  father  of  Samuel,  was  a  tiller  of  the  soil  in 
the  state  of  Vermont,  and  though  in  rather  limited 
circumstances  was  a  prominent  man  in  the  locality 
in  which  he  lived.  He  served  the  people  of  the 
community  as  a  selectman,  assessor,  postmaster, 
and  as  their  representative  in  the  state  legislature. 
His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Mary  Adaline  Emery. 
When  Samuel  was  but  a  year  old  the  family 
moved  to  Bellows  Falls,  and  thence  to  Rutland 
County,  where  he  was  raised  on  his  father's  farm. 
He  attended  the  academies  at  Chester,  .Springfield 
and  Thetford,  and  prepared  for  college  in  the 
West  Randolph  Academy.  In  185 1  he  entered 
Dartmouth  College,  but  on  account  of  ill  health 
was  forced  to  leave  the  following  year.  In  1853 
he  received  an  appdinlmcnt  frcnii  PrcsidiMit  Pierce 


as  a  route  agent  between  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
and  Burlington,  \'ermont.  He  continued  in  that 
vocation  till  1855,  when  he  was  compelled  to 
resign  on  account  of  severe  bronchial  trouble, 
and  came  to  Minnesota  to  find  relief.  He  arrived 
at  St.  Anthony  Falls  in  the  fall  of  1855,  but 
returned  to  \'ermont  a  few  months  later.  He 
came  back  to  Minnesota  the  following  year, 
locating  at  Monticello,  in  Wright  County,  June  i, 
1856,  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  trade.  In 
1857  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  state  senate, 
and  re-elected  in  1859.  The  latter  year  he  was 
appointed  special  agent  of  the  postoffice  depart- 
ment for  Iowa  and  Minnesota.  In  i860  he  was 
appointed  receiver  of  the  land  office  at  St.  Cloud, 
Minnesota,  leaving  it  next  year,  when  the  Repub- 
licans came  into  power.  He  was  in  politics  what 
was  then  known  as  a  "war  Democrat,"  willing  to 
do  all  in  his  power  to  perpetuate  the  Union  and 
preserve  it  intact.  In  1862  he  was  appointed  a 
paymaster  in  the  army  by  President  Lincoln,  and 
was  breveted  lieutenant-colonel  in  1865  "for  mer- 
itorious services  in  the  field."  He  did  not  leave 
the  service,  however,  until  January,  1866,  when 
he  was  honorably  discharged.  Colonel  Adams 
at  once  returned  to  ]\Ionticello  and  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  trade  and  real  estate  operations. 
Although  he  had  been  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1862 
he  gave  no  attention  to  legal  business,  except  in 
connection  with  real  estate  transactions.  While 
at  Monticello  he  was  a  member  and  president  of 
the  board  of  education  of  that  town  for  many 
years,  and  always  took  an  active  interest  in 
educational  matters.  He  was  master  of  the  State 
Grange  for  eight  years  and  of  the  National  Grange 
for  two  years,  contributing  in  every  way  possible 
to  the  elevation  and  prosperity  of  the  agricultural 
and  toiling  masses.  He  was  president  of  the  State 
Agricultural  Society  in  1879,  and  is  now  and  has 
been  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  State 
Historical  Society.  While  at  Monticello  he  also 
engaged  in  the  newspaper  publishing  business, 
and  was  for  a  number  of  years  editor  and  propri- 
etor of  the  Wright  County  Times.  In  l\fay.  1883, 
Colonel  Adams  removed  to  Minneapolis,  where 
he  has  ever  since  resided,  engaged  in  the  real 
estate  and  insurance  Imsincss.    Having  performed 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


339 


valuable  services  in  i8(ji  as  a  lueiiiber  uf  the 
commission  appointed  to  award  damages  in  tlie 
opening  and  extension  of  new  streets  in  Minne- 
apolis, the  Republicans  of  the  I'ourth  Ward 
forced  the  nomination  up(jn  him  for  alderman 
from  that  ward  in  1892.  He  was  elected  for  a 
term  of  four  },'ears,  and  was  re-elected  in  1896. 
Mr.  Adams  has  been  one  of  the  most  competent 
and  faithful  men  that  have  ever  served  in  that 
body.  He  sci-ved  continuously  on  the  ways  and 
means  committee,  and  was  also  on  the  committees 
on  claims,  waterworks,  markets  and  underground 
wires.  He  has  been  strenuous  in  his  opposition 
to  the  custom  of  awarding  contracts  to  other 
than  the  lowest  responsible  bidders,  and  at  the 
time  the  reservoir  question  came  up  in  the  council 
in  1895  was  strongly  opposed  to  this  improve- 
ment, because  it  necessitated  an  increase  in  the 
bonded  indebtedness  of  the  city.  When  he  was 
renominated  to  the  council  in  1896  he  received 
the  indorsement  of  the  Good  Citizenship  League, 
and  was  re-elected  by  a  large  majority.  In  politics 
and  religious  matters  Colonel  Adams  is  inclined 
to  be  independent,  preferring  to  estimate  parties 
and  creeds  by  acts  rather  than  profession.  He  is 
a  thirty-third  degree  Mason,  and  is  a  charter 
member  of  the  Monticello  Lodge.  He  is  inspector 
general  of  the  Scottish  Rite,  and  past  senior  grand 
warden  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Alinnesota;  also  a 
member  of  George  N.  Morgan  Post,  G.  A.  R. 
July  21,  1859,  he  was  joined  in  wedlock  to 
Augusta  J.  Smith,  of  Pittsford,  Vermont,  and  they 
have  two  sons — Henry  Rice,  engaged  in  the 
insurance  business  in  Minneapolis,  and  John  Cain, 
formerly  Assistant  Surgeon  L'nited  States  Army, 
and  now  located  at  West  Superior,  Wisconsin. 


WILLL\M  OTHXIEL  FRYBERGER. 

William  Othniel  h>yberger  is  a  physician  and 
surgeon,  practicing  his  profession  in  Minneapolis. 
He  was  born  June  21,  i860,  at  Red  Wing.  His 
father,  William  Fryberger,  was  among  the 
pioneers  of  Alinnesota  having  come  to  this  state 
from  Ohio  in  1855.  He  settled  in  Goodhue 
County  near  Red  Wing.  He  was  of  German 
ancestry   the   name   being   usually    spelled    Frei- 


bcrger,  and  the  family  name  coming  from  the 
town  of  I'reiberg,  in  Baden,  of  which  Andrew 
I'Veiberger,  great  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  one  of  the  freeholders  and  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  few  Protestant  families  of  that 
old  Catholic  province.  William  Fryberger's 
wife  was  Margaret  Burroughs,  a  lady  of  English 
ancestry,  though  of  Colonial  blood.  In  the  early 
days  her  grandfather,  Hezekiah  Burroughs,  lived 
in  Mrginia,  and  took  up  arms  for  the  defense  of 
his  country  in  the  Revolutionar}-  War.  His  de- 
scendants became  pioneers  of  Bourbon  County, 
Kentucky,  and  associates  of  Daniel  Boone  in  the 
early  development  of  that  country.  Dr.  W.  O. 
Fnberger  received  his  early  education  in  the 
village  schools,  and  his  college  training  at  Ham- 
line  Universit}-.  He  pursued  his  medical  studies 
in  the  Hahnemann  College,  in  Chicago,  where  he 
graduated  in  1887.  He  was  immediately  put  in 
charge  of  the  Homeopathic  Hospital  in  Minne- 
apolis, where  he  served  two  years.  Since  that 
time  he  has  been  engaged  in  general  practice  in 
Minneapolis,  and  has  been  successful  in  build- 
ing up  a  large  and  profitable  business.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Congregational  church  and  of 
various  secret  orders.  He  was  married  in  1891 
to  Agnes  Ruth  Moore,  of  Minneapolis. 


340 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


lie  entered  Le  Raysville  Academy  when  eighteen 
years  of  age;  afterwards  the  Susquehanna  Colleg- 
iate Institute  at  Towanda,  at  that  time  one  of  the 
best  institutions  of  learning  in  his  native  state. 


JCJHX  LA  PORTE  GIBBS. 

The  present  Lieutenant-Governor  of  ^Minnesota 
is  John  La  Porte  Gibbs.  Mr.  Gibbs  was  born 
of  Colonial  ancestry.  His  progenitors  were  pio- 
neers of  the  states  of  Alassachusetts  and  Connecti- 
cut, his  father's  ancestors  having  settled  in  the 
former,  and  the  mother's  in  the  latter,  over  two 
hundred  years  ago.  In  the  long  and  fierce  strug- 
gle for  .American  independence,  both  the  great- 
grandfather and  the  grandfather  of  our  subject 
were  active  participants,  senang  in  a  Alassachu- 
setts  regiment.  Grandfather  Elijah  Gibl)s  was  a 
successful  and  wealthy  farmer,  and  left  his  children 
well  provided  for.  His  son  Eli,  the  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  also  followed  the  occupa- 
tion of  farming,  and  was  in  addition  engaged  in 
the  !uml)cring  business  on  the  Susquehanna  river. 
He  acquired  considerable  property,  but  failed  just 
previous  to  his  death  by  having  become  respons- 
ible for  proniissors'  notes  of  a  large  amount.  His 
death  was  by  accidental  drciuning  in  the  .Susque- 
hanna river,  July  3,  1855.  His  wife's  maiden 
name  was  Caroline  Atwood.  Their  son  John  was 
born  in  l^)radford  County,  Pennsylvania,  May  3, 
1838.  The  lad  lived  on  his  father's  farm  and  at- 
tended the  district  schools  of  his  native  countv. 


He  graduated  from  this  institution  in  his  twenty- 
second  year,  and  inmiediately  went  to  Ann  Arbor,, 
entering  the  law  department  of  the  L'niversity  of 
Michigan.  He  graduated  from  this  department 
a  year  later,  and  came  West  to  carve  out  his  for- 
tune. He  first  crossed  the  .Mississippi  river  at 
Rock  Island,  Illinois,  and  having  no  money  in 
pocket  or  friends  to  aid  him,  set  out  from  this 
point  on  foot  through  the  Hawkeye  state,  working 
at  such  odd  jobs  of  employment  as  he  could  se- 
ctire.  He  finally  wandered  into  Albert  Lea,  Min- 
nesota, at  that  time  Init  a  small  village,  and  se- 
cttred  a  position  as  school  teacher.  His  talents, 
having  Iiecome  recognized  he  was  elected  the  fall 
of  the  following  year  (1862)  county  attorney.  A 
year  later  he  was  elected  on  the  Republican  ticket 
to  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature,  representing- 
the  counties  of  Freeborn,  Steele  and  Waseca. 
Since  that  time  Air.  Gibbs  has  been  a  representa- 
tive of  his  district  in  the  legislature  five  different 
times.  He  has  been  one  of  the  most  prominent 
members  of  that  body,  and  has  been  the  author 
of  a  large  amount  of  important  legislation.  He 
was  elected  speaker  of  the  house  in  the  session 
of  1877,  and  again  in  1885.  In  1887  Governor 
?\IcGill  appointed  him  a  member  of  the  railroad 
commission,  and  he  was  re-appointed  the  ensuing 
term  by  Governor  Merriam.  In  1896  he  was 
nominated  by  the  Republicans  to  the  office  of 
lieutenant-governnr,  and  was  elected.  Though 
having  taken  up  the  study  of  law  for  the  purpose 
of  making  that  his  profession,  Mr.  (iil)bs  has 
never  engaged  in  its  practice.  Shortly  after  his 
location  at  Albert  Lea  he  "took  tip"  a  farm,  and 
aside  from  his  duties  to  the  state,  the  occupation 
of  an  agriculturist  has  been  his  vocation  since 
settling  in  the  \orth  Star  state.  He  is  the  owner 
of  a  large  farm  near  Geneva,  in  Freeborn  County, 
whicli  is  twelve  miles  from  the  nearest  railroad' 
station.  His  farm  has  been  conducted  on  the- 
most  improved  scientific  methods,  and  it  is  at 
j)resent  one  of  the  most  prosperous  farms  in 
Southern  Minnesota.  Dainnng,  however,  is  his 
chief  specialty,  and  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


341 


best  authorities  on  tliat  subject  in  the  stale.  ile 
has  lectured  at  various  times  before  farmers'  in- 
stitutes, contibuting  of  his  practical  and  scientific 
knowledge  on  this  subject  to  the  l)enefit  of  his 
brother  agriculturists.  Starting  without  a  cent, 
Mr.  Gibbs  has  now  become  one  of  the  successful 
and  prosperous  citizens  of  the  North  Star  state. 
He  is  prominent  in  the  counsels  of  the  Rei)ublican 
party,  with  which  he  has  always  affiliated,  and  i.s 
highly  respected  in  the  conmiunity  in  which  he 
lives,  as  well  as  in  the  state  at  large,  for  his  genial 
qualities  and  for  the  push  and  enterprise  which 
he  has  exhibited  in  his  business  life.  In  1868 
he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Martha  P.  Robson,  widow 
of  Captain  James  Robson,  of  the  Tenth  Minne- 
sota, who  was  killed  in  the  fall  of  1862.  They 
have  no  children. 


E.  C.  BABB. 


Captain  E.  C.  Babb  was  born  in  the  village 
of  Saccarappa,  near  the  city  of  Portland,  Maine, 
on  February  i,  1834.  His  ancestors  are  descend- 
ants of  old  New  England  families,  his  mother, 
Mary  Winslow,  tracing  her  descent  from  Gov- 
ernor Winslow,  of  Massachusetts.  Captain  Babb 
received  a  good  common  school  education  in 
his  native  town,  and,  after  teaching  school  for  a 
while,  learned  the  trade  of  a  marble  cutter.  From 
the  age  of  twenty-one  to  twenty-eight  he  was 
engaged  in  lumbering  in  northern  Vermont  and 
New  Hampshire.  It  was  while  he  was  in  this 
business  that  the  war  broke  out,  and  he  enlisted 
in  the  Ninth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  \'ohm- 
teer  infantry.  He  participated  in  the  battles  of 
Bull  Run  (two).  South  ]\Iountain,  Antietam  and 
Fredericksburg.  In  the  latter  he  displayed  such 
gallantry  that  he  was  promoted  over  six  first- 
sergeants  to  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant.  After 
Fredericksburg  Captain  Babb's  regiment  was 
sent  west,  and  participated  in  the  siege  of  Vicks- 
burg.  Later  his  regiment  was  detailed  for  ser- 
vice in  Kentucky,  and  in  1863  and  1864  Lieu- 
tenant Babb  served  as  staf¥  oiificer  during  the 
campaign  in  East  Tennessee.  Here  he  received 
his  commission  as  first-lieutenant.  The  following 
spring  found  him  at  Annapolis  with  his  regiment 


where  preparations  were  making  for  the  final 
campaign  imder  General  Grant.  He  was  in  the  bat- 
tles of  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  Cold  Har- 
bor, and  all  the  battles  about  Petersburg  until  the 
final  surrender.  He  was  commissioned  captain 
in  January,  1865.  On  June  10,  of  the  same  year, 
he  was  mustered  out  of  service  at  Concord,  New 
Hampshire.  Captain  Babb  came  to  Minneapolis 
in  1868.  After  a  few  years  in  the  lumber  business 
he  became  president  of  the  Cedar  Lake  Ice 
Company,  an  ofifice  which  he  still  holds.  He  has 
been  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic,  and  has  held  the  position  of 
Commander  of  the  Minnesota  department.  He 
is  an  esteemed  member  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  and 
is  also  a  Mason  and  a  Knights  Templar.  He  be- 
came a  Knights  Templar  in  1868,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Zion  Commandary,  No.  4,  of  Minne- 
apolis. In  18S5  and  1886  Captain  Babb  repre- 
sented the  Eighth  ward  in  the  city  council.  In 
1888  he  was  elected  mayor.  During  his  term  of 
service  as  mayor  occurred  the  great  street  rail- 
way strike,  which  called  for  tiie  exercise  of  the 
soldierly  qualities  which  the  war  had  developed  in 
the  citv's  executive.  Captain  Babb  was  married 
on  August  15,  1862,  to  Levee  L.  Chandler  at 
Berlin  Falls,  New  Hampshire. 


342 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES  EDWIX  \'A\DERBL'RGH. 

Charles  Edwin  \'anderburgli  has  had 
the  distinguished  honor  of  having  served 
on  the  bench  in  the  district  court  and  the 
supreme  court  continuously  for  a  period 
of  thirty-four  years.  His  ancestors  came 
from  Amsterdam,  Holland,  and  settled  in 
New  York  more  than  a  generation  before  the 
French  and  Indian  war.  His  grandfather  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolution  and  removed  soon  after 
the  war  to  Saratoga  County,  New  York,  where 
his  father,  Stephen  Vanderburgh,  was  born  in 
1800.  Charles  Edwin  was  born  at  Clififton  Park, 
Saratoga  County,  New  York,  December  2,  1829. 
In  1837  the  family  located  in  Onondaga  County, 
in  the  same  state,  where  Charles  Edwin  worked 
on  his  father's  farm  during  the  summer  months 
and  attended  the  district  school  during  the  win- 
ter until  he  was  fifteen  years  old,  when  he  pre- 
pared for  college  at  Courtland  College,  Homer, 
New  York.  In  1849  he  was  admitted  to  the 
sophomore  class  at  Yale  College,  and  was  grad- 
uated in  the  class  of  1852.  He  then  became 
f)rinci])al  of  the  academy  at  Oxford,  New  York, 
and   in    connection    with   his   duties   as   principal 


took  uj)  the  study  of  law.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1855,  and  the  next  year  removed  to 
Minnesota,  where  in  April  he  located  at  the  then 
little  village  at  the  F'alls  of  St.  /\nthony.  His 
first  employment  was  in  the  office  of  the  register 
of  deeds,  where  he  worked  about  three  weeks, 
earning  about  forty  dollars  in  pre])aring  the  rec- 
ords of  the  county.  He  then  formed  a  law  partner- 
ship with  F.  R.  E.  Cornell,  which  liecame  one  of 
the  leading  law  firms  of  the  new  state.  In  1859 
]\Ir.  \'anderburgh  was  elected  judge  of  the  Fourth 
judicial  district,  and  held  that  position  for  over 
twenty-two  years.  He  discharged  the  duties  of 
the  office  with  singular  ability  and  fidelity,  a 
statement  which  is  fully  substantiated  by  his  long 
retention  on  the  bench.  His  careful  legal  train- 
ing, his  habits  of  patience  and  thorough  investi- 
gation led  him  to  sound  conclusions,  and  his 
decisions  were  very  seldom  reversed.  In  1881 
there  was  a  vacancy  on  the  bench  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  state,  caused  by  the  death  of  Judge 
Cornell,  and  Judge  A'anderburgh  was  chosen  to 
fill  it.  He  served  in  that  capacity  with  distinc- 
tion and  honor  until  the  end  of  1893.  I'^  i860 
while  judge  of  the  district  court,  he  rendered  a 
decision  which  brought  him  into  national  promi- 
nence. A  slave  woman,  Eliza  \\'inston,  then 
owned  by  Colonel  Christmas,  of  Mississippi, 
brought  to  Minneapolis  by  her  master  on  a  visit, 
was  taken  before  Judge  \'anderburgh  on  a  writ 
of  habeas  corpus.  The  judge  declared  "That 
slavery  was  a  local  institution,  and  that  a  slave 
lirought  into  a  free  state  by  its  owner  became 
free."  He  decided  that  the  woman  was  free  to 
choose  whether  to  remain  with  her  former 
owners  or  to  leave  them.  She  chose  to  do  the 
latter,  and  aided  by  a  party  of  abolitionists,  and 
in  spite  of  protests  and  an  attempt  to  resort  to 
force,  was  enabled  to  make  her  escape  to  Canada. 
In  his  political  associations  Judge  Vanderburgh 
has  always  been  a  Republican,  but,  naturally  and 
]:roperly,  by  reason  of  his  judicial  position,  has 
never  been  a  strong  partisan.  He  is  an  elder  in 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Minneapolis; 
was  for  many  years  superintendent  of  the  Sab- 
bath School,  and  is  active  in  philanthropic  and 
religious  effort.      Tie  was  married   Sc])tt-nilier   2, 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


;i  Ui 


1857,  at  Oxford,  New  York,  to  Julia  Al.  Mygatt, 
daughter  of  William  Mygatt.  She  died  in  1863, 
leaving  two  children,  William  Henry  and  Julia 
M.  In  1873  Judge  Vanderburgh  was  married 
to  Anna,  daughter  of  John  Culbcrt,  of  Fulton 
County,  New  York.  Of  thi.s  union  was  born  one 
daughter,  Isabella,  who  died  in  i8(j3,  a  young 
lady  of  great  promise.  Although  Judge  \'ander- 
burgh  has  devoted  forty  busy  years  of  his  life  to 
the  discharge  of  inil)lic  duties  of  great  responsibil- 
ity and  honor,  he  is  still,  in  1896,  although  in  his 
sixty-sixth  year,  a  hale  and  strong  man  in  the 
full  possession  of  all  his  faculties  and  in  the  en- 
joyment of  the  high  esteem  and  sincere  respect 
of  his  fellow  citizens,  who  honor  him  for  the 
service  he  has  rendered. 


DARWIN  ADELBERT  STEWART. 

Dr.  D.  A.  Stewart  is  a  well-known  physician  of 
Winona,  Minnesota.  He  is  the  son  of  Gardner 
Stewart,  who  was  of  Scotch  descent  and  a  native 
of  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  where  he  was  born 
in  the  year  1800;  his  mother  was  Susan  Bancroft, 
a  cousin  of  George  Bancroft,  the  historian.  Mr. 
Stewart  remembered  well  the  visit  of  Lafayette  to 
this  country  in  1824,  and  saw  that  distinguished 
general  and  his  son  at  Boston.  He  died  at  Wi- 
nona on  March  17,  1896,  aged  ninety-five  years 
and  five  months.  His  wife  was  Miss  Sarah  Pow- 
ers, who  is  a  second  cousin  of  Powers,  the  famous 
sculptor.  She  is  a  descendant  of  the  Leland  fam- 
ily, of  England.  Their  son,  D.  A.  Stewart,  was 
born  at  Croydon,  New  Hampshire,  on  April  5, 
1842.     He  attended  the    Morrisvillc    and    Barre 


graduated    from 


the 


Kimball 


academies  and 
Union  Academy  at  Meriden,  New  Hampshire. 
Later  he  attended  the  medical  de]:iartment  of 
Columbia  College,  New  York  city,  and  gradu- 
ated in  1869.  He  received  an  appointment  on 
the  medical  staff  of  the  New  York  Plospital. 
Coming  West  during  the  same  year,  he  estab- 
lished himself  in  Winona  and  commenced  prac- 
tice on  January  i,  1870.  in  partnership  with  \\'. 
H.  H.  Richardson.     He  has  continued  the  prac- 


tice in  Winona  continuously  since  that  time.  Dur- 
ing his  long  term  of  practice  he  has  been  called 
upon  to  serve  the  public  in  various  capacities. 
For  five  years  he  has  been  city  physician.  He 
was  coroner  of  Winona  County  for  twelve  years. 
He  served  upon  the  school  board  for  two  years, 
and  was  president  one-half  of  that  time.  He  is 
surgeon  at  Winona  for  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
&  St.  Paul  railroad,  and  also  the  Green  Bay,  Wi- 
nona &  St.  Paul.  Dr.  Stewart  is  a  member  of 
the  National  Association  of  Railroad  Surgeons, 
and  of  a  number  of  medical  societies.  He  w'as 
instrumental  in  the  organization  of  the  Winona 
Humane  Society  in  1889,  and  has  been  its  presi- 
dent from  the  beginning,  and  has  taken  great  in- 
terest in  this  work.  He  has  become  identified 
with  the  state  and  national  societies,  being  vice 
president  of  the  State  Humane  Society  and  a 
member  of  the  .\merican  Humane  Society. 
Among  his  varied  interests  is  the  ownership  of 
the  village  of  .Stewart,  McLeod  County,  Minne- 
sota, wdiich  he  laid  out  in  1878.  In  1875  Dr. 
Stewart  was  married  to  Miss  Minnie  A.  Hall, 
of  Whitehall,  New  York.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren :  Henrietta  L.,  Dugakl  .\.,  and  Donald. 


34-4 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


PUTXAAI  DANA  McAlILLAN. 

It  requires  a  courageous  heart  and  the 
possession  of  lots  of  pluck  and  determination  to 
overcome  many  hard  knocks  in  life's  struggle, 
especially  if  accompanied  by  aftliction.  Putnam 
Dana  McMillan  has  had  more  than  his  share  of 
misfortune,  but  he  is  the  offspring  of  men  who 
shed  their  blood  in  the  countr\-'s  cause,  and  he 
inherited  their  sterling  qualities.  His  paternal 
great-grandfather,  Colonel  Andrew  McMillan, 
was  a  participant  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  born 
of  Scotch  parents,  in  the  County  of  Londonderry, 
Ireland,  in  1731.  John  McMillan,  his  son,  was  a 
general  in  the  War  of  1812.  Andrew  McMillan, 
son  of  General  John  McMillan  and  Mehitable 
Osgood  (McMillan),  was  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  On  the  maternal  side,  General 
Israel  Putnam  of  Revolutionary  fame,  was  a 
great-great-grandfather.  His  daughter,  Hannah 
Putnam,  married  Winchester  Dana,  a  descendant 
of  Richard  Dana.  'I'lK-ir  son.  Colonel  Israel 
Putnam  Dana,  was  the  father  of  Emily  Eunice 
Dana,  the  mother  of  Mr.  McMillan.  Colonel 
Dana  was  a  man  of  influence  and  wealth,  and  one 
of  Vermont's  luost  prominent  men.  As  can  be 
seen  the  Christian  names  of  our  subject  indicate 


the  patronymics  of  his  maternal  ancestors. 
Andrew  AIcMillan,  his  father,  a  civil  engineer  by 
profession,  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point;  a  prom- 
inent Democrat  in  Vermont  politics,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  legislature  of  that  state,  as  well  as 
of  Alaine,  where  he  formerly  lived.  In  early  life 
he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  but  this 
business  not  being  conducive  to  his  health  he 
turned  his  attention  in  later  years  to  farming. 
Putnam  Dana  ^McMillan  was  born  at  Fryeburg, 
IMaine,  August  25,  1832.  His  education  was 
received  in  the  common  schools  of  Vermont  (his 
parents  having  moved  to  that  state  when  the  boy 
was  but  a  year  old)  and  later  in  an  academy  at 
Danville.  He  left  his  school  studies  when  but 
sixteen  years  of  age,  and  for  four  years  clerked 
in  a  country  store  in  his  native  state.  He  then 
went  to  California,  going  in  a  sailing  vessel 
around  Cape  Horn.  For  five  years  he  remained 
on  the  Pacific  Coast,  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits  and  mining,  then  returned  to  his  old 
home  in  \'ermont  and  turned  his  attention  to 
agriculture.  When  the  war  broke  out  he  joined 
the  Fifteenth  Regiment  \"ermont  \'olunteers  and 
ser\-ed  throughout  its  entire  service  as  quarter- 
master. At  the  expiration  of  his  service  he  went 
to  South  America  and  settled  in  the  Province  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  engaging  in  sheep  farming  near 
Rosario  on  the  Parana  River.  He  was  very 
successful  and  remained  there  several  years,  until 
he  was  compelled  to  leave  Ijy  a  series  of  terrible 
misfortunes.  A  revolution  broke  out  between 
the  Provinces  of  Buenos  Ayres  and  Santa  Fee, 
and  his  home  being  between  the  two  contending 
factions  became  the  battle  ground  of  the  con- 
testants. This  brought  ruin  financially.  But  with 
the  war  came  cholera,  which  wrought  deadly 
havoc  in  Mr.  Mc]\lillan's  family.  Five  out  of 
eight  members  of  his  household  died,  including 
his  wife,  and,  broken  in  s])irit  an<l  health,  Mr. 
MclMillan  left  the  country  with  the  only  child 
surviving,  a  daughter.  On  his  retm-n  to  the 
Cnited  States  he  came  West,  in  1872,  located  in 
Minneapolis,  and  engaged  in  the  real  estate  busi- 
ness. Pie  has  lived  in  Minneapolis  ever  since, 
where  he  is  held  in  high  esteem  f^r  his  integrity 
as  a  liusiness  man.  He  has  not,  however, 
confined  his  real  estate  s])eculations  to  the  City 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


345 


of  Minneapolis,  but  has  fur  several  years  been 
engaged  in  reclaiming  several  thousand  acres  of 
what  was  apparently  worthless  land  and  an  eye 
sore  to  the  fertile  agricultural  region  in  Southern 
Minnesota.  His  efiforts  have  not  been  fruitless, 
and  the  County  of  Freeborn  and  the  State  of 
Minnesota  are  richer  by  the  transformation  of 
over  six  thousand  acres  of  watery  waste  to  a 
fertile  tract  of  land,  unequaled  by  any  surrounding 
it.  "Ricelawn,"  as  it  is  now  called,  will  stand  as  a 
lasting  monument  to  his  foresight  and  indom- 
itable perseverance.  Mr.  McMillan  has  been  a 
life  long  Republican ;  is  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  and  the  Loyal  Legion,  and 
of  the  Congregational  Church.  He  was  married 
in  Vermont  to  Helen  E.  Davis,  daughter  of 
Hon.  Bliss  N.  Davis,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
attorneys  in  that  state.  .She  died  in  South 
America.  The  only  surviving  child  of  the  union 
is  Emily  Dana  McMillan.  He  was  married  a 
second  time  to  Kate  Kittredge,  daughter  of  Hon. 
Moses  Kittredge,  of  St.  Johnsbury,  Vermont. 
Three  children  resulted  from  this  union,  of  whom 
Margaret  and  Putnam  Dana  are  living. 


CHARLES  GILBERT  HINDS. 

The  ancestors  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
on  both  the  paternal  and  maternal  sides,  were  of 
good  old  Colonial  stock,  having  come  to  this 
country  about  the  year  1650.  Several  members 
of  the  family  were  soldiers  in  the  War  of  the 
Revolution.  Henry  Hinds,  the  father  of  Charles, 
was  an  early  pioneer  in  the  state  of  Minnesota, 
coming  here  in  1854  and  settling  at  Shakopee, 
where  he  has  ever  since  resided  and  practiced 
law.  He  \\as  born  at  Hebron,  New  York,  in 
1826:  graduated  from  the  Albany  Normal  Col- 
lege in  1850;  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the 
Cincinnati  Law  School  and  graduated  from  that 
institution  in  1852.  In  1853  he  was  married  to 
Mary  F.  Wood  worth,  the  mother  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  The  following  year  Mr.  Hinds 
came  to  Minnesota  and  opened  a  law  ofifice  at 
Shakopee.  He  has  held  many  ofifices  of  public 
trust.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  the 
Eighth  Judicial   District  up  to  the  time  of  his 


retiring  from  active  practice  in  1884.  In  the 
early  days  he  acted  as  the  county  attorney  of 
Scott  County  and  judge  of  probate.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature  from 
Scott  County  in  1878,  and  was  made  a  member 
of  the  board  of  managers  in  the  impeachment  of 
judge  Page,  making  the  closing  argument  for 
the  board  before  the  senate.  In  1879  and  1881 
he  served  in  the  state  senate.  Charles  Gilbert 
Hinds  was  born  August  31,  1866,  at  Shakopee, 
Minnesota.  He  received  his  early  education  in 
the  common  schools  of  Shakopee,  and  in  1883 
entered  the  state  university,  taking  a  special 
course  for  two  years.  In  1885  he  entered  the 
law  department  of  the  University  of  ^lichigan, 
graduating  with  a  degree  of  LL.  B.  in  1887.  He 
received  his  certificate  of  admission  to  the  bar 
on  his  twenty-first  birthday,  and  immediately  be- 
gan the  practice  of  his  profession  in  his  native 
town — Shakopee — where  he  has  remained.  In 
1894  he  was  elected  county  attorney  of  Scott 
County.  In  politics  Mr.  Hinds  is  a  Democrat. 
He  is  a  Mason,  a  member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W., 
of  which  he  is  Grand  Foreman  of  the  state,  and 
the  M.  W.  of  A.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
legal  college  fraternity  of  the  Phi  Delta  Phi. 
September  25,  1888,  Mr.  Hinds  was  married  to 
Maude  Plumstead,  of  Shakopee.  They  have  two 
sons,  Frank  H.  and  Frederick  C. 


346 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


EDWARD  FRASER  SEARING. 

Mr.  Searing  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  a 
direct  descendant  on  tlie  female  side  of  the  house 
of  Cameron  of  Locliiel,  the  "gentle  Lochiel"  of 
"Lochiel's  Warning."  The  genealogical  tree  is 
traced  through  the  Eraser,  Mc Arthur  and  Camp- 
bell families.  Mary  Cameron,  daughter  of  Cam- 
eron of  Lochiel,  married  Alexander  Campbell  of 
Breadalbane,  Scotland:  Isabel,  daughter  of  their 
son  Alexander,  married  John  AIcArthur,  a  manu- 
facturer of  Breadalbane;  their  daughter,  Jane, 
married  Major  Robert  F.  Eraser,  U.  S.  A.,  and 
Isabella,  issue  of  this  marriage  was  the  mother 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  From  Cameron  of 
Lochiel  the  family  is  traced  back  to  the  fourteenth 
century,  its  meml)crs  lieing  jirominent  in  the  earlv 
history  of  Scotland.  The  Searing  famil\'  is  of 
English  descent,  and  was  founded  in  this  country 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  several  of  its  members 
taking  a  prominent  part  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  also  in  the  War  of  1812.  Edward  .Searing, 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  a  native  of 
New  York,  but  Iiis  father  was  one  of  the  earlv 
pioneers  of  Western  Wisconsin.  He-  is  now  and 
has  been   for  the  past  sixteen  vears  president  of 


the  State  Normal  School  at  Alaid<ato,  Minnesota, 
and  was,  from  1874  to  1878,  state  superintendent 
of  public  instruction  of  Wisconsin.  He  is  the 
author  and  translator  of  a  popular,  and  quite 
extensively  used,  "Virgil's  Aenefd."  Edward 
Eraser  Searing  was  born  at  Milton,  Rock  County, 
Wisconsin,  December  4,  1866.  Up  to  his  eighth 
year  the  boy  attended  the  graded  school  of  his 
native  town.  At  this  time  his  family  moved  to 
Aladison,  in  the  same  state,  and  Edward  attended 
the  First  Ward  school,  completing  the  course. 
]\Ioving  back  to  JMilton  in  1878,  he  spent  two 
years  more  in  the  schools  of  that  place.  In  1880, 
the  family  having  moved  to  Mankato,  Minnesota, 
young  Searing  entered  the  State  Normal  School 
in  that  city  and  completed  the  advanced  course, 
graduating  in  1885  and  appearing  on  the  program 
as  valedictorian.  He  then  spent  a  post-graduate 
year  at  this  institution,  and  was  successful  over 
fourteen  others  in  a  competitive  examination  for 
appointment  to  the  United  States  Military  Acad- 
emy at  West  Point,  from  the  Second  Congres- 
sional District  of  ^Minnesota.  Having  spent  the 
greater  portion  of  a  year  at  W'est  Point,  Mr. 
Searing  became  convinced  that  the  activities  and 
independence  of  civil  life  were  more  congenial  to 
his  tastes  than  strict  military  discipline,  and 
returned  to  Mankato.  During  the  last  year  or 
two  at  school  he  had  taken  up  newspaper  and 
periodical  writing  to  a  limited  extent,  corre- 
sponding for  several  metropolitan  newspapers, 
and  in  this  way  had  acquired  a  taste  for  news- 
paper work,  so  that  when  the  daily  edition  of  the 
I\Iankato  Free  Press  was  started  in  1887,  and  he 
was  offered  a  position  as  reporter,  he  accepted  it, 
and  has  been  connected  with  the  paper  continu- 
ously since,  being  now  a  stockholder,  director, 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Free  Press  Printing 
Company  and  city  editor  of  the  paper.  The  Free 
Press  of  Mankato  has  gradually  grown  in  size  and 
influence,  until  now  it  holds  a  prominent  and 
important  position  in  Minnesota  country  jour- 
nalism. In  the  spring  of  1891,  in  connection  with 
F.  W.  Hunt,  Mr.  Scaring  pmrhascd  the  Mankato 
Register,  which  was  subsequently  consolidated 
with  the  ^lankato  Free  Press.  In  addition  to 
his  newspaper  work.  Mr.  Scaring  also  finds  time- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


3+7 


to  contribute  articles  to  l-^astern  publications,  and 
to  act  as  l\Iankat(j  correspondent  for  several  Twin 
City  daily  papers.  In  politics  Air.  Searing  is  a 
Republican,  and  altliouijli  be  takes  considerable 
interest  in  tbe  atfairs  of  his  own  city,  lias  declined 
the  use  oi  his  name  for  local  offices.  lie  is  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum:  is  a  director  of  the  Mankato 
Board  of  Trade  and  a  member  (if  the  Connnercial 
Club;  and  also  belong's  to  half  a  dozen  other  local 
clubs  and  societies.  He  has  been  president  of  the 
Mankato  Normal  .School  Ahmmi  Association. 
He  is  not  married. 


ROP.ERT    LESLIE    WARE. 

Robert  Leslie  Ware  is  president  of  the 
National  Investment  Company,  of  St.  Paul.  Mr. 
Ware  was  born  in  May,  1866,  at  Bridgeton,  New 
Jersey,  the  son  of  Edwin  M.  and  Lucy  Topman 
Ware.  Robert  Leslie  began  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  Bridgeton,  and  completed 
it  in  the  South  Jersey  Institute,  of  that 
city.  His  first  idea  with  regard  to  a  career 
was  in  the  line  of  mechanical  engineering,  and 
with  that  object  in  view  he  spent  three  years  in 
the  Farricut  Machine  Works  of  Bridgeton,  get- 
ting a  practical  knowledge  of  the  business.  His 
eyes  began  to  fail  him,  however,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  give  up  his  plans,  and  went  to  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  entered  the  employ  of  E.  J. 
Crippen,  who  was  engaged  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness. In  1886  he  decided  to  come  West,  and  on 
June  eighteenth  he  arrived  in  .St.  Paul.  During 
the  first  two  years  of  his  residence  in  this  state 
he  was  employed  as  bookkeeper  by  W.  J.  Dyer 
&  Bro.,  by  the  Houpt  Lumber  Company  and  by 
the  St.  Paul  Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  Com- 
pany. He  was  ambitious,  however,  to  engage  in 
business  for  himself,  and  in  1888  he  started  out 
in  the  mortgage  loan  business.  He  also  repre- 
sented several  Eastern  insurance  companies,  and 
was  secretary  of  two  building  associations.  In 
1890  his  father  came  West  and  joined  him  in 
business,  under  the  firm  name  of  E.  M.  &  R.  L. 
Ware,    which    association    was    continued    until 


October  i,  1894.  This  firm  carried  on  a  strictly 
mortgage  loan  business,  having  sold  out  its  tire 
insurance  department.  In  1894  Air.  Ware  became 
connected  with  the  management  of  the  National 
Investment  Company  as  its  president  and  treas- 
urer, which  positions  he  has  occupied  to  the  pres- 
ent time.  Mr.  Ware  has  interested  himself  in 
other  enterprises,  and  is  treasurer  and  general 
manager  of  the  Buckingham  Apartment  Hotise 
Company,  recently  organized.  This  company  owns 
the  Buckingham  apartment  house  building,  for- 
merly known  as  the  Hotel  Barteau.  It  has  a 
capital  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
and  at  its  head  as  president  is  George  A.  Pillsbury, 
of  Minneapolis.  Charles  Payson,  of  Washington, 
is  vice-president,  and  William  G.  White,  of  St. 
Paul,  secretary.  Mr.  \\'are  is  a  member  of  the 
Commercial  Club  of  St.  Paul,  and  also  of  the  Day- 
ton Avenue  Presbyterian  church,  of  that  city.  He 
was  married  in  June,  1881),  to  Miss  Belle  Curtis. 
They  have  two  children,  Carrie  Eleanor 
and  Edwin  Maurice.  .\t  the  age  of  thirt}-, 
Mr.  Ware  has  attained  an  honorable  name 
as  a  substantial  business  man,  and  made 
for  himself  an  enviable  rei)utati(jn  as  a  man  and 
a  citizen  in  the  connnunitv  in   which   he  lives. 


348 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


F.  R.  E.  WOODWARD. 

Franc  Roswell  Emerson  Woodward,  wliose 
sensational  experiences  in  newspaper  work,  and 
in  connection  with  the  Cul)an  insurrection  have 
given  him  no  little  prominence,  is  the  son  of  Jas- 
per M.  Woodward,  who  was  for  many  years  en~ 
gaged  as  a  contractor  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 
\It.  Woodward  was  a  member  of  Company 
H,  Sixth  Minnesota  \'olunteer  Infantry.  He 
died  in  1895.  His  family  included  a  num- 
ber of  men  of  military  reputation,  and  sev- 
eral distinguished  as  surgeons  and  educa- 
tors. ( )ne  Dr.  Woodward  was  a  noted  surgeon 
in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Another  was  the 
physician  who  attended  I'resident  Garfield  during 
his  la.st  illness.  A  brother.  Prof.  C.  Al.  Wood- 
ward, was  a  distinguished  educator  in  St.  Louis, 
and  was  the  founder  of  the  manual  training 
system  in  the  L'nited  States.  Mr.  Woodward's 
wife,  Mrs.  Abby  Ann  Palmer  Woodward,  who 
survives  him,  is  descended  from  Puritan  stock. 
Her  family  is  connected  with  tlic  ("am])bells  of 
Scotland,  and  of  the  same  branch  as  the  Duke  of 
Argyle.  Franc  Woodward  was  born  on  .Sep- 
tember 6,  1868,  on  a  Minnesota  farm  near  tlic 
village  of  Hopkins.     His  early  life  was  attendcfl 


with  many  privations.  He  attended  school  in 
Minneapolis,  and  for  about  six  years  his  daily 
routine  consisted  of  carrying  newspapers  in  the 
morning,  attending  school  during  the  forenoon, 
collecting  for  newspapers  in  the  afternoon,  and 
lighting  the  street  lamps  in  the  early  evening. 
Saturdays  he  substituted  for  school,  work  for  a 
weekly  paper.  While  growing  up  amid  these 
varietl  surroundings,  he  wrote  for  several  small 
puljlications,  and  won  three  prizes  for  juvenile 
stories.  At  seventeen  he  left  school,  but  con- 
tinued his  studies  and  reading  as  he  found  time. 
The  year  1886  found  him  in  Duluth,  employed 
on  the  "Duluth  Herald."  Subsequently  he  was 
iiffered  a  position  on  the  "Duluth  Tribune,"  and 
later  occupied  an  all  round  editorial  post  on 
the  "Minneapolis  Evening  Star."  An  expected 
advance  in  salary  not  being  forthcoming,  young 
Woodward  went  to  St.  Louis,  where,  as  reporter 
for  the  "St.  Louis  Post  Dispatch,"  he  created  a 
stir  in  army  circles  ])y  exposing  the  treatment  of 
soldiers  by  officers  at  the  Jefferson  Barracks, 
Missouri.  To  secure  the  information  necessary 
for  this  expose,  Woodward  enlisted  and  served 
for  three  months  in  the  cavalry.  His  exposure 
was  the  cause  of  the  three  years'  enlistment  law, 
which  went  into  effect  after  President  Harrison 
had  ordered  a  court  of  inquiry  into  the  charges 
]3referred.  Other  radical  reforms  followed.  After 
this  Mr.  Woodward  engaged  in  newspaper  work 
on  the  "Herald"  in  Chicago,  the  "Fargo  x^rgiis," 
and  several  papers  in  Alinneapolis  and  St.  Paul, 
and  finally  on  the  "Xew  York  World."  While 
on  the  "World"  he  made  an  investigation  of  the 
civil  ]3rison,  in  Bro(jklyn.  In  May,  i8<)5,  he  was 
sent  to  Cuba  as  war  correspondent.  He  served 
on  the  stafT  of  General  Maceo,  was  taken  prisoner 
l)y  the  Spaniards,  sentenced  to  be  executed,  but 
escaped  and  joined  Maceo.  He  was  again  taken 
])risoncr,  but  finally  escaped  from  the  interior  of 
the  islan<l  after  being  wounded  four  times,  and 
boarded  a  British  .steamer.  He  returned  to  New 
York,  and  afterwards  to  Minnea])olis,  where  he 
accepted  a  positicm  with  S.  E.  Olson  and  acted 
as  manager  of  the  advertising  department.  Mr. 
Woodward  has  written  several  books.  His  first 
was  a  novel,  written  wlien  he  was  (|uite  young. 
In  later  years  Mr.  Woodward  collected  all  copies. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


349 


of  this  book  which  lie  could  find  and  destroyed 
them.  "Dogs  of  War"  was  a  dcscni)tion  of  his 
army  experiences  at  St.  Lniiis.  '"I'd  Diablo 
Americano"  was  a  story  of  his  adventures  in 
Cuba,  published  in  New  York.  "With  Maceo  in 
Cuba,"  a  later  bnok  cm  liis  experiences  in  Cuba, 
was  published  in  .Minneapolis.  -Mr.  Woodward 
has  alwavs  lacen  connected  with  the  press  clu1)s 
of  the  cities  in  wiiich  lie  has  been  engaged  in 
newspaper  work.  Among  his  fads  are  clay  mod- 
eling and  fencing.  He  is  an  expert  rifle  and 
pistol  shot. 


HANS  WALDEAIAR  HENDRICKSON. 

Dr.  H.  W.  Hendrickson,  of  Montevideo, 
Minnesota,  was  born  on  February  20,  1868,  in 
Nestved,  Denmark.  His  parents  were  of  respect- 
able families  of  the  middle  class  and  fairly  well- 
to-do  financially.  When  only  eight  years  old 
young  Hendrickson  was  sent  to  America  by  his 
parents,  and  soon  came  to  Minnesota.  His  boy- 
hood days  were  passed  on  a  farm  in  Chippewa 
County,  and  like  most  farmer  boys  he  worked 
hard  during  the  busy  season  and  went  to  school 
during  the  winter  months.  The  death  of  his  father 
while  he  was  quite  young  and  the  strait- 
ened circumstances  in  which  his  mother  subse- 
quently found  herself  left  young  Hendrickson  at 
an  early  age  much  on  his  own  resources  and  early 
taught  him  the  lesson  that  success  depended  very 
largely  upon  the  persistent  efforts  and  individual 
ability.  And  like  many  before  him  his  success 
was  not  very  promising  with  the  circumstances 
which  surrounded  him.  His  education,  obtained 
in  the  midst  of  hard  work,  was  supplemented  by 
three  years  of  school  teaching  in  his  own  and 
adjoining  counties,  during  which  time  he  was 
continuing  his  studies  as  rapidly  as  possible.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-two  he  entered  the  medical 
department  of  the  University  of  Minnesota.  He 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1893  and  at  once 
opened  an  office  at  the  corner  of  Riverside  and 
Cedar  Avenues  and  conuuenced  practice.  As  the 
prospects  for  building  up  an  extensive  practice 
were  not  verv  bright,  together  with  the  financial 
depression  that  was  severely  felt  in  the  city  dur- 


ing that  year,  Dr.  Hendrickson  determined  to 
go  west.  In  the  latter  part  of  June,  1893,  he 
located  at  Canton,  South  Dakota,  where  he 
remained  for  two  years.  In  August  of 
1895  he  removed  to  Montevideo,  in  the 
vicinity  of  his  old  home,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  permanently  establishing  at  that 
place.  Since  moving  to  Montevideo  he  has 
bought  a  pleasant  home.  In  January  of  1896 
he  was  chosen  county  physician  by  the  Board 
of  County  Commissioners  and  his  practice  has 
rapidly  enlarged  so  that  he  has,  at  present,  a 
comfortable  income.  Dr.  Hendrickson  was  one 
of  the  first  physicians  in  his  part  of  the  state  to 
introduce  electricity  extensively  into  practice,  and 
to  employ  the  Galvano-Cautery  in  nasal  surgery. 
While  in  South  Dakota  he  helped  to  organize 
the  Canton  Hospital  Stock  Company,  and  he 
is  still  consulting  physician  with  that  institution. 
Dr.  Hendrickson  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  though 
he  has  never  taken  a  very  active  part  in  the 
political  affairs.  He  was  married  on  November 
30,  1888,  to  Miss  Thora  J.  Ness.  Three  children 
have  been  born  to  them,  John  Christian,  Melvin 
and  Ella.  Dr.  Hendrickson  seems  destined  to 
become  a  leader  in  his  profession  in  the  state. 


350 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JOHN  FRANCIS  WHEATON. 

The  story  of  the  life  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  an  interesting  one.  Born,  with  the  dark 
blood  of  the  negro  race  flowing  in  his  veins,  and 
confronted  with  all  the  obstacles  of  race  preju- 
dice, John  Francis  Wheaton  has  climbed  a 
rugged  path  such  as  few  men  have  successfully 
surmounted,  and  won  for  himself  a  record  and 
a  name  that  would  be  envied  l)v  an\-  man.  He 
was  born  at  Hagerstown,  Washington  County, 
Maryland,  May  8,  1866,  the  son  of  Jacob  F.  and 
Emily  B.  Wheaton.  He  is  able  to  trace  back 
his  ancestry,  as  far,  on  the  paternal  side,  to  his 
two  great-grandfathers,  and  his  great-grandfather 
on  the  maternal  side.  The  father  of  his  paternal 
grandmother  was  an  Englishman  who  settled  in 
Virginia  as  a  planter.  His  name  was  Thomas 
Buckingham.  The  father  of  his  jiatcrnal  grand- 
father was  also  a  Virginia  planter  whose  Afro- 
American  son  was  his  slave.  Upon  the  death  of 
this  ijlantcT,  he  liberated  his  dark-hued  son,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-four  years.  It  was  from  this 
planter  that  Whcaton's  family  took  its  name. 
His  maternal  great-grandparents  were  both  slaves 
of  the  Wingert  faniilv  in  Marvland.    He  attended 


the  public  schools  of  his  native  town  until  his 
thirteenth  year,  and  then  for  two  years  a  school 
in  Ohio.  Later  he  took  a  course  of  study  in 
Storer  College,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  West  Virginia, 
graduating  from  the  State  Normal  Department 
in  1882,  as  valedictorian  of  his  class.  The  funds 
which  enabled  him  to  receive  an  education  were 
earned  by  him  shining  shoes,  milking  cows,  etc. 
The  laws  forbidding  any  one  to  teach  school 
under  nineteen  years  of  age  were  finally  set  aside 
by  young  Wheaton  being  able  to  pass  a  rigid  test 
examination.  He  taught  school  for  a  few  terms, 
but  entered  into  politics  before  he  was  nineteen 
years  of  age,  exhibiting  considerable  ability  as  a 
stump  speaker.  When  but  twenty-one  years  of 
age  his  name  was  presented  to  the  Republican 
county  convention  of  Washington  county,  Mary- 
land, for  nomination  as  candidate  for  the  state 
legislature,  but  he  withdrew  his  name  after  re- 
ceiving a  flattering  complimentarv-  vote  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  out  of  a  necessary 
one  hundred  and  fifty  votes.  In  1887,  1889  and 
1 89 1  he  served  as  a  delegate  to  the  state  con- 
vention, and  in  1888  attended  the  Republican 
national  convention  at  Chicago  as  an  alternate 
delegate.  During  a  large  share  of  this  time  he 
was  teaching  school  at  Williamsport  and  study- 
ing law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  Albert  A.  Small, 
a  prominent  lawyer  of  Maryland.  In  1888  he 
took  a  course  in  the  Dixon  Business  College, 
at  Di.xon.  Illinois,  and  during  the  campaign  of 
that  year  was  engaged  as  a  stump  speaker  by  the 
Repuljlican  national  conunittee  to  stump  Illinois, 
Indiana  and  Ohio.  In  I'ebruary,  1889,  he  was 
elected  temporaiy  chairman  of  the  state  Repub- 
lican convention  at  lialtnuore,  and  successfully 
(|uietcd  the  warring  factions.  He  was  a  candi- 
date for  the  superintendcncy  of  the  house  docu- 
ment room  in  \\'ashingtnn,  but  was  turned  down 
after  the  place  had  been  promised  him.  He  was, 
however,  given  a  clerkship  in  the  same  de])art- 
ment,  which  he  held  during  the  Fifty-first  con- 
gress. \\'hile  in  \\ashingti 'U  ho  attended  the  law 
departnu'ut  of  Howard  L'niversity.  graduating  in 
Mav,  i8()2.  ( )n  his  return  home  he  made  a 
ijitlcr  fight  for  admissiim  tn  the  bar,  and  was 
finallv  alliiweil  to  take  an  examin.aticm,  \vhich  he 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


351 


passed  successfully.  It  was  only  after  ten  months 
of  persistent  effort,  however,  that  Judge  R.  H. 
Alvey,  now  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  and  a  member  of  the 
Venezuelan  commission  admitted  him  to  prac- 
tice. Pie  was  the  first  colored  man  admitted  to 
practice  outside  tlie  city  of  Jlaltimore,  and  the 
fourth  in  the  state.  In  1892  the  colored  Repub- 
licans of  his  state  elected  him  as  a  delegate-at- 
large  to  represent  them  in  the  Republican  na- 
tional convention  in  Minneapolis,  but  his  creden- 
tials were  not  accepted.  Tiring  of  liis  continual 
struggle  against  the  disadvantages  imposed  upon 
men  of  his  color,  Mr.  Wheaton  moved  to  Minne- 
apolis, May  I,  1893.  That  he  might  be  admitted 
to  practice  before  the  Minnesota  courts  he  took 
a  two  years'  law  course  at  the  Minnesota  State 
University  in  one  year,  and  was  elected  orator 
of  his  class.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1894  and  entered  the  lists  as  a 
candidate  for  the  office  of  reading  clerk  in 
the  lower  house  of  the  legislature.  After  a  hard 
contest  he  was  beaten  by  one  ballot,  but  subse- 
quently was  elected  as  assistant  file  and  reading 
clerk.  In  1895  he  was  appointed  deputy  clerk 
in  the  municipal  court  of  jNIinneapolis,  which 
position  he  now  holds.  He  was  elected  by  accla- 
mation as  alternate  delegate  from  the  Fifth  Min- 
nesota congressional  district  to  the  Republican 
national  convention  at  .St.  Louis  in  1896,  having 
the  distinction  of  being  the  first  colored  man  to 
represent  Minnesota  in  a  national  convention. 
Mr.  Wheaton  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity. He  was  married  June  6,  1889,  to  I\Iiss 
Ella  Chambers,  a  graduate  of  \\'ilberforce  Uni- 
versity, Ohio.  Thev  have  two  children,  Layton 
J.  and  Frank  P. 


WILLIAM  EDWIN  HEWITT. 

Mr.  Hewitt,  who  is  an  attorney-at-law  prac- 
ticing in  Minneapolis,  is  of  pioneer  American 
stock.  On  his  father's  side  the  family  line  in- 
cludes John  Howland  and  Elizabeth  Tilley,  of  the 
Mayflower.  His  progenitors  on  the  maternal  side 
were  earlv  Mrginia  settlers.    He  was  born  at  Le 


Claire,  Iowa,  September  23,  1861,  the  son  of  W. 
H.  Hewitt,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  Hawkeye 
state,  and  Anna  Davenport  (Hewitt).  William 
received  his  early  education  in  the  common 
schools  and  academy  of  his  native  town.  The 
first  money  he  ever  earned  by  his  own  efforts 
was  made  by  caiTying  newspapers  when  a  boy. 
Having  decided  to  make  the  practice  of  law  his 
vocation  in  life,  he  entered  the  law  office  of 
Jenkins,  Elliott  &  Winkler,  of  Milwaukee  to  take 
up  its  study.  Later  he  entered  the  Iowa  State 
L'niversity,  taking  a  course  in  its  law  department, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1882.  He  removed 
to  Chicago  and  became  connected  with  the  law 
firm  of  Mason  Brothers,  of  that  city,  acting  as 
managing  clerk.  This  position  he  held  until  his 
removal  to  Minneapolis  in  1886  to  engage  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  Mr.  Hewitt  has  been 
quite  successful  from  the  start  and  has  built  up 
a  profitable  practice.  His  early  political  affilia- 
tions were  with  the  Democratic  party,  but  after 
maturer  consideration  he  attached  himself  to  the 
Republican  party.  He  was  married  in  1888,  at 
Minneapolis,  to  Miss  Mabelle  \^an  Sickler.  They 
have  two  daughters,  Harriet  and  Marjorie. 


352 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CLARENCE  PALMER  CARPEXTER. 

His  college  the  printer's  shop;  from  printer's 
case  to  the  editorial  chair;  newspaper  publisher, 
attorney  at  law  and  secretary  and  stockholder  in  a 
mercantile  company — this,  in  brief,  is  what  has 
been  accomplished  by  a  young  man  of  energy 
and  perseverance,  without  the  aid  of  fortune — it 
is,  in  a  nut  shell,  the  life  history  of  Clarence 
Palmer  Carpenter,  of  Xorthfield,  2\linnesota.  Mr. 
Carpenter  was  bom  at  Eastford,  Windham 
County,  Connecticut,  February  4.  1853,  the  son 
of  Fredus  C.  Carpenter  and  .Mary  A.  Gilbert 
(Carpenter).  The  father  was  a  native  of  Connect- 
ticut,  and  of  luiglish  descent,  with  a  trace  oi 
Scotch  blood,  he  is  a  l)rother  of  Judge  J.  H.  Car- 
penter, of  Madison,  Wisconsin,  and  a  nephew  of 
Judge  Caq)enter,  of  the  Connecticut  supreme 
court.  ITe  was  a  school  teacher  in  early  manhood, 
but  later  in  life  an  agriculturist.  The  mother  ot 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  native  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  was  a  cousin  of  Dr.  J.  (i.  Holland. 
a  prominent  American  author,  and  for  many  years 
editor  of  Scribner's  Mnnlhly  and  the  Centin-y 
Magazine.  The  family  came  to  Minnesota  in 
.September,    1855,    when    Clarence    was    but    two 


and  a  half  years  old,  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  the 
town  of  Lebanon,  in  Dakota  County.  At  this 
time  Alinneapolis  was  the  nearest  postoffice  to 
their  farm,  and  the  lumber  for  the  house  which 
they  built,  was  rafted  down  from  Anoka  to  Min- 
neapolis and  then  hauled  to  the  farm.  His  edu- 
cational advantages  were  limited,  and  were  only 
those  that  could  be  obtained  in  the  early  district 
schools  of  Minnesota.  At  the  age  of  si.xteen  he 
left  home  to  learn  the  printer's  trade,  beginning 
in  the  of^ce  of  the  Western  Progress,  at  Spring 
\'alley,  Minnesota.  Subsequently  he  worked  for 
about  two  years  in  I'aribault,  and  went  from  there 
to  the  Twin  Cities,  working  at  dififerent  times  on 
nearly  all  the  daily  papers  ]niblished  there.  Fol- 
Idwing  the  usual  life  of  the  old-time  printer,  and 
having  a  desire  to  see  the  country,  he  worked  in 
printing  otlices  in  a  number  of  the  larger  cities 
(if  ditTerent  states.  In  the  fall  of  1877,  Mr.  Car- 
l)enter  took  a  homestead  and  tree  claim  near 
Herman,  in  Grant  Countv,  Minnesota,  going 
from  I'ariliault,  where  he  had  been  emploved  on 
the  Democrat  since  the  spring  of  1876,  on  which 
paper  he  did  his  first  editorial  work.  For  the  ne.xt 
si.x  years  he  cultivated  his  claim  and  brought 
nearly  three  hundred  acres  under  cultivation. 
During  the  winters  he  would  devote  his  time  to 
teaching  school  or  \vorking  at  his  trade.  The 
winter  of  1881  he  worked  as  proof  reader  on 
the  Daily  Union,  at  Jacksonville,  Florida,  and  the 
following  winter  worked  as  night  editor  of  the 
Fargo  Daily  Republican.  In  1884  he  established 
the  Dakota  County  Tribune,  at  Farmington, 
Minnesota,  and  continued  the  publication  of  this 
jjaper  until  August,  1892,  at  which  time  he  sold 
it.  He  had,  while  working  as  a  printer,  begun 
reading  law  for  recreation,  beginning  with  lUack- 
stone's  Conmientaries.  He  kept  at  this  for  some 
years  and  was  finally  admitted  to  the  liar  in  .Sep- 
tember. 1890,  and,  in  connection  with  the  ])ubli- 
cation  of  his  paper  at  Farmington,  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  law.  After  the  sale  of  the  Tribune  Mr. 
Carpenter  silent  a  few  months  in  the  Fast  in 
travel.  Retm-ning  to  ^linnesota,  he  located  at 
Lakeville  ami  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. Tie  also  became  interested  in  a  general 
merchandise  store,  in  connection  with  others 
organizing  a  stock  company  known  as  the  M.  J. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


:)5H 


Lenihan  Mercantile  Company,  of  which  he  is 
secretary  and  treasurer.  In  Jannary,  1895,  he 
purchased  the  Northfa-ld  Indepenikni,  enlarged 
the  paper  and  put  it  upon  a  paying  Ijasis.  Though 
he  usuall)-  affiliated  with  the  Repui)lican  parly, 
Mr.  Carpenter  has  alwa\s  been  disposed  to  he 
independent.  He  was  elected  court  commissioner 
of  Grant  County  in  the  fall  of  18S3,  but  did  not 
qualify,  having  removed  from  the  county  soon 
after.  He  served  as  second  assistant  clerk  of  the 
house  in  the  legislature  of  1887,  and  as  chief 
clerk  in  the  session  of  1889.  He  was  a  delegate- 
at-large  from  this  state  to  the  first  People's  party 
national  convention  at  (  )maha,  in  1892,  and  was 
one  of  the  temporary  secretaries  of  the  conven- 
tion. He  was  on  the  People's  party  ticket  twice 
in  Dakota  Countv  for  the  office  of  county  attor- 
ney, Init  the  whole  ticket  was  defeated  each  time. 
At  present  he  is  entirely  independent  in  politics, 
and  conducts  his  paper  on  the  same  policy.  Mr. 
Carpenter  is  a  mendjer  of  the  (  )dd  Fellows,  and 
was  Xoble  Grand  of  the  lodge  at  Farmington:  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias:  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.,  hav- 
ing served  as  Master  Workman  in  the  Lakeville 
lodge,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  grand  lodge  in 
1896.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  of  Northfield.  July  28,  1885,  he  mar- 
ried Lulu  M.  McElrath,  at  Eureka,  Dakota 
County,  Minnesota.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carpenter 
have  one  son.  Park,  laorn  May  5,  1890,  and  one 
daughter,  Delphine,  l)orn  Septeml)er  2,  1896. 


FREDERICK  O.   HAMMER. 

Minnesota  has  among  her  citizens  none  of 
whom  she  has  more  reason  to  be  proud  than  of 
the  sturdv  and  thriftv  Teutonic  race,  who  have 
done  much  to  build  up  her  present  prosperity. 
Jacob  Hammer,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  a  saddler  and  harnessmaker  in  Ger- 
many, in  moderate  circumstances.  He  came  to 
this  country  in  1849,  settling  at  St.  Paul  in  1856. 
Frederick  O.  was  born  at  St.  Paul  August  11,  1865. 
He  had  only  the  benefit  of  a  common  school 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  St.  Paul,  and 
later   a    course    at    a    commercial    college.      He 


J 


started  in  business  early  in  life  as  register  clerk 
in  the  postoffice  at  St.  Paul,  and  later  he  entered 
the  insurance  business,  and  was  for  six  years  the 
assistant  secretary  of  the  Hail  and  Storm  Insur- 
ance Company  of  Minnesota.  He  then  became 
attached  successively  to  the  Capitol  Building  So- 
ciety, the  Minnesota  Savings  &  Loan  Society 
and  the  Germania  Loan  &  Building  Association, 
acting  in  the  capacity  of  secretary  of  all  three 
concerns.  In  1881  he  became  associated  with 
Congressman  A.  R.  Kiefer  and  has  been  ever 
since  directly  and  indirectly  connected  with  him 
in  various  institutions  and  enterprises.  Mr. 
Hanuner  also  has  charge  of  a  number  of  estates, 
having  nearly  half  a  million  dollars  under  his 
care.  Mr.  Hammer  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  a  member  of  the  St.  Paul  Commercial  Club; 
Junior  Pi(.)neer  Association,  of  Ramsey  County, 
Minn.:  St.  Paul  Lodge  Xo.  3.  A.  F.  &  A.  ^L; 
Summit  Chapter,  Xo.  45.  R.  A.  M.;  Miti- 
nesota  Consistory.  A.  &  A.  S.  Rite,  Xo. 
i:  Osman  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  X.  M.  S., 
and  Champion  Lodge  Xo.  13,  K.  of  P.  He  was 
married  April  10.  1890,  to  Lavanche  I.  Barnum, 
of  Loomis,  Xebraska.  They  have  one  child, 
Rhea  Pauline. 


354 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ERIK  NIELSEN  OULIE. 

Erik  Niflsen  (Julie  is  the  son  uf  a  well-to-du 
fanner  in  Odalen,  Norway.  His  mcither,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Karen  Olsen  Brynildsrud,  was 
noted  throughout  ( Jdalen  as  a  very  talented 
musician,  and  especially  noted  for  her  skill  in 
playing  upon  the  somewhat  ancient  instrument 
called  the  "langelek."  She  came  of  a  musical 
family,  and  it  was  from  one  of  his  uncles  that 
Erik  received  his  first  instruction  on  the  violin. 
The  grandfather,  on  the  paternal  side,  was  also 
a  farmer,  and  in  his  time  noted  as  a  very  impres- 
sive and  able  extemporaneous  composer  of 
words.  Erik  Nielsen  was  born  November 
lo,  1850.  He  spent  his  boyhood  at  Odalen 
on  his  father's  farm  and  began  his  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools,  where  the  prin- 
cipal subjects  taught  were  religion,  mathematics 
and  manual  training.  This  school  work  had  no 
bearing  upon  his  later  career  as  a  musician.  Sub- 
sequently he  attended  military  school  at  Chris- 
tiania,  where  he  received  his  first  training  in 
music,  except  what  he  had  learned  from  his  uncle 
at  home.  He  was  thoroughly  devoted  to  music 
and  pursued  his  studies  under  such  distinguished 


instructors  as  Johan  Svensen  and  Johan 
Selmer.  From  them  he  received  instruc- 
tion in  counterpoint  and  harmony.  On  the 
violin  he  was  instructed  by  Gulbrand  Bohn.  (Jn 
the  organ  he  received  lessons  from  Ludvig 
Lindeman,  the  most  famous  organist  in  Scandi- 
navia. Eor  thirteen  years  Mr.  Oulie  belonged 
to  the  Royal  Musical  Military  Academy  at  Chris- 
tiania,  and  was  one  of  the  three  successful  candi- 
dates   out  of  twent}-  for  graduation    on  April 


15,     187 


After  havine    finished  his  studies 


he  was  engaged  as  musical  director  with  a  travel- 
ing opera  company,  and  later  appointed  instructor 
in  singing  at  the  Tivoli  in  Christiania  and  also 
became  leader  of  the  orchestra  in  that  theater. 
This  position  he  held  for  some  years  until  he  was 
appointed  organist  at  the  cathedral  of  the  city  of 
Bodo,  Norway.  He  was  occupying  this  position 
when  he  asked  for  and  was  granted  permission 
to  take  a  trip  to  America  for  a  year.  He  arrived 
at  Boston  in  1890,  and  was  so  pleased  with  the 
prospects  held  out  to  him  in  this  countn,-  that  he 
did  not  return  to  Norway.  He  was  appointed  to 
the  position  of  leader  of  the  choir  of  Scandi- 
navian singers  just  prior  to  the  Scandinavian 
singing  festival  in  Minneapolis  in  July,  1891.  He 
was  also  elected  leader  of  the  Swedish  Glee  Club, 
of  Boston,  and  of  the  Xor^vegian  Singing  Society 
of  the  same  city,  and  later  became  leader  of  the 
United  Singers  of  Boston  in  opposition  to  many 
competitors.  In  the  fall  of  1892,  Prof.  Oulie 
came  to  Minneapolis  to  take  the  leadership  of 
the  Normaendenes  sang-forening,  and  was  also 
elected  organist  and  director  of  the  choir  of  the 
Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  of  St.  Paul.  His 
services  were  also  in  demand  as  a  leader  of  a 
number  of  singing  societies  of  the  Twin  Cities, 
and  at  the  time  of  the  festival  of  the  United  Sing- 
ing Societies  of  the  Northwest  at  the  World's  Fair 
in  Chicago  in  1893,  he  was  chosen  as  their  leader. 
At  the  great  convention  in  Boston  in  1895,  at 
which  all  the  Scandinavian  singing  societies  of 
the  United  States  were  represented,  he  was  elected 
nuisical  director-in-chief  of  the  L^nitcd  States  of 
America,  which  position  he  now  holds.  The 
Normaendenes  sang-forcning,  under  Professor 
Oulie's  instruction,  received  first  prize  at  the  in- 
ternational tournament  given  bv  the    Olc    Bull' 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


355 


Monument  Association,  .Ma_\-  17,  1X96,  ami  the 
Unga  Svea  also  under  his  instruction  received  the 
popular  prize.  The  vote  was  given  by  the  au- 
dience of  seven  thousand  people.  lie  is 
now  an  honorary  member  of  the  Scandinavian 
Chorus  of  LSoston,  the  Swedish  (ilee  Club  of 
Boston,  and  the  N'ormaendenes  sang-forening  in 
Minneapolis,  and,  also,  of  the  Literary  Society 
Fram.  Professor  Oulie  is  also  a  com]DOser 
and  has  contributed  very  largely  to  the 
elevation  of  Scandinavian  naisic  to  its  pres- 
ent standard  in  America,  and  also  takes 
great  interest  in  church  nuisic,  and  has  helped  to 
raise  the  standard  in  this  |)arlicular  among  his 
countrymen.  In  1879  he  was  married  to  Sophie 
Wilhelmine  Freemann,  a  native  of  Denmark,  wlio 
was  a  leading  member  of  an  operatic  company  of 
which  Mr.  Oulie  was  at  one  time  nmsical  director. 
She  has  also  met  with  nnich  success  as  an  in- 
structor and  leader  of  dramatic  performances  in 
Boston,  as  well  as  in  Minneapolis. 


ERNEST     R.     (iAYLURD. 

Ernest  R.  Gaylord,  cashier  of  the  .Met- 
ropolitan Bank  of  Minneapolis,  is  a  younger 
man  than  is  usually  found  in  stich  an  important 
position  of  trust.  He  was  born  Februar)-  20, 
1863,  at  Saugatuck,  Connecticut,  a  son  of  S.  D. 
and  Carrie  Russell  (Gaylord).  The  Gaylords  are 
one  of  the  oldest  Connecticut  families,  the  first 
member  of  which  landed  there  in  1631.  When  .Mr, 
Gaylord  vas  five  years  of  age,  in  1868,  his  pa- 
rents came  to  ?vIinnesota  and  settled  in  Blue  Earth 
County.  He  remained  there  until  the  age  of 
fifteen,  when  he  came  to  Minneapolis,  and  was 
here  afforded  the  better  educational  advantages 
of  the  pul)lic  schools  of  this  city.  He  left  school 
at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  earned  his  first  money 
carrying  papers  for  the  Minneapolis  Tribune. 
Subsequently  he  secured  a  position  with  Charles 
Young,  a  job  printer,  in  the  old  Brackett  Iilock. 
Afterward  he  was  employed  by  E.  P.  Howell, 
boot  and  shoe  dealer.  He  only  remained  in  that 
business  for  a  short  time,  however,  when  a  better 
opening  presented  itself  in  the  counting  room  of 
Charles  Heffelfinger,  where  he  was  employed  for 


a  year.  His  next  engagement  was  with  Preston 
&  Knott,  dealers  in  rubber  goods,  and  afterwards 
with  Eichelzer  &  Co.,  dealers  in  men's  furnishing 
goods  and  furs.  He  found  a  better  opening,  how- 
ever, with  \'.  G.  Hush,  a  private  banker,  and  for 
a  year  «as  teller  of  the  Hush  bank.  He  then  con- 
nected himself  with  the  Xorthwestern  National 
Bank,  where  he  was  engaged  for  six  years,  the 
latter  part  of  the  time  as  teller.  On  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Metropolitan  Bank  Mr.  Gaylord 
was  ofifered  the  position  of  teller  in  that  institu- 
tion, and  held  that  position  for  a  year,  when  he 
was  promoted  to  the  duties  of  assistant  cashier. 
Upon  the  resignation  of  the  cashier  in  1892  Mr. 
Gavlord  was  elected  cashier,  which  position  he 
now  hokls.  He  enjoys  a  large  ac(]uaintancc  and 
gieat  popularity  among  business  men,  and  con- 
ducts the  duties  of  his  responsible  position  in 
such  a  way  as  to  make  many  friends  for  the  insti- 
tution with  which  he  is  connected.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics,  but  has  never  taken  any  very 
active  jiart  in  political  aft'airs.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  as  well  as  a  member  of 
social  and  commercial  clubs  and  societies.  He 
was  married  December  14,  1SS6.  to  Clara  L. 
\\'eld,  and  has  one  child,  Marion  M. 


856 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ARTHUR  EAl.METT  RANSOM. 

A  good  many  disappointments  have  followed 
the  entertainment  of  the  hope  that  some  day  a 
fortune  might  be  realized  from  the  representa- 
tions of  attorneys  who  elainied  to  have  discov- 
ered the  existence  of  large  fortunes  in  European 
countries  to  which  American  heirs  were  entitled. 
A.  E.  Ransom,  however,  is  one  of  the  heirs  to  a 
fortune  of  eighteen  million  pounds  sterling  lying 
in  the  Bank  of  England,  about  the  existence  of 
which  there  is  no  doubt,  but  to  which  the  Ran- 
som family  in  America  have  as  yet  been  unable 
to  establish  clear  title.  Mr.  Ransom  is  a  native 
of  Concord,  Jefferson  County,  Wisconsin,  where 
he  was  horn  .Se])tember  30,  1866,  the  son  of 
Xathanic'l  C.  Ransom  and  Catherine  Olivia  Cog- 
gins  (Ransom).  Nathaniel  is  now  a  resident  of 
Milwaukee.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Forty- 
seventh  Regiment,  Wisconsin  X'olunteers,  Com- 
pany H,  and  to  his  cfTorts  in  a  large  degree  is 
due  the  progress  made  thus  far  in  establishing 
the  title  of  the  Ransom  family  to  tlic  F.tiglish 
property.  The  Ransoms  came  frmn  I'.ngland 
in  the  early  part  of  the  Eighteenth  century. 
Arthur  E.  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 


Wisconsin  and  the  state  university.  He  grad- 
uated from  the  high  schools  at  Unity,  Wisconsin, 
in  1883,  receiving  first  honors  and  the  prize  for 
oratory.  He  entered  the  state  university  with  the 
class  of  1888,  in  his  eighteenth  year.  He  was  a 
student  at  Madison  when  that  institution  was  un- 
der the  direction  of  President  J.  W.  Bascom. 
While  at  the  university  he  took  a  very  active  in- 
terest in  the  work  in  the  military  department, 
which  was  in  charge  of  a  regular  army  officer,, 
thus  insuring  the  best  of  discipline,  and  has  been 
almost  continually  connected  with  the  national 
guard  work  ever  since.  He  became  a  member  of 
Company  E,  of  the  Second  Regiment,  located  at 
Fond  du  Lac,  then  joined  the  Sheridan  Guard, 
Company  A,  of  Milwaukee,  remaining  with  them 
until  the  organization  of  Company  H,  Fourth 
Regiment,  Milwaukee,  of  which  he  was  made 
captain.  In  1893  Major  Ransom  moved  to  Albert 
Lea.  He  was  elected  captain  of  Company  I,  Sec- 
ond Infantry,  but  resigned  on  Decemlier  15, 
1895,  '-"''  account  of  business  which  kept  him 
almost  constantly  away  from  home,  and  accepted 
the  position  of  aide-de-camp  on  the  staff  of 
Governor  Clough,  with  the  rank  of  major.  While 
in  Milwaukee,  prior  to  his  removal  to  Albert 
Lea,  ]\Ir.  Ransom  was  engaged  in  the  capacity 
of  private  secretary  to  Mr.  Rockwell,  of  the  Rock- 
well Manufacturing  Company.  Upon  his  re- 
moval to  Albert  Lea,  he  became  identified  with 
the  Ransom  Bros.  Company,  wholesale  grocers, 
as  traveling  salesman.  Fie  is  widely  acquainted 
in  Southern  jNlinnesota  and  Northern  Iowa. 
He  had  spent  some  time  in  studying  law  with  the 
intention  of  making  that  his  profession,  but  gave 
it  up  for  the  mercantile  business.  In  that  con- 
nection he  became  an  expert  accountant,  and  at 
one  time  had  charge  of  the  English  course  and 
bookkeeping  department  of  the  McDonaltl  Busi- 
ness Academy,  in  Milwaukee.  His  first  dollar 
was  earned  by  teaching  school  at  Thorpe,  Wis- 
consin, in  1883.  In  the  fall  of  i8<)4,  Mr.  Ransom 
formed  a  partnership  with  Senator  T.  \'.  Knat- 
vold  and  II.  C,.  Koontz,  known  as  the  Ransom- 
Knatvdld  Manufacturing  Company,  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  pipes.  This  business  was  sold  within 
a  \'ear  to  Chicarfo  buvers.     He  was  chosen  Chief 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


;i57 


of  I'olice  at  Albert  Lua  during  18^5,  and  Ins 
administration  of  that  department  of  public  ser- 
vice has  been  regarded  as  highly  successful.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1896  the  Albert  Lea  Gas 
Machine  ^Manufacturing  Company  was  organ- 
ized and  Air.  Ransom  was  made  superintendent 
and  general  manager.  Mr.  Ransom  has  always 
been  an  enthusiastic  Republican.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  became  captain  of 
Division  No.  21,  Uniform  Rank,  at  Albert  Lea  in 
1894,  and  in  February,  1896,  was  unanimously 
elected  major  of  the  Second  Battalion,  First  Regi- 
ment. At  the  encampment  of  the  Uniform  Rank, 
in  Minneapolis,  in  September,  i8g6,  he  was  again 
promoted,  receiving  every  vote  for  colonel  of 
the  First  Regiment.  He  is  an  enthusiastic 
member  of  Browning  Tent,  No.  28,  Knights  of 
the  Maccabees,  holding  the  position  of  Deputy 
Supreme  Connnander  in  Minnesota,  and  on 
February  i,  1897,  takes  up  the  duties  of  Supreme 
State  Deputy  of  Northern  Iowa,  having  been 
appointed  by  Supreme  Commander  D.  P.  Mar- 
key.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Minnesota  \  et- 
erans'  Association.  ( )n  April  11,  1887,  Mr. 
Ransom  was  married  at  h'ond  du  Lac,  Wis- 
consin, to  Miss  Tillie  Oilman.  They  have  four 
children,  three  sons  and  one  daughter. 


SAMUEL  GEORGE  PETERSON. 

S.  G.  Peterson  is  the  proprietor  and  editor 
of  the  Glencoe  Register,  one  of  the  oldest  papers 
in  the  state  of  JMinnesota.  Mr.  I'eterson  is  a  na- 
tive of  Denmark.  His  father  was  George  Peter- 
son, who  for  over  twenty  years  was  a  builder  and 
contractor  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  He  died  No- 
vember 19,  1892.  His  son,  who  was  born  on 
July  3,  1866,  came  to  America  with  his  grand- 
father, Soren  Peterson,  who  settled  in  Renville 
County,  Minnesota,  in  the  spring  of  1871.  The 
boy  was  brought  up  on  the  farm  with  his  grand 
parents  and  attended  the  country  schools  during 
the  winter  imtil  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age. 
He  then  attended  the  Hutchinson  High  School 
for  several  years,  leaving  school  at  the  age  of 
seventeen,  he  learned  the  printer's  trade.  F(^r 
three  vears  he  worked  at  the  case,  and  while  in 


the  printing  ofifice  acquired  a  fair  knowledge  of 
the  business.  When  twenty  )ears  old  he  left  the 
printing  business  for  a  time  and  engaged  in  the 
dry  goods  business,  continuing"  in  this  line  for 
six  years.  Like  most  men  who  have  had  a  taste 
of  newspaper  work,  Mr.  Peterson  found  his  way 
back  to  it  after  a  time.  A  few  years  ago  he  ob- 
tained control  of  the  Hutchinson  Independent. 
After  a  short  term  as  manager  of  the  Independent 
he  founded  the  Lester  Prairie  Journal,  and  he 
now  owns  and  edits  the  Glencoe  Register.  Mr. 
Peterson  has  alwa\s  been  an  active  Republican. 
Since  engaging  in  the  newspaper  work  he  has 
taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  politics  in  his 
vicinity  and  has  become  an  influential  factor  in 
the  workings  of  his  party.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  order,  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  the 
encampment  and  of  the  E.  A.  U.  He  is  an 
active  member  of  the  Alethodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Glencoe,  and  takes  great  interest  in 
the  affairs  of  the  Sunday  School  and  the  Epworth 
League.  On  September  2,  1890,  Mr.  Peterson 
was  married  to  Miss  Christina  S.  Christensen,  of 
Hutchinson.  They  have  two  children,  Maude, 
aged  four,  and  Harold,  aged  two  years. 


358 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


DAXIEL  WEllSTER   I',RL"CKART. 

On  both  the  paternal  and  maternal  sides  of  the 
house  Daniel  Webster  liruckart,  a  lawyer  at  St. 
Cloud,  Minnesota,  is  a  descendant,  in  the  fourth 
generation  of  prominent  Hollanders  who  came 
to  America  during-  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  He  was  l)orn  at  Silver  Spring,  Lancaster 
Comity,  Pennsylvania,  A])ril  23,  185 1;  the  son 
of  Samuel  and  Catharine  (Habecker)  llruckart. 
Sanuiel  Bruckart  was  a  native  of  the  same  county, 
and  lived  there  all  his  life.  He  was  engaged  in 
the  coal  business  and  was  largely  interested  in 
the  development  of  iron  mines  in  Lancaster  and 
Cumberland  Counties.  He  was  prominent  in  the 
politics  of  liis  comity  and  was  a  strong  adherent 
of  old  Simon  Cameron.  Before  the  formation  of 
the  Republican  party  in  1856  Mr.  Bruckart  was  a 
Whig  of  the  Northern  stripe,  known  as  "woolly 
head.''  He  sided  with  the  aliolitionists  and  was 
an  active  j)articipaiU  in  the  operation  of  the 
"underground"  railmad  in  the  ante-bellum  days. 
Young  Bruckart  attended  the  jniblic  schools  of 
his  native  town  until  his  fourteenth  year,  when  he 
went  to  MilJersviile  Normal  .School.  \\'hi-n  but 
in  his  fifteenth  year  he  began  teaching,  doing  this 
in  the  winter  months  and  attending  the  normal 


school  during  the  summer.  Afterwards  he 
entered  Lafayette  College,  at  Easton,  Pennsyl- 
vania, staying  at  this  institution  three  years.  His 
pronounced  oratorical  gifts  were  developed  at  this 
college.  The  most  prominent  feature  of  student 
life  at  Lafayette  was  the  rivalry  betw-een  the  two 
literary  societies,  Washington  and  Franklin  Halls. 
These  two  societies  alternated  at  commencement 
in  having  a  senior  give  an  address,  the  other 
society  selecting  a  sophomore  to  respond.  Daniel 
had  the  honor  of  being  selected  to  give  the 
sophomorical  address.  He  was  also  active  in  the 
debating  societies,  his  experience  here  serving 
him  a  good  turn  later  in  his  profession.  He  was 
historian  of  his  class  and  a  member  of  the  Phi 
Kappa  Psi  fraternity  Daniel  at  this  time  having 
decided  to  make  law  his  profession  in  life,  and 
also  intending  to  practice  in  the  West,  thought 
it  best  to  receive  his  law  training  in  a  Western 
school,  so  entered  the  Iowa  State  Law  School  at 
Iowa  City,  Iowa.  He  graduated  from  this  insti- 
tution with  the  class  of  1872.  and  commenced 
active  practice  at  Independence,  Iowa.  Since  that 
time  Mr.  Bruckart  has  always  been  engaged  in 
the  general  practice  of  law.  He  remained  at  Inde- 
pendence until  1883,  when  he  moved  to  Miime- 
si)ta,  locating  at  .St.  Cloud.  He  formed  a  part- 
nership with  James  McKelvey,  ex-judge  of  the 
district  court,  wdiich  partnership  continued  until 
judge  McKelvey's  death,  since  which  time  Mr. 
Bruckart  has  continued  in  practice  alone.  In 
|)()litics  lie  followed  in  his  father's  footsteps,  and 
has  always  been  a  Republican,  taking  an  active 
part  in  everv  campaign  since  he  reached  the  age 
of  twenty-one,  his  first  vote  having  been  ca.st  in  a 
primary  election  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, for  John  P.  Rea,  of  Minneapolis,  for  con- 
gress. He  has  few  equals  in  the  state  as  a  stump 
speaker  and  campaigner.  During  his  residence 
in  the  state  of  Iowa  he  represented  the  Third 
Congressional  District  on  the  Iowa  state  central 
committee  for  four  years,  and  also  served  as 
secretary  of  this  committee.  In  t88o  he  was  an 
alternate  from  Iowa  to  the  National  Re])ublican 
Convention.  .Since  residing  in  Minnesota  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  state  central  committee  for 
two  campaigns.     He  has  also  taken  a  ]irominent 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


.'<59 


part  in  local  municipal  affairs,  and  served  as 
mayor  of  St.  Cloud  for  three  terms.  Mr. 
Bruckart  is  a  AJason,  a  niemhcr  nf  tlir  1.  O.  O.  F. 
and  K.  of  P.  His  religious  affiliations  are  with 
the  Unitarian  Church  of  .St.  Cloud.  He  was 
married  A  fay  ]8,  1873,  to  Sara  Williams  of  Inde- 
pendence, Iowa.  Air.  and  Mrs.  IJruckart  have 
had  three  children,  two  of  whom  are  livinof: 
Leigh  Dudley,  born  in  1X7(1,  ami  Lloyd  Owen, 
l)om  in  1 88 1. 


HENRY  BEEMER. 

Henry  Beemer,  of  Minneapolis,  is  a  son 
of  Jose])h  lieemer,  a  well-to-do  farmer,  and  Eliza- 
beth Dean  (Beemer.)  Joseph  Beemer  resided  at 
St.  George,  Ontario,  and,  while  not  a  politician, 
in  the  usual  sense  of  the  word,  he  was  chosen 
by  his  fellow-townsmen  fifteen  times  in  succes- 
sion to  represent  them  in  the  council.  Henry 
Beemer  was  born  at  St.  George,  November  5, 
1836.  His  educational  advantages  were  con- 
fined to  the  town  schools,  as  in  those  days  very 
few  farmers'  boys  in  that  country  were  able  to 
enjoy  the  advantages  of  a  college  course.  In 
i860  Mr.  Beemer  removed  to  Michigan,  locating 
at  Pontiac,  and  went  into  the  marble  business 
He  continued  in  that  business  there  until  1881, 
when  he  moved  his  establishment  to  Clinton, 
Iowa,  and  a  short  time  later  to  Lisbon.  He  con- 
tinued in  the  marble  business  in  Iowa  for  nine- 
teen years,  making  twenty-one  years  in  all  en- 
gaged in  that  line  of  trade,  during  which  time 
he  was  very  successful.  In  1881  he  closed  up 
his  marble  business  and  turned  his  attention  to 
life  insurance.  The  following  year  he  organized 
the  Northwestern  Aid  Association  at  Marshall- 
town,  Iowa,  and  three  years  later,  in  1885,  moved 
the  headquarters  of  that  association  to  Minneap- 
olis and  changed  the  name  to  the  Northwestern 
Life  Association.  He  incorporated  under  the 
laws  of  Minnesota,  and  for  the  past  ten  years 
has  acted  as  general  manager.  He  was  mainly 
instrumental  in  placing  it  in  the  favorable  posi- 
tion which  it  now  occupies.     Since  his  removal 


to  Minneapolis  he  has  also  become  deeply  in- 
terested in  agriculture,  and  in  1893  he  fitted  up  a 
farm  near  Excelsior.  The  tract  contamed  two  hun- 
dred acres,  and  Mr.  lleenier  took  great  satisfaction 
in  liringing  it  into  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and 
improvement.  Mr.  Beemer  has  never  taken  a 
very  active  part  in  politics,  but  is  an  enthusiastic 
Repuljlican.  In  i8i;4  some  of  his  friends  took  the 
liberty  to  present  his  name  to  the  Republican  city 
convention  ior  the  office  of  mayor,  and  although 
he  was  not  an  active  candidate,  he  received 
seventy-six  votes  on  the  first  ballot.  Mr.  Beemer 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  was  elected  one  of  two  delegates  to  the  gen- 
eral conference  in  1892.  He  has  been  intrusted 
with  all  the  offices  of  his  church  from  the  lowest 
to  the  highest,  and  is  now  chaimian  of  the 
finance  connnittee  of  the  Wesley  M.  E.  Church, 
of  Minneapolis.  He  is  a  man  of  sterling  integ- 
rity and  commands  the  confidence  and  respect 
of  all  who  know  him.  He  was  married  in  1857 
to  Nancv  A.  Averill,  and  they  have  had  four 
children,  Herbert  Elsten,  Marie  Lucretia,  Helena 
-Augusta  and  Dayton.  The  first  two  are  not 
living. 


360 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


W^  ^ 


I 

j 


IRNIXGTODD. 


Irving  Todd,  of  The  Hastings  Gazette,  is  one 
of  tlie  oldest  newspaper  men  of  the  state.  He 
came  to  the  Xorthwest  in  1857,  and  since  i860 
has  been  continnously  identified  with  country 
joumaHsm  in  this  vicinity.  Through  laoth  par- 
ents Mr.  Todd  is  descended  from  old  Colonial 
stock  of  the  sturdv  type  which  made  Xew  Eng- 
land and  the  Middle  States  the  bulwark  of  the 
Revolution.  The  family  in  America  dates  from 
Abraham  Todd,  who  was  born  in  Scotland  in 
1 710,  and  as  a  Presbyterian  minister  settled  at 
Horse  Xeck,  Connecticut.  He  died  just  before 
the  war,  in  1772.  Some  of  his  descendants 
moved  to  Westchester  County,  Xew  York  and 
have  for  geneiations  been  identified  with  that 
portion  of  the  Empire  State.  Joseph  X.  Todd, 
father  of  Irving,  w^as  a  miller  in  good  circum- 
stances, living  at  Cross  River.  He  married  ]\Iiss 
Sarah  A.  Reynolds,  granddaughter  of  Lieutenant 
Nathaniel  Reynolds,  a  Revolutionary  soldier. 
Her  family  was  prominent  in  Westchester  and. 
like  that  of  her  lius1)and,  thriftv  and  well-to-do. 
In  1856  Mr.  Todd,  in  company  with  a  brother 
and  brother-in-law,  was  induced   to  invt'St   (|uite 


largely  in  a  saw  mill  at  Prescott,  Wisconsin,  but 
in  the  following  season — the  panic  year  of  1857 
— went  down  in  the  general  financial  crash. 
However,  the  investment  was  the  means  of  shift- 
ing the  life  of  his  son  from  the  civilization  of 
New  York  to  the  then  new  West.  Irving  was 
l.)orn  at  Lewislioro,  Xew  York,  Jul\'  2^.  1841, 
receiving  a  good  conmion  school  education.  In 
the  spring  of  1857  he  came  out  to  Prescott  with 
his  father  to  look  after  their  business  interests, 
and  during  that  sunmier  worked  in  the  saw 
mill,  running  engine  and  sawing  lath.  He  spent 
the  following  winter  at  the  old  home  in  Xew 
York,  and  in  the  spring  the  family  moved  West 
and  settled  permanentlv  at  Prescott.  For  a  year 
or  so  Irving  divided  his  tmie  between  farm  work 
and  school,  in  1859  making  his  first  acquaint- 
ance with  what  he  has  aptly  called  "the  best 
school  he  ever  attended."  the  printing  office. 
June  18,  i860,  he  entered  into  a  years"  contract 
with  C.  E.  Young,  of  The  Prescott  Transcript,  at 
a  salary  of  one  dollar  ])er  week  and  board.  Pre- 
vious to  this  the  young  man  had  been  fired  with 
the  desire  to  enter  the  life  of  a  printer  and  news- 
paper man.  He  had  read  with  enthusiasm  Penja- 
min  I'Vanklin's  autobiography — the  first  influence 
toward  journalism.  He  was  an  apt  student  at  the 
new  employment.  \\'ithin  three  months  he  was 
acting  as  foreman  of  the  office,  besides  doing 
most  of  the  editorial  work  and  all  of  the  proof 
reading.  At  the  end  of  the  year  he  was  consid- 
ered more  than  an  average  journeyman.  The 
Transcript,  however,  had  been  undermined  by 
political  rivalry,  and  Mr.  Todd  secured  employ- 
ment as  a  compositor  on  The  Hastings  Con- 
server,  then  being  run  as  a  daily  to  supply  the 
demand  for  war  news.  In  a  few  months  the  daily 
edition  was  discontinued,  Mr.  Todd  going  back 
to  Prescott  and  assuming  editorial  charge  of  The 
Journal,  which  Lute  A.  Taylor  had  moved  in  from 
River  b'alls.  After  some  further  experience  on 
Tlie  Hudson  .Star,  Mr.  Todd  Ixnight  the  plant  of 
The  Conservcr,  then  dcfinicl.  XnNcmhcr  17. 
1862.  issuing  his  first  paper  the  following  Thurs- 
dav.  Ele  has  since  been  identified  with  Hastings. 
Four  years  later  tlic  pa])er  was  consolidated  with 
The  Tude|)enilent  as  The  ITristings  Ciazette.  Tudd 


PROGRESSIVH  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


:ir,l 


&  Stebbiiis,  editors  and  proprietors.  March  4, 
1878,  Mr.  Todd  bought  out  Mr.  Stebbins'  half 
interest.  The  present  daily  issue  was  coiunienced 
September  18,  1882,  and  August  27,  1887, 
Irving  Todd,  Jr.,  was  given  an  interest  in  tlie 
business,  the  date  being  his  twenty-first  birth- 
day. The  firm  has  since  been  Irving  Todd  & 
Son.  They  have  been  financiaUy  successful. 
Mr.  Todd  has  been  an  active  Reiniblican  since 
the  organization  of  the  party.  In  1867-8  he  was 
assistant  doorkeeper  of  the  house  of  representa- 
tives at  Washington,  and  was  collector  of  inter- 
nal revenue  at  St.  Paul  from  January  i,  1872, 
to  April  I,  1876.  In  the  Masonic  fraternity  Mr. 
Todd  is  past  master  of  Dakota  Lodge,  No.  7; 
past  high  priest  of  \'ermillion  Chapter,  No.  2: 
past  district  deputy  grand  master,  past  deputy 
grand  high  priest,  and  a  charter  member  of  Min- 
nesota Consistory,  No.  i.  He  has  written  the 
reports  on  foreign  correspondence  for  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Minnesota  since  i88g.  Todd's  Digest, 
now  in  its  fourth  edition,  is  standard  authority 
in  this  jurisdiction.  July  13,  1865,  Mr.  Todd  was 
married  to  Miss  Helen  Lucas.  Their  children, 
Irving  and  Louise,  are  now  grown.  Mrs.  Todd 
died  April  15,  1896. 


FRANK  W.  FORCE. 

Scattered  throughout  the  state  of  Minnesota 
and  among  the  most  active  forces  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  state  are  graduates  of  the  State 
University,  who  have  here  prepared  themselves 
for  some  particular  branch  in  business  or  pro- 
fessional life.  Among  the  number  is  Dr.  Frank 
W.  Force,  of  Windom,  a  son  of  Dr.  J.  F.  Force, 
president  of  the  Northwestern  Life  Association 
of  Minneapolis.  Frank  W.  Force  was  born  at 
Stillwater,  New  York,  February  7,  1868.  His 
family  came  to  Minnesota  in  1873.  Thev  lived 
on  a  farm  for  two  years  near  Heron  Lake, 
and  then  moved  into  town  that  Fraid-:  might 
obtain  the  benefits  of  better  school  facilities.  As 
a  boy  he  spent  his  summer  vacations  working 
in  the  hay  field  and  otherwise  developing  his 
muscles     and     strengthening     his     constitution. 


When  he  was  prepared  for  college  he  entered 
Hamline  University,  but  without  completing  the 
course  there  entered  the  dental  department  of 
the  State  University,  from  which  he  graduated 
June  4,  1 89 1.  When  he  was  ready  for  his  pro- 
fessional work  he  decided  to  locate  at  ^^'lndom, 
Minnesota,  and  has  been  an  active  factor  in  the 
development  of  that  town  ever  since.  He  is  at 
present  city  recorder  and  has  been  active  in  the 
promotion  of  all  public  enterprises  and  closely 
identified  with  everything  which  contributed  to 
the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  city.  In  addi- 
tiiin  to  his  professional  work,  he  is  engaged  in 
the  drug  business  and  has  made  a  success  of  it. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  is 
serving  the  public  as  a  member  of  the  high  school 
examining  board,  and  has  closely  identified  him- 
self with  all  the  best  interests  of  the  city  in  which  he 
lives.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  secretarv-  of  the  Re- 
publican League  Club.  His  religious  connec- 
tions are  with  the  Methodist  Church,  and  he 
is  a  member  of  the  official  board  of  that  organi- 
zation. Dr.  Force  was  married  September  27, 
1893,  to  Miss  Clara  F.  Robinson,  of  Savannah, 
Illinois.  They  have  one  daughter,  Margaret,  and 
occupy  a  leading  positii)n  in  the  societv  of  Win- 
dom. 


362 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


GEORGE  PERRY  FLAXXERY. 

George  Perry  Flannery  is  a  lawyer  at  Min- 
neapolis. Mr.  Elannery's  parents  were  humble 
people;  both  were  born  in  Ireland  and  came  to 
this  country  in  the  forties.  They  settled  in  Con- 
necticut and  were  married  in  that  state  in  1849. 
The  same  year  they  removed  to  Wisconsin  and 
located  on  a  farm  in  Marquette  County,  where 
they  remained  until  the  spring  oi  1855,  when  they 
removed  to  Rice  County,  Minnesota.  Mr.  I'lan- 
nery  was  then  about  two  years  old  and  came  to 
this  state  in  a  covered  wagon  drawn  by  o.xen. 
His  father's  name  was  Michael  Flannery,  a  native 
of  the  County  of  Kilkenny,  and  his  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Katharine  Ilynn.  Her  iMrth- 
place  was  in  the  County  of  Longford,  Ireland. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Marquette, 
Wisconsin,  h'ebruary  12,  1852,  and  w^as  the  second 
child  of  the  family.  His  first  schooling  was 
received  in  one  of  the  primitive  log  schoolhouses 
then  common  on  the  frontier.  In  the  fall  of  1867 
George  P.  I'lannery  entered  the  high  school  in 
Faribault  and  continued  there  two  years,  when 
he  went  to  Shattuck  Hall,  at  Faribault,  ami  was 
a  pupil  in  tliat  school   until    May.    iSjr,     When 


he  left  his  father's  farm  in  the  fall  of  1867  he 
undertook  to  provide  for  himself  by  teaching 
school,  and  w'orking  for  the  farmers  during  the 
harvest  season.  While  he  was  a  pupil  at  Shattuck 
the  teacher  of  mathematics  gave  extra  time  and 
instruction  to  I'lannery  and  two  other  boys,  and 
as  a  result  they  finished  with  the  class  which 
started  two  years  ahead  of  them.  George  P. 
Flannery  had  determined  to  be  a  lawyer,  and  it 
was  his  good  fortime  to  get  into  the  office  of 
Batchelder  &  Buckham,  at  Faribault,  in  May, 
1871.  He  read  law  there  and  continued  with 
them  until  April,  1874,  with  the  exception  of 
such  intervals  as  it  was  necessary  for  him  to 
teach  and  do  other  work  for  his  own  support. 
He  recalls  now,  with  no  little  pleasure,  that  the 
first  money  he  ever  earned  was  received  for  one 
month's  work  driving  oxen  and  harrowing  in 
wheat.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Faribault 
in  1873,  and  the  supreme  court  in  1874.  In  the 
latter  year  he  went  to  Dakota  Territory  and 
settled  in  liismarck,  where  he  formed  a  law  part- 
nership with  Josiah  De  Lamater,  then  district 
attorney,  which  partnership  continued  under  the 
name  of  De  Lamater  &  Flanner\-  until  the  spring 
of  1877,  when  Mr.  De  Lamater  returned  to  Ohio. 
Soon  after  going  to  Bismarck,  and  although  a 
young  attorney,  Mr.  Planner}'  was  appointed 
attorney  for  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  and 
held  that  position  until  June,  1887,  when  he  came 
to  Minneapolis.  In  1875  he  was  appointed 
assistant  United  States  attorney  for  Dakota  and 
held  that  position  for  two  years.  In  1877  '^^  was 
appointed  city  attorney  for  Bismarck  and  during 
that  year,  in  connection  with  the  town  site  com- 
mission settled  and  adjusted  the  claims  to  all 
the  lots  contained  in  the  original  tow^n  site  of 
Bismarck.  He  held  the  office  of  city  attorney 
for  three  successive  terms,  beginning  in  1877, 
-and  was  again  appointed  to  the  same  office  in 
1883.  In  1879  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
John  K.  Wetherby,  which  continued  five  years, 
when  Mr.  Wetherby  retired  on  account  of  failing 
health.  Then  came  the  great  fight  for  the  capital 
of  the  Territory  of  Dakota  in  the  year  1883,  and 
Mr.  Flannery  was  selected  by  his  townsmen  to 
represent  tlu-  iil\-  nf  llisniarck  and  niak'c  her  liid 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


363 


for  the  honor  of  being  the  scat  of  territorial 
government,  lie  was  successful  ami  the  capital 
was  removed  from  Yankton  to  liismarck.  In 
1883  congress  created  the  Si.\th  judicial  district 
and  Mr.  l''lannery  was  appointed  attorney  of  that 
district  by  Governor  Ordway  and  held  that  posi- 
tion until  the  law  was  changed  and  the  office  of 
district  attorney  became  that  of  county  attorney. 
In  1884  he  was  elected  president  of  the  bar 
association  of  the  Sixth  district  of  Dakota  Terri- 
tory. The  same  year  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  E.  C.  Cooke,  with  wIkhii  he  is  now  asso- 
ciated in  bu.'^iness.  In  1883  he  was  made  a 
member  of  tlie  board  of  education  in  Bismarck 
and  held  that  office  until  June,  1887,  being  presi- 
dent of  the  board  the  last  two  years.  In  1885  he 
was  elected  county  attorney  of  IJurleigh  County 
and  held  that  office  until  he  left  Dakota.  In  June. 
1887,  he  came  to  Minneapolis  and  formed  a  part- 
nership with  H.  G.  ().  Morrison  and  E.  C.  Cooke, 
the  style  of  the  firm  being  Morrison,  Mannery  & 
Cooke.  This  partnership  continued  for  three 
years,  when  Mr.  Morrison  withdrew.  Air.  Flan- 
nery  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law 
since  May  i,  1874,  thirteen  years  in  Dakota,  and 
the  rest  of  the  time  in  Minneapolis.  He  has 
been  engaged  in  most  of  the  important  litigation 
carried  on  in  that  part  of  Dakota  Territory  which 
now  constitutes  the  state  of  North  Dakota.  He 
has  always  been  a  Republican.  Was  one  of  the 
alternates  to  the  national  convention  in  Cincin- 
nati in  1876,  and  has  held  the  office  of  chairman 
of  the  Republican  committee  of  Burleigh  county. 
Since  coming  to  Alinneapolis  he  has  enjoyed  a 
large  practice  and  has  attained  a  proiuinent 
position  in  the  bar  of  this  city.  He  was  married 
in  1876  to  Alice  Greene,  and  has  four  children, 
Charles  S.,  Henrv  C,  ^Marguerite  and  Alice. 


JOHN  R.  McKINNON. 

The  mayor  of  the  city  of  Crookston,  Minne- 
sota, is  the  man  whose 'name  stands  at  the  head 
of  this  sketch.  He  was  born  in  Inverness  Shire, 
Scotland,  September  13,  1851,  the  son  of  Archi- 


bald McKinnon  and  Jennette  McGillis  (Alcivin- 
non),  who  a  year  or  two  later  emigrated  to  Can- 
ada, settling  on  a  farm  at  Lancaster,  Glengarry 
County,  t  )ntario,  where  they  died  in  moderate 
financial  circumstances.  John  R.  McKinnon 
only  had  the  advantages  of  a  common  school 
education,  and  resided  on  the  farm  until  his  re- 
moval to  .Michigan  in  1867.  He  located  at 
Crookston  on  May  15,  1880,  two  younger 
brothers  having  preceded  him  to  this  place,  and 
entered  into  partnership  with  one  of  them,  Alex- 
ander, in  the  manufacture  of  carriages  and  the 
handling  of  farm  implements,  under  the  firm 
naiue  of  AfcKinndu  Bros.,  which  jjartnership 
still  continues.  Mr.  McKinnon  has  been  quite 
successful  in  his  Inisiness  ventures.  He  is  inde- 
pendent in  his  political  convictions,  but  has  been 
active  in  local  affairs.  For  six  years  he  ser\-ed 
as  a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  in  1895 
was  elected  mayor  of  Crookston  for  a  term  of 
one  vear.  His  church  connections  are  with  the 
Catholic  Church.  He  was  married  June  24,  1S74, 
to  Hattie  McDonald.  They  have  had  eight 
children,  of  whom  only  two  are  living,  Margaret, 
fourteen  years  of  age,  and  Hattie,  six  years  of 
aare. 


364 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HASCAL  R.  r.RILL. 

There  are  man\-  able,  fearless  and  conscien- 
tious men  in  the  judiciary  of  the  State  of  INIin- 
nesota,  but  there  is  none  who  is  held  in  higher 
esteem  by  the  people  of  his  district  than  Judge 
Hascal  R.  Brill,  who  has  occupied  the  district 
bench  of  St.  I'aul  for  over  a  score  of  years.  Judge 
Brill's  ancestors  were  Holland  Dutch,  who  settled 
in  Dutchess  County.  Xew  York.  His  grandpar- 
ents removed  to  Canada,  just  over  the  \'ermont 
line,  shortly  after  the  Revolutionary^  war,  and 
took  up  land  and  opened  farms  on  which  some 
of  their  descendants  still  live.  Hascal  was  born 
at  Phillipsburg,  in  the  Province  of  Quebec,  Au- 
gust ID,  1846;  the  son  of  Thomas  Russell  (who 
was  a  farmer  by  occupation)  and  Sarah  Sagar  Lirill. 
When  thirteen  years  of  age  he  came  to  J\linne- 
sota  with  his  parents,  who  settled  on  a  farm  near 
Kenyon,  in  Ciijodhue  Count)-.  Here  young  Brill 
lived  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  work- 
ing on  the  farm  during  the  sunnners  and  at- 
tending school  in  the  winters,  though  sometimes 
teaching.  His  early  education  he  received  in  the 
district  scliool,  and  he  prepared  himself  for  col- 
lege in   Haniline   I'niversitv,  which   he  attended 


irregularly  for  four  years.  He  then  entered  the 
University  of  ^Michigan,  but  only  took  one  year's 
course.  In  December,  1867,  he  moved  to  St. 
Paul,  with  the  intention  of  taking  up  the  study 
of  law,  and  entered  the  office  of  Judge  Palmer 
and  Morris  Lamprey.  He  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice December  31,  1869,  and  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  Stanford  Newel.  After  a  practice  of 
about  three  years  he  was  elected  probate  judge 
for  Ramsey  County,  which  office  he  held  in  1873 
and  1874.  On  the  demise  of  William  S.  Hall, 
first  judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  in  Min- 
nesota, Governor  Davis  appointed  Judge  Brill, 
March  i,  1875,  to  fill  the  vacancy.  A  few  months 
later  he  was  elected  to  the  same  office  for  a 
term  of  seven  years.  At  the  next  session  of  the 
legislature  in  1876  the  court  of  common  pleas 
was  merged  into  that  of  the  district  court  for  the 
Second  Judicial  District,  Judge  Brill  occupying 
the  bench,  and  he  has  held  that  office  ever  since. 
To  place  Judge  Brill  ahead  of  his  associates 
on  the  bench  is  not  making  any  invidious 
comparisons,  for  he  has  earned  his  pre-eminence 
by  years  of  hard  judicial  service.  The  fact 
that  Judge  Brill  received  his  renominations  to- 
the  bench  at  the  hands  of  both  of  the  great 
political  parties  is  significant  of  the  esteem  in 
which  he  is  held.  Although  a  Republican  in 
principle.  Judge  Brill  has  not  taken  any  active 
part  in  politics  since  his  elevation  to  the  bench, 
lie  is,  however,  interested  in  religious  work. 
He  is  a  Methodist,  as  were  his  father  and 
mother  and  grandparents.  His  father's  house 
was  known  far  and  wide  as  a  stopping  place  for 
Methodist  ministers,  where  they  always  received 
a  hearty  reception.  The  Judge  has  held  numer- 
ous church  offices,  and  at  present  is  chairman 
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  First  M.  E.  Church 
of  St.  Paul,  of  which  church  he  has  been  an 
influential  member  ever  since  he  located  in  that 
city.  He  was  a  member  of  the  last  two  general 
conferences  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  served' 
as  chairman  of  the  judiciarv  committee.  Tn  the 
quiet  of  his  own  home,  freed  from  the  vexations 
of  his  judicial  duties.  Judge  Brill  seeks  to  satisfy 
his  taste  for  literature:  occasionallv  he  has  de- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  01-    MINNESOTA. 


365 


livered  a  lecture  or  an  address  on  literary  and 
historical  subjects,  and  also  on  topics  of  current 
public  interest.  ITc  has  l)ecn  trustee  of  Hamline 
University  for  many  years,  and  was  president  of 
the  board  for  some  time.  He  was  married 
August  II,  187.^,  to  Cora  A.  (!ray.  of  Suspension 
Bridge,  Xew  Yurk.  .Mr.  and  Mrs,  P.rill  have 
six  children. 


EUGENE  G.  HAY. 

Eugene  G.  Hay  was  United  States  district  at- 
torney for  Minnesota  from  1890  to  1894.  -Mr. 
Hay  is  a  native  of  Charlestown,  Clark  County, 
Indiana,  a  son  of  Dr.  Andrew  J.  Hay  and  Re- 
becca Garrett  Hay.  His  father  was  of  Scotch 
descent  and  his  mother  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry. 
He  was  born  March  26,  1853,  and  received  his 
education  in  the  conmion  schools  and  in  the  Bar- 
nett  Academy  at  Charlestown.  In  1876  he  began 
studying  law  in  the  office  of  Gordon,  Lamb  & 
Sheppard  at  Indianapolis.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1877  and  commenced  the  practice  of 
his  profession  at  Madison,  Indiana,  the  next 
year.  He  remained  there  until  i88t),  wnen  he 
removed  to  Minneapolis  and  has  been  practicing 
law  here  ever  since,  either  in  a  private  capacity 
or  as  an  officer  of  the  government.  Mr.  Hay  is 
a  Repubhcan  and  has  always  taken  an  active  part 
in  politics  since  he  became  a  voter.  He  was  a 
clerk  in  the  Indiana  legislature  in  1877  and  was 
made  prosecuting  attorney  at  Madison  for  two 
terms,  from  1881  to  1885.  In  1884  he  repre- 
sented the  Fourth  congressional  district  of  Indi- 
ana in  the  Republican  national  convention 
which  nominated  James  G.  Blaine  for  the  presi- 
dency. In  1888  he  was  elected  to  the  lower 
house  of  the  Minnesota  legislature  from  the 
Twenty-ninth  district,  where  he  made  a  most 
excellent  record.  He  was  one  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Washburn  senatorial  campaign  of  that  year, 
and  contributed  in  a  large  degree  to  the  election 
of  W.  D.  Washburn  to  the  United  States  senate. 
On  December  17,  1889,  Mr.  Hay's  name 
was  sent  to  the  senate  by  the  president  for  the 
position   of   United    States   district   attornev   for 


Minnesota,  and  he  held  that  office  until  1894.  He 
is  a  forcible  speaker  and  has  always  been  relied 
upon  by  his  party  as  one  of  the  most  efficient 
and  successful  men  on  the  stump  in  this  state. 
This  has  brought  his  ability  in  demand  in  every 
campaign  and  he  has  given  liberally  of  his  time 
and  ability  for  the  promotion  of  the  political 
principles  of  which  he  is  a  firm  believer.  .Mr. 
Hay  was  married  November  4,  1891,  at  Indian- 
apolis, to  Elenora  Farquhar.  He  is  a  Alason 
and  Knight  Templar.  Prior  to  his  appointment 
as  United  States  district  attorney  he  was  in  part- 
nership in  the  practice  of  law  with  Messrs.  Jelly 
and  Hull,  the  style  of  the  firm  being  Jelly,  Hay  & 
Hull.  Upon  his  retirement  from  office  he  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  law,  but  without  partners. 
He  has  been  ver\-  successful  both  in  his  official 
work  and  in  his  private  practice,  and  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  strongest  among  the  vounger  mem- 
bers of  the  Minneapolis  bar.  Although  Mr.  Hay 
never  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  complete  col- 
lege education,  he  has  always  been  a  student, 
and  is  a  gentleman  of  extensive  reading  and  a 
diligent  investigator  of  the  important  questions 
of  the  day,  on  which  he  is  an  instructive  writer 
and  a  well  equipped  and  forcible  speaker. 


366 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


KNLTEXELSUN. 

Senator  Kiuite  Xclsun,  of  .Minnesota,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Norway.  He  was  1)orn  at  \  oss.  near  Ber- 
gen, Norway,  on  February  2,  1843.  I'Or  jjenera- 
tions  his  ancestors  had  lived  in  that  vicinitv  as 
farmers.  When  three  years  old  Knute  lost  his 
father,  and  when  six,  he  came  to  this  country 
with  his  mother.  When  they  arrived  in  Chicaijo 
in  July,  1840.  the  cholera  epidemic  was  raging-  in 
that  city.  The  young  boy  contracted  the  disease, 
but  his  rugged  constitution  successfully  resisted 
its  attacks.  During  the  succeeding  vear  his 
mother  moved  to  \\'alworth  County,  Wisconsin, 
and  soon  after  to  Dane  County,  where  young 
Nelson  grew  up.  His  conmion  school  educatiim 
was  obtained  witli  difficulty,  but  after  encounter- 
ing many  ol)stacles  he  was  able,  in  1858,  to  enter 
Albion  Academy,  lint  three  years  of  his  course 
there  had  expired  when  the  war  broke  out,  and 
Nelson  entered  tlie  army  in  May,  i86r,  with  a 
group  of  his  fellow  students.  Tluy  became  mem- 
bers of  the  Fourth  Wisconsin  Infantry.  Ilie 
young  soldier  served  with  his  regiment  until  the 
fall  of  1864.  Tie  participated  in  the  capture  of 
New  Orleans,  in  the  first  siege  of  \'icksburg,  the 


battle  of   llaton   Rouge  and  Camp    Bisland,  and 
was  at  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson.     In  the  great 
charge  at  tliis  siege,  on  June   14,   1863,  he  was 
wounded  and  captured,  and  remained  a  jirisoner 
until  the  fort  was  surrendered  on  July  <j.     At  the 
close  of  the  war  Mr.  Nelson  returned  to  Albion, 
finished  his  course,  and  after  graduation  became  a 
law  student  in  the  office  of  Senator  William   [''. 
\  ilas,  at  -Madison.     He  was  admitted  to  the  l)ar 
in    the    spring    of    1867,    and    inunediateb'    com- 
menced practice.     In  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
he  was  elected  to  the  state  assemlily,  and  was  le- 
elected    in    the    following   vear.      Soon    after   the 
close  of  his  second  term  he  moved  to  Alexandria, 
Douglas  County,  Minnesota,  where  he  has  since 
ma<le  his  home.     In  Douglas  County  Mr.  Nelson 
found  many  people  from  his  native  country  and 
from   .Sweden.      In    fact,   those   nationalities   pre- 
dominate  in     Northwestern     Minnesota.       As    a 
strong  man,  and  one  whose  characteristics  fitted 
him  to  become  a  leader,  he  naturally  took  a  prom- 
inent place  from  his  first  settlement  in  the  region, 
lie    entered    a    United    States    homestead    and 
opened  a  farm  near  Alexandria,  and  commenced 
farming  and  practicing  law.     In   1872,   1873  and 
1874  he  was  county  attorney  of  Douglas  County. 
In   1875,   1876,    1877    and    1878    he    served    the 
Thirty-ninth  Legislative  District  as  state  senator. 
l!y  this  time  he  had  attained  great  prominence 
and  influence  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  state, 
and  his  name  was  placed  on  the  Garfield  electoral 
ticket  in   1880.     Two  years  later  he  secured  the 
Republican  nomination  for  congress,  for  the  then 
I'lfth  District  of  Minnesota.     The  campaign  was 
an  extremely  bitter  one,  but  he  was  elected  by  a 
])lurality    of   four    thousand    five   hundred    votes. 
Re-election   followed  in   1884  bv  over  ten  tlmu- 
,sand  plurality,   and   in    1886  he  received   fur  his 
third  term  forty  three  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
thirtv-seven  votes  to  one  thousand  two  hundred 
;ind  thirty-nine  ca.st  for  a  Prohiljitionist,  his  only 
iii:)])onent.     Mr.  Nelson's  record  in  congress  was 
that  of  a  hard  worker,  and  an   indeiiendcnt   and 
fearless  voter.    He  favored  tariff  reform,  and  even 
went  so  far  as  to  vote  for  the  Mills  bill,  as  well 
as  introducing  a   measure  looking  to  the  entire 
rdiolitiiin  (if  the  tariff  on  several  articles.     He  was 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


8(J7 


instrumental  in  securing  the  passage  of  bills  open- 
ing the  Indian  reservations  and  making  perma- 
nent disposition  of  the  red  men  of  Minnesota. 
With  no  material  opposition  to  him  he  neverthe- 
less declined  a  renomination  in  i88S,  and  the  fol- 
lowing spring  resumed  his  law  business  and  farm- 
ing at  Alexandria,  InU  in  i<S(j2  he  was  unanimous- 
ly nominated  as  the  party  candidate  for  governor, 
and  was  elected  l)y  a  plurality  of  fourteen  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  twenty  votes.  A  renomina- 
tion and  election  by  sixty  thousand  plurality  fol- 
lowed in  i8i)4.  He  had  hardly  entered  upon  his 
second  term,  however,  when  he  was  elected  to 
the  L'nited  States  senate  and  resigned  as  governor 
to  accept  the  higher  office,  which  he  n(_)w  fills 
with  great  ability.  Mr.  Xelson"s  career  has  been 
of  the  kind  that  romances  are  made  of,  and  his 
success  stands  as  a  living  refutatii.m  of  the  com- 
plaint that  there  is  no  k)nger  any  chance  for  the 
poor  boy  in  this  country.  Xelson  was  certainly 
poor  enough  and  sufficiently  dependent  on  his 
merits  and  his  own  efforts  which  have  advanced 
him  from  the  station  which  he  occupied  as  a  lad 
in  1840,  with  all  its  discouraging  conditions,  to 
the  honorable  office  which  he  now  fills  with  credit 
to  himself  and  to  the  profit  of  the  state. 


LOUIS  N.  SCOTT. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  at  Peters- 
burg, Kentucky,  Alay  10,  1858,  a  son  of  Robert 
Scott,  now  a  hotel  proprietor  in  Missouri,  and 
Ellen  Coneff  (Scott),  now  deceased.  Robert  Scott 
w^as  of  Scotch  descent,  and  his  wife  of  Irish  line- 
age. Louis  was  afforded  the  advantages  of  a  com- 
mon school  and  business  education  only.  In 
April,  1875,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  came  to 
Minnesota  and  located  at  St.  Paul,  having  ob- 
tained emplovment  there  as  a  clerk  in  the  steam- 
boat business.  He  was  employed  as  freight  clerk 
on  the  levee  by  the  St.  Louis  &  St.  Paul  Packet 
Company,  and  afterwards  became  the  agent  in 
St.  Paul  for  that  line  and  still  later  general 
Northwestern  agent  for  the  same  company. 
In  1883  he  engaged  in  the  theatrical  busi- 
ness    as     manager     of     the     opera     house     in 


St.  Paul.  In  October  of  the  same  year,  he  was 
made  manager  of  the  Grand  Opera  House  and 
conducted  it  up  to  the  time  it  was  destroyed  by 
fire  in  January,  1888.  He  then  managed  the 
Newmarket,  a  temporary  theatre,  for  nearly  two 
years,  and  opened  the  Metropolitan  (3pera  House 
in  St.  Paul,  December  29,  1890.  Mr.  Scott  is 
novi'  in  charge  of  this  property.  In  1894  he  was 
made  manager  of  the  Grand  Opera  House  in 
Minneapolis  and  handled  that  property  up  to  the 
time  it  was  closed  in  (  )ctober,  1895.  On  the  sixth 
day  of  October,  1895,  ^'r.  Scott  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House  and  the 
Lyceum  Theatre  in  Minneapolis.  In  ^lay,  1894, 
he  took  the  management  of  the  Lyceum  Theatre, 
in  Duhith,  and  is  now  conducting  these  four 
places  of  amusement.  The  Metropolitan  in  Min- 
neapolis, the  Metropolitan  in  St.  Paul,  and  the 
Lyceum  in  Duluth,  are  operated  together.  He  has 
been  highly  successful  in  his  extensive  business, 
aiming  to  present  to  the  theatre-loving  ptiblic  of 
these  three  cities  the  best  available  attractions. 
Mr.  Scott  is  a  member  of  the  Minneapolis  Club 
and  the  Minnesota  Club  in  St.  Paul.  He  was 
married  in  December,  1886,  to  ]Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Haines.     Thev  have  no  children. 


368 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ROBERT  DONUL'GH  RL'SSELL. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  l.ieen  a  resident 
of  Minneapolis  since  1883.  He  was  born  at  St. 
Louis,  on  March  9.  185 1,  where  his  parents  had 
lived  for  a  number  of  years.  The  father,  Charles 
E.  Russell,  who  was  a  native  of  New.  Jersey,  but 
came  West  in  1837,  was  a  mechanic  of  industrious 
habits  and  superior  intelligence  and  pronounced 
radical  views.  His  wife,  who  was  Miss  Louisa 
Mathews,  was  a  lady  of  no  ordinary  attainments. 
During  the  rebellion  she  engagetl  in  the  work  of 
sanitary  commission,  doing  noble  work  among 
the  soldiers  of  the  Union  army.  Of  the  eight 
boys  in  the  family,  five  grew  to  manhood.  The 
eldest  became  president  of  Barean  College,  Jack- 
sonville, Illinois.  Another  brother  is  Sol  Smith 
Russell,  the  celebrated  actor.  Four  of  the  broth- 
ers bore  arms  during  the  rebellion,  but  Robert 
was  too  young  to  take  part  in  the  war.  After  the 
family  moved  to  Jacksonville  in  iSfio,  he  com- 
menced, at  onlv  nine  years  of  age,  to  learn  his 
father's  trade,  that  of  a  tinner.  Until  he  was 
eighteen  years  old  his  work  at  the  bench  alter- 
nated with  short  ])eriods  of  schooling:  but  he 
managed  to  fit  himself  for  college,  and  in  1868  he 
entered  the  sophomore  class  of  Illinois  College. 


While  attending  college  he  supported  himself  by 
labor  and  teaching.  He  graduated  in  1871  with 
the  highest  honors,  being  valedictorian  of  his 
class.  Within  a  year  he  commenced  the  study  of 
law  in  the  ofiftce  of  Isaac  L.  Morrison,  of  Jack- 
sonville. His  admission  to  the  bar  was  in  Sep- 
tember, 1874,  and  at  the  same  time  he  received  the 
degree  of  Alaster  of  Arts  from  his  alma  mater. 
Almost  innnediatelv  upon  his  admission,  the 
young  law_\er  was  appointed  city  attorney  of 
Jacksonville,  a  position  which  he  held  for  three 
terms.  He  was  also  made  a  partner  in  the  law 
firm  of  Dummer  &  Brown,  and  upon  the  death 
of  Judge  Dummer  in  1878,  he  continued  with  Mr. 
Brown  until  his  removal  to  [Minneapolis.  This 
partnership  brought  Mr.  Russell  into  very  exten- 
sive practice,  in  which  the  affairs  of  several  rail- 
roads represented  by  the  firm,  were  of  the  most 
importance.  Questions  of  state  control  of  rail- 
roads and  the  right  to  prescribe  rates,  were  then 
comparatively  new.  In  the  extensive  litigation 
which  followed  the  assertion  of  those  powers, 
the  firm  of  Dummer,  Brown  &  Russell  \vas 
prominent.  In  coimection  with  some  of  these  im- 
portant litigations,  ]Mr.  Russell  visited  Washing- 
ton in  1 88 1,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
United  States  supreme  court.  The  attractions  of 
Minneapolis  as  a  place  to  live,  led  two  of  the 
brothers,  Robert  and  Sol  Smith,  to  choose  this 
city  as  their  home.  Soon  after  his  arrival,  Mr. 
Russell  formed  the  law  partnership  of  Russell, 
Emery  &  Reed.  The  firm  later  became  Russell, 
Calhoun  &  Reed,  and  cnj(jyed  a  large  practice. 
The  first  public  service  rendered  by  Mr.  Russell 
in  Minneapolis  was  as  city  attorney.  He  was  ap- 
pointed to  that  ofifice  on  January  i,  1889,  and 
served  for  four  years.  Perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant litigation  during  his  term  was  that  con- 
nected \\ith  the  dispute  between  the  city  and  sev- 
eral railroad  companies,  relative  to  the  bridging 
of  the  railroad  tracks  on  Fourth  Avenue  North. 
The  case  had  reached  the  supreme  court  of  the 
United  States  when  Air.  Russell  succeeded  in  ar- 
riving at  a  compromise  which  was  acceptable  to 
the  railroad  companies  and  advantageous  to  the 
citv.  This  allowed  the  work  of  the  bridging  to 
go  forward,  nuich  to  the  benefit  of  the  iieople. 
In  the  aulnnin  of  1891,  'Mr.  Russell  roceivt'd  the 


I'KOCRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


309 


Kcpublicau  noiniiiutiun  lUr  ju(lt;c  of  ihc  district 
court.  The  Democratic  party  was  successful  at 
the  succeeding  election,  but  in  May,  1893,  Ju'lg*-' 
Lochren  retired  from  the  bench,  and  Mr.  Russell 
was  appointed  to  lill  out  his  term.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1894,  he  was  elected  to  succeed  himself  for 
the  six  years'  term.  Judge  Russell  was  president 
of  the  Minneapolis  liar  Associatinn  in  1892-93. 
He  is  a  trustee  of  Illinois  College,  a  i)rominent 
member  of  Plymouth  Congregational  church  in 
Minneapolis,  and  a  public-spirited  and  progres- 
sive citizen.  He  was  married  on  September  7, 
1876,  to  Miss  Lilian  M.  linjoks,  of  Danville, 
Illinois.  Their  living  children  are  Dorothy  Rus- 
sell, aged  nine  years,  and  Jean  Russell,  aged  five 
vears. 


EDWARD  DA-XiXjRTH  KEYES. 

Dr.  Edward  D.  Keyes  is  a  practicing  physician 
of  Winona,  Minnesota.  He  is  a  native  of  this 
city,  but  comes  of  old  New-  England  stock.  His 
grandfather,  Danforth  Keyes,  was  bom  in  Con- 
necticut. He  lived  at  Ashford,  Windom  County, 
and  there,  on  June  20,  1818,  John  Keyes,  the 
father  of  Edward,  was  born.  In  1837  John  Keyes 
moved  to  Clinton,  Michigan.  While  living  there, 
he  was  married,  on  Novem1)cr  i,  1846,  to  Miss 
Angelina  E.  Pease,  who  was  born  in  Wilson, 
Niagara  County,  New  York,  September  25,  1829. 
When  the  great  excitement  in  California  broke 
out  in  1850  JMr.  Keyes  joined  the  gold  seekers 
and  went  to  seek  his  fortune  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
He  returned  in  1853  and  shortly  afterward  moved 
with  his  family  to  Winona,  in  the  then  new  state 
of  Minnesota.  Mr.  Keyes  was  a  lawyer,  and  he 
at  once  became  prominent  in  his  new  home. 
During  the  twenty-three  years  in  which  he  lived 
at  Winona,  he  was  identified  with  the  public 
afifairs  of  the  city,  and  especially  took  an  active 
part  in  the  establishment  and  development  of  the 
public  school  svstem  of  Winona,  and  of  the  state 
normal  school,  located  at  that  place.  He  died  on 
December  2,  1876,  at  his  home  in  ^Vinona.  Mrs. 
Keyes  still  lives  with  her  family  at  Winona. 
Dr.  Keyes  was  educated  in  the  excellent 
public  schools  at  Winona.  While  attend- 
ing school,   and   when   only  eighteen   years   old 


his  father  died  and  he  was  thrown  on 
his  own  resources.  In  order  to  obtain  means 
to  pursue  his  studies  he  worked  in  the  flour  and 
lumber  mills,  at  the  same  time  devoting  his  spare 
hours  to  his  books.  He  began  the  study  of  medi- 
cine in  the  office  of  Dr.  Franklin  Staples,  at 
Winona,  in  188 1.  Afterwards  he  attended  three 
courses  of  lectures  in  the  Rush  Medical  College, 
in  Chicago,  and  was  graduated  in  the  class  of 
1885.  Upon  graduation  he  received  a  prize  for 
examination  in  opthalmology.  Dr.  Keyes,  later, 
took  a  post-graduate  course  at  Chicago  Polyclinic 
during  the  autunm  of  1890.  He  began  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  and  surgery  in  his  native  city 
in  1885,  and  has  since  continued  there.  By  hard 
work,  good  judgment  and  steady  perseverance 
he  has  built  up  a  large  practice  and  established 
a  high  reputation.  Since  1890  Dr.  Keyes  has 
been  district  surgeon  for  the  Chicago  &  North- 
western railway.  He  has  had  a  large  experience 
in  general  and  railway  surgery,  modern,  abdom- 
inal surgen,-  and  in  gynecological  operations. 
He  was  elected  to  membership  in  the  board  of 
education  in  Winona  for  the  term  1893-1897.  On 
Mav  20,  1806,  Dr.  Keyes  was  married  to  Miss 
^fargaret  Hull  McNie,  who  is  also  a  native  of 
\\^nona.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church. 


370 


PROGRESSIVH  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


RENSSELAER  RUSSEL  NELSON. 

The  occupation  of  a  federal  district  bench  foi^ 
a  period  of  thirty-eight  years  is  an  honor  which 
few  men  are  privileged  to  point  to  as  their  record 
in  the  public  service.  Alinnesota,  since  its  admis- 
sion to  statehood,  has  had  as  its  representative  on 
the  United  States  district  bench  Judge  Rensselaer 
R.  Nelson,  who  e.xercised  jurisdiction  over  this 
district  until  1896.  when  he  resigned  to  take  a 
rest  from  the  arduous  duties  of  his  long  judicial 
career.  But  judge  Nelson  is  not  the  only  member 
of  his  family  who  has  been  ]ir()minent  in  tlie 
judiciary  of  the  United  States.  His  father,  .Samuel 
Nelson,  was  for  many  years,  and  until  his  death, 
an  associate  justice  of  the  United  States  supreme 
court,  while  Judge  Neilson  of  Brooklyn,  who  tried 
the  famous  Tilhnan-l'eccher  trial  in  1875,  was  a 
second  cousin,  tliis  branch  of  the  family  spelling 
their  name  Neilson.  Rensselaer  Russel  Nelson 
was  born  in  Coopcrstown,  Otsego  County,  New 
York,  on  May  12.  1826.  He  is  of  Irish 
descent  on  his  father's  side,  and  of  English  and 
Irish  on  his  motlier's.  His  paternal  great-grand- 
father.  John   Nelson,   came  over   from    Ballib.-i\ . 


Ireland,   in    1764,    when   his    grandfather,    John 
Rogers  Nelson,  was  a  child,  and  settled  in  Wash- 
ington County,  New  York.    Here  Samuel  Nelson, 
father  of  Rensselaer,   was   born,   November    10, 
1792,    dying    in    Cooperstown,    New    York,    in 
December,  1873.    He  served  in  the  War  of  1812, 
and  the  land  warrant  given  him  for  his  services 
to  his  country  at  that  time  was  located  by  his  son, 
Rensselaer,    on    lands    in     Minnesota.      Young 
Nelson  prepared  for  college  in  his  native  town. 
When    but   sixteen    years    old    he   entered    Yale 
College,  and  was  graduated  from  that  institution 
of  learning  in  1846.    He  had  decided  to  follow  in 
the   footsteps  of  his  father,   and  at  once  began 
reading  law-  in   the  office  of  George  A.   Stark- 
weather, of  Cooperstown.      He  finished  his  law 
studies  in  the  office  of  James  R.  \\'hiting,  of  New- 
York  City,  who  sat  at  one  time  on  the  supreme 
bench  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  his  native  town  in  1840-     He  began 
practice  there,  but  within  a  short  time  moved  to 
Minnesota,  locating  at  St.  Paul  in  1850.    He  con- 
tinued his  practice  in  that  city  for  three  or  four 
years,  then  removed  to  ^^'est  .Superior,  Wisconsin. 
^^'hile  there,   from    1834  to    1856,   he   served  as 
district  attornev  of  Douglas  Coimty.    In  1857  he 
returned  to  St.  Paul  and  was  appointed  a  territorial 
judge    for    ^Minnesota    bv    President    Buchanan. 
Minnesota  was  admitted  to  the  L'nion  the  follow- 
ing year  and  Judge  Nelson  was  appointed  United 
.States  district  judge,  the  circuit  over  which    he 
had  jurisdiction  taking  in  the  whole  of  the  State 
of  Miimesota.     Bv  reason  of  the  great  extent  of 
this  circuit,  he  having  to  preside  alone  at  many 
terms  of  the  court,  and  also  the  fact  that  for  many- 
years  the  criminal  laws  of  the  United  States  were 
almost  exclusively   administered   by   the   district 
court.  Judge  Nelson's  duties  have  been  of  a  very 
laborious  and  complex  character.     But  he  was  a 
hard  worker  and  scldoiu  took  leave  of  his  cham- 
bers.   His  long  judicial  experience  on  the  district 
bench,  and  his  carlv  and  complete  training  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  conunon  law.  have  made  him  one 
of  the  leading  expounders  of  the  statutorv  laws 
of  the  Ignited  .States  in  this  countrv.     He  made 
law  and  jurisprudence  his  life  study,   hence  his 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OP  MINNESOTA. 


371 


high  standing  as  a  jurist.  His  decisions  were 
always  marked  by  the  strictest  inipartiaHty,  his 
judgment  in  his  charges  to  juries  exhibiting  a  rare 
judicial  instinct  to  quickly  wade  through  imma- 
terial details  to  the  essential  points,  and  so  finely 
balanced  that  his  court  was  seldom  brought  into 
conflict  with  other  courts,  a  result  often  precipi- 
tated by  our  duplex  judicial  system.  After  a 
service  on  the  bench  of  thirty-eight  years.  Judge 
Nelson,  in  1896.  resigned  the  office  which  he  had 
so  honorably  filled,  to  pass  the  balance  of  his 
days  freed  from  the  onerous  duties  and  the 
worries  of  judicial  life  and  to  enjoy  a  well-earned 
vacation.  He  carries  with  him  the  knowledge 
that  during  his  term  of  office  he  had  the  un(|uali- 
fied  confidence  and  respect  of  both  the  bar  and 
the  people  of  the  state.  In  politics  Judge  Nelson 
has  been  a  life-long  Democrat,  but  he  has  never 
been  a  strong  partisan.  The  third  of  November, 
1858,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Emma  F.  Wright, 
nee  Beebee,  of  New  "S'ork.  They  have  had  two 
children,  Emma  Beebee  and  Kate  Russell,  the 
latter  dvinsr  when  but  eisfht  vears  old. 


ARMSTRONG  TAYLOR. 

Armstrong  Taylor  is  a  member  of  the  Min- 
neapolis bar,  and  a  gentleman  who  honors  the 
profession  of  which  he  is  a  member.  He  is  a  son 
of  John  Taylor  and  .Sarah  Dowler  (Taylor),  and 
grew  up  on  a  farm  in  northern  \'ermont,  where 
his  parents  lived,  in  very  moderate  circumstances. 
His  ancestors  were  Scotch  and  English,  who 
emigrated  to  the  north  of  Ireland  at  the  time  of 
William  of  Orange.  His  family  came  to  this 
countrv  in  1839.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
born  at  Berkshire,  \'ermont,  November  17,  1850. 
While  yet  a  young  lad  Armstrong  Taylor  valued 
the  advantages  of  education,  and  determined  to 
obtain  such  schooling  as  he  could  bring  within 
his  reach.  He  attended  the  district  schools  of 
the  neighborhood  and  maintained  himself  by 
doing  chores  for  his  board.  He  has  no  college 
education,  but  good  academic  training.  Continued 
his  studies  while  working  as  a  farmer  in  sum- 
mer and  teaching  school  in  the  winter.     At  the 


age  of  twenty-one  he  began  the  study  of  law  at 
Richford,  X'ermont,  with  Hartson  F.  Woodard, 
and  afterwards  studied  in  the  office  of  Davis  & 
Adams,  at  St.  Albans,  \'ermont,  where  he  was 


ailmittcd  to  the  bar  on  June  28,  1875. 


Tav- 


lor  immediately  removed  to  Wisconsin  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Haklwin, 
St.  Croi.x  County.  He  continued  in  the  practice 
of  law  there  for  twelve  years,  when  he  removed  to 
.Minneapolis,  locating  in  this  city  March  27,  1887. 
He  has  continued  in  the  practice  of  law  with  emi- 
nent success  before  all  the  courts  of  this  state.  Mr. 
Taylor  has  always  been  a  Republican,  and  cast  his 
first  vote  for  Grant  for  "four  years  more"  in  1872. 
Was  appointed  by  the  governor  of  Wisconsin 
as  county  attorney  of  St.  Croix  County  in  1883. 
He  refused  the  nomination  to  the  same  office  at 
the  next  election,  preferring  general  practice.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Commercial  Club  of  Minne- 
apolis and  several  Masonic  lodges.  His  church 
connections  are  with  the  Episcopal  society.  He 
was  married  in  June,  1876,  to  Julia  Noyes,  of 
Richford,  \'ermont,  but  they  have  no  children. 
Mr.  Taylor  takes  great  pride  in  his  profession  and 
enjovs  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  clients 
and  friends. 


372 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


SAML'EL  R.  \AN  SANT. 

The  choice  of  the  RepubUcaii  members  of 
the  last  legislature  for  speaker  of  the  house  of 
representatives  was  the  man  whose  name  stands 
at  the  head  of  this  sketch.  Samuel  R.  \'an  Sant 
was  born  at  Rock  Island,  Illinois.  Afav  ii,  1844, 
the  son  of  John  W.  \'an  Sant  and  L}dia  Ander- 
son (\'an  Sant).  John  W.  \'an  .Sant  was  born  in 
New  Jersey,  in  1810.  He  and  his  father  and  his 
grandfather  \\ere  ship  builders.  The  grandfather, 
whose  name  was  also  John,  was  in  the  marine  ser- 
vice during  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  was 
born  in  1726  in  Xew  Jersey,  where  he  lived  and 
died,  and  where  most  of  his  descendants  live  yet. 
If  the  cause  of  the  colonies  had  failed  he  would 
have  been  hanged  as  a  pirate,  but  their  success 
made  him  a  patriot.  It  was  said  of  him  that  he 
could  build  a  ship,  rig  her  and  sail  her  to  anv 
port  in  the  world.  The  \'an  Sants  (formerly 
spelled  Van  Zandt)  are  of  Dutch  descent,  the 
family  having  come  from  Hcjllaml  in  the  enrlv 
years  of  settlement  in  this  countr\-.  The  grand- 
father of  the  suliject  of  this  sketch  was  a  soldier 
in  the  war  of  181 2.  He  was  also  a  clergyman  in 
the  Methodist  clmrch,  and  five  of  liis  sons    fol- 


lowed him  in  that  profession  and  in  the  same  de- 
nomination. John  W.  Van  Sant,  the  father  of 
Samuel  R.,  is  still  living  at  Le  Claire,  Iowa,  in 
his  eighty-seventh  year.  He  came  West  in  1837^ 
and  has  been  engaged  in  building  and  in  repairing 
steamboats  ever  since.  He  is  still  in  active  busi- 
ness and  retains  his  interest  in  the  \  an  Sant  & 
Musser  Transportation  Company  and  other 
business  enterprises.  Lydia  Anderson  (\'an  Sant) 
was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  daughter  of  Elias 
Anderson,  a  private  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary 
W^ar.  Her  family  were  all  active  supporters  of 
the  cause  of  the  colonies.  She  is  still  living  in 
her  eighty-fifth  year.  Samuel  R.  attended  the 
Rock  Island  schools  and  was  a  pupil  in  the  high 
school  when  the  war  broke  out.  He  enlisted  at 
the  first  call  for  troops,  but,  owing  to  his  youth^ 
not  yet  being  seventeen,  was  rejected.  He  en- 
listed several  times  but  was  each  time  rejected  for 
the  same  cause.  I'inally  in  August,  1861,  having 
received  his  father's  written  permission,  he  was. 
accepted  as  a  memljer  of  Company  A,  Ninth  Illi- 
nois cavalry.  He  served  over  three  years,  and 
during  that  time  was  never  sick,  never  missed  a. 
fight  and  was  never  wounded.  He  belonged  dur- 
ing most  of  his  term  of  service  to  Grierson's 
famous  raiders,  and  was  in  constant  ser\'ice  after 
going  South.  When  nuistered  out  of  sers'ice  he 
entered  Burnham's  American  Business  College,, 
at  Hudson,  New  York,  where  he  graduated,  but 
feeling  the  necessity  for  further  school  training, 
he  entered  Knox  College,  at  Galesburg,  Illinois. 
He  entered  the  preparatory  department  and  went 
through  the  freshman  year  at  college,  but  was 
then  obliged  to  leave  for  lack  of  funds.  \Miile 
at  college  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  calker, 
and  subsequently  was  appointed  superintend- 
ent of  the  boat  yard  where  he  learned  his  trade, 
and  later  with  his  father,  bought  the  same 
boat  building  business,  where  they  erected 
the  first  raft  boat  of  large  power,  con- 
structed especially  for  the  lumbering  business. 
Several  other  boats  were  built  by  the  \'an  Sants, 
and  since  that  time  Samuel  R.  has  been  actively 
engaged  in  the  business  of  rafting  and  hnnliering 
on  the  Mississippi  river.  He  located  in  the  spring 
of  1883  at  ^^''inona,  which  has  since  been  the  head- 


I'KOGKUSSlViv  MEN  OF  MINNHSOTA. 


37» 


quarters  of  his  business  and  his  home.  Mr.  Van 
Sant  has  ahxays  l)een  a  KepubHean,  lias  taken 
an  active  interest  in  ])ubHc  affairs.  He  served  as 
alderman  for  two  years  from  the  Second  ward  in 
Winona,  was  twice  elected  to  the  legislature,  first 
in  i8y2  and  again  in  181J4,  and  on  his  second 
term  was  made  speaker  of  the  house.  Was  also 
a  candidate  before  the  last  Republican  state  con- 
vention for  the  n<iniination  for  governor,  but  was 
defeated.  Nevertheless  he  took  an  active  part 
on  the  sttimp  and  spoke  nightly  for  weeks  for  the 
success  of  his  party  and  its  candidates.  He  is  an 
enthusiastic  member  of  tiic  Grand  Army.  In 
1894  he  was  elected  Senior  \lce  Conuuander  and 
in  1895  13epartment  Commander  of  Minnesota. 
And  as  a  department  ofttcer  he  traveled  more  than 
twenty  thousand  miles  attending  canipfires,  en- 
campments, reunions,  etc.,  of  his  comrades.  He  has 
also  held  the  office  of  conuuander  of  John  Ball 
Post,  of  Winona,  two  terms.  Mr.  \''an  Sant  es- 
teems the  honors  he  has  received  from  the  Grand 
Army  as  the  greatest  he  has  ever  been  favored 
with.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order, 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  A.  O.  U.  W., 
M.  W.  of  A.,  the  Elks,  the  \'eteran  Masons 
and  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution. 
Mr.  Van  Sant  was  married  in  1868  to  Miss 
Ruth  Hall.  They  have  had  three  children, 
onl)'  one  of  whom  is  living,  Grant  Van  Sant, 
a  law  graduate  of  the  Universitv  of  i\linnesota. 


EDWARD  T.  WEBBER. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  of  French  de- 
scent, both  of  his  parents  having  been  born  in 
France.  His  father  Joseph  K.  Webber,  was  born 
in  Alsace  and  served  in  the  French  army.  He 
emigrated  with  his  family  to  America  in  1847, 
settling  in  Illinois.  He  was  a  soldier  during  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  on  the  Union  side.  His 
wife's  maiden  name  was  Helen  Brist,  also  born 
in  Alsace.  Edward  J.  was  born  in  Wheeling, 
Illinois,  April  2,  1858,  where  the  family  resided 
until  i860.  Thev  then  removed  to  Lake  County, 
Indiana,  then  a  comparatively  new  couiitn,',  and 
lived  on  a  farm  during  the  war.  Edward  attended 
the  district  school  until  he  was  sixteen  vears  of 


I 


age,  walking  back  and  forth  to  the  school  every 
day  which  was  three  and  a  half  miles  distant 
from  his  home.  He  then,  in  1874,  started  to- 
learn  the  trade  of  horse-shoeing,  at  which  he  be- 
came an  expert,  and  has  followed  that  line  of 
business  until  1892.  He  moved  to  Minnesota  in 
1882,  settling  at  Fergus  Falls,  and  with  a  small 
capital  started  in  his  chosen  line  of  trade.  Within 
three  months,  however,  he  was  burned  out,  losing- 
all  he  had.  He  was  not  discouraged,  btit  started 
in  again,  and  with  close  attention  to  his  business 
he  made  a  success  of  it.  In  1884  he  added  to 
his  business  and  began  the  sale  of  agricultural 
implements  as  a  side  line,  and  this  growing  to 
such  an  extent  he  sold  out  his  shoeing  business 
in  1892  and  devoted  his  entire  attention  to  the 
implement  and  seed  business,  in  which  he  has 
been  very  successful.  He  is  also  vice  president 
of  the  Citizens'  National  Bank,  of  Fergus  Falls. 
In  politics  Afr.  ^^'ebber  has  always  been  a  Re- 
publican and  an  ardent  advocate  of  partv  princi- 
ples. He  was  twice  elected  a  member  of  the  city 
council  of  Fergus  Falls.  In  1882  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Emma  Bachnian,  at  Niles.  ^Michigan. 
They  have  two  children,  Herbert  E.,  twelve  years 
old,  and  Margorv  L.,  three  vears  old. 


87+ 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


EDWARD  HENRY  OZ.MUN. 

Mr.  Ozmun  is  a  lawyer  at  St.  Paul.  He  is  the 
son  of  Abraham  Uznmn  and  Maria  Schenck 
(Ozmun).  The  elder  Uzmun  moved  West  from 
Tompkins  County,  New  York,  and  was  for  many 
years  a  wholesale  and  retail  hardware  dealer  in 
Rochester,  Minnesota,  and  held  the  office  of 
mayor  of  the  city  for  two  terms.  The  ancestors 
of  Edward  H.  Ozmun  served  as  patriots  in  the 
War  of  the  Revolution.  His  great-grandfather, 
Isaac  Ozmun,  enlisted  as  a  private  and  suffered 
martyrdom  for  the  cause  of  the  colonies.  He, 
with  his  son,  was  captured  by  the  British,  taken  to 
the  old  sugar  house  prison  in  New  York,  and 
there  starved  to  death  with  many  others.  Re- 
cently a  monument  to  their  memory  has  been 
erected  in  that  city.  (  )n  the  maternal  side  Ed- 
ward is  the  great-grandson  of  Captain  John 
Schenck  and  Richard  \'an  Wagner,  who  served 
in  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  former  is  a  lineal 
descendant  of  General  IMartin  Schenck,  a  Hol- 
land nobleman,  who  was  a  general  in  the  army 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange.  General  Robert 
Schenck,  formerly  minister  to  the  Court  of  St. 
James,  is  a  cousin  of  the  mother  of  Mr.  Ozmun. 


Edward  was  born  at  Rochester,  ^Minnesota,  Aug- 
ust 6,  1857,  and  received  his  early  education  in 
the  graded  and  high  schools  of  that  city.  He 
prepared  himself  for  college  at  the  Wisconsin 
State  University  and  completed  his  education  in 
the  literary  and  law  departments  of  the  L'niversity 
of  Michigan,  from  which  institution  he  graduated 
in  1 88 1.  While  at  college  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Sigma  I-'hi  Greek  fraternity.  He  returned  to 
Minnesota  after  his  graduation  and  located  in  St. 
Paul,  where  he  entered  the  law  offices  of  Messrs. 
Gilman  &  Clough,  then  a  leading  law  firm  of 
that  city,  earning  his  first  dollar  there  bv  success- 
fully prosecuting  a  civil  action  in  the  nuuiicipal 
court.  A\'ithin  a  short  time  he  was  appointed  a 
right  I  if  way  agent  for  the  Northern  Pacific  rail- 
road, and  purchased  all  of  its  right  of  way  from 
Wadena  to  Breckenridge.  In  the  fall  of  the 
same  year  ( 1881)  he  was  appointed  assistant  coun- 
sel of  that  road  at  St.  Paul.  This  position  he  re- 
signed in  1885  to  take  up  general  practice.  He 
has  made  corporation  law  a  specialty  and  has 
built  up  a  successful  practice,  and  is-  the  repre- 
sentative of  several  Eastern  corporations.  He 
has  always  bten  a  Republican  in  his  politics,  and 
is  an  active  memlier  of  his  party.  He  was  for 
four  years  chairman  of  the  Republican  League 
of  Ramsey  County,  and  a  member  of  the  execu- 
tive conmiittee  of  the  State  League.  He  was 
never,  how'ever,  a  candidate  for  office  until  1894, 
when  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate,  defeating 
his  opponent  by  a  large  majority.  His  record 
in  the  legislature  is  an  enviable  one.  He  intro- 
duced and  succeeded  in  passing  what  is  known  as 
the  "corrupt  practices"  act,  which  provides  strin- 
gent ])rovisions  against  the  ci  irrupt  use  nf  money 
in  elections,  not  only  by  candidates  but  by  politi- 
cal committees  and  individuals;  also  the  new 
code  for  the  National  Guard.  He  also  introduced 
;ind  put  through  the  senate  a  civil  service  bill  for 
the  employes  of  the  state  and  cities,  which,  how- 
ever, was  killed  in  the  house.  A  bill  regulating 
priman,'  elections  was  also  introduced  by  him, 
providing  that  all  nominations  for  city  offices 
be  by  petition,  but  it  failed  to  pass.  Mr. 
Ozmun  served  on  the  municipal  government 
committee,  and,  having  made  a  special  sltidv  of 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


375 


this  complex  subject,  introduceil  a  \ijluniinuus 
bill,  many  of  the  provisions  of  w  hich  were  passed. 
In  the  summer  and  fall  of  i8i;5,  having  a  desire 
to  make  an  especial  study  of  this  subject,  he  com- 
bined a  pleasure  trip  with  an  inve.stigation  of  the 
different  municipal  governments  of  the  represen- 
tative cities  of  Europe  and  (jrcat  liritain.  He 
has,  for  six  years,  been  president  of  the  St.  Paul 
Bar  Association ;  for  three  years  secretar\-  of  the 
JMinnesota  State  liar  Association,  and  for  six 
years  a  member  and  secretary  of  the  State  Board 
of  Examiners  in  Law.  lie  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Minnesota  Boat  Clul),  the  White  Bear  Yacht- 
ing Association,  the  Commercial  Club,  the  Patri- 
otic Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  the  Sons  of 
the  American  Revolution,  the  National  Munici- 
pal Reform  Association  and  the  Minnesota  Civil 
Service  Reform  Association.  lie  is  not  a  mem- 
ber of  any  religious  liody,  but  is  an  attendant  of 
the  Episcopal  church.  He  was  married  Xovem- 
ber  21,  1894,  to  Clara  Goodman,  of  Weedsport, 
New  York:  thev  have  one  child,  a  daughter. 


\MLLIA.M  ATWOOD  LANCASTER. 

William  Atwood  Lancaster  is  a  member  of 
the  bar  of  Minneapolis,  where  he  has  achieved 
an  enviable  reputation  as  a  careful  and  conscien- 
tious practitioner.  Mr.  Lancaster  is  a  son  of 
Henry  Lancaster,  a  farmer  of  moderate  means, 
who  resided  at  Detroit,  Maine.  Both  the  father 
arid  mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  were  of 
mixed  English  and  Scotch  descent,  but  both  were 
born  and  reared  in  Albion,  Maine.  Mr.  Lancaster 
was  born  in  Detroit,  Maine,  on  December  20. 
1859.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  village  and  subsequently  entered  the  Maine 
Central  Institute,  at  Pittsfield,  where  he  graduated 
in  1877.  He  then  entered  Dartmouth  College, 
but  left  at  the  end  of  his  sophomore  year  to  begin 
the  study  of  law.  He  read  law  in  Augusta,  Maine, 
with  Gardiner  C.  \'ose  and  Loring  Farr,  and  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  October,  1881.  He 
removed  to  Bostoti,  where  he  practiced  law  until 
June,    1884.      Returning  to   Augusta,   Maine,   he 


continued  the  practice  of  his  profession  there 
until  Januan,-,  1877.  At  this  time  he  w'as 
attracted  by  the  larger  opportunities  of  the 
growing  west,  and  especially  by  the  inducements 
which  Minneapolis  had  to  offer  as  a  place  of 
residence  and  business,  and  in  January,  1887,  he 
located  in  this  city  and  has  been  a  resident  of  it 
ever  since.  Mr,  Lancaster  has  devoted  himself 
exclusively  to  the  practice  of  his  profession,  never 
allowing  his  attention  or  efforts  to  be  diverted  in 
any  other  lines.  The  result  has  been  a  successful 
and  constantly  growing  practice.  He  has  always 
been  a  Democrat,  but  has  never  held  any  official 
position.  He  has,  however,  taken  an  active 
interest  in  promoting  the  interests  of  his  party 
in  a  proper  and  legitimate  way.  He  was  a 
meiuber  in  college  of  the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon 
society,  but  has  never  identified  himself  with  anv 
secret  orders  or  other  organizations  of  that  char- 
acter since  he  entered  active  life.  On  Januarv  4, 
1886,  he  was  married  to  Kate  I.  Manson,  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  J.  C.  Manson,  of  Pittsfield,  IMaine. 
They  have  no  children.  Mr.  Lancaster  is  just  in 
his  prime,  but  has  already  attained  the  satisfaction 
of  a  successful  proff^.sional  career. 


376 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JOHN  DAY  SMITH. 

John  Day  Smith  is  one  of  the  leathng  mem- 
bers of  the  legal  profession  in  Minneapolis  and 
has  been  a  resident  of  this  city  since  1885.  This 
has  been  long  enough,  however,  for  him  to  ob- 
tain a  position  of  prominence  and  influence  and 
to  impress  himself  upon  the  community  in  a  way 
in  which  only  the  possessit.in  of  high  character 
and  extraordmary  ability  could  accomplish.  .Mr. 
Smith  is  the  son  of  a  Kennebec  County  farmer  in 
Maine.  He  was  born  February  25,  1845.  His  an- 
cestry was  English,  having  come  to  America  some 
fifty  years  before  the  Revolutionary  War.  His 
grcat-grandfatluT,  James  Lord,  was  a  lieutenant 
in  the  conmiand  of  a  company  at  the  liattle  of 
Bunker  Hill.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  graduate  of 
Brown  L'niversit\-  in  the  class  cjf  1872.  He  was 
given  the  degree  of  A.  M.  by  Pirown  University 
in  1875,  of  LL.  !!.,  by  Columbia  Cniversity  in 
1878,  and  of  LL.  Af.,  by  the  same  institution  in 
1881.  In  recognition  of  his  scholarship  and  other 
attainments,  Mr.  Smith  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  society  at  Brown  Cniversity 
in  the  year  of  his  graduation.  He  taught  school 
for  three  vears  after  Icavintr    lirown    Cnivcrsitv. 


then  studied  law  at  the  Columbia  University  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  city  of  Washington 
in  1881.  He  has  been  engaged  as  a  lecturer  in 
the  law  department  of  Howard  University  and  the 
University  of  Alinnesota,  and  at  present  is  lec- 
turer on  American  constitutional  law  in  the  latter 
institution.  Mr.  Smith  is  senior  member  of  the 
firm  of  Smith  &  Parsons.  He  has  a  splendid  war 
record,  having  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company 
F,  Nineteenth  Alaine  Volunteers.  June  26,  1862, 
when  onl}^  a  little  over  seventeen  years  of  age. 
He  was  with  his  regiment  in  the  battles  of  Fred- 
ericksburg, Chancellorsville,  Bristoe  Station, 
Mine  Run,  The  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  Beth- 
esda  Church,  North  Anna,  Cold  Harbor,  Siege 
of  Petersburg  and  Jerusalem  Road.  He  was 
slightly  wounded  at  Gettysburg  at  the  time  of 
Pickett's  charge,  and  at  Jerusalem  Road  was  shot 
in  the  face,  the  ball  passing  through  the  mouth, 
knocking  out  several  teeth  on  the  right  side, 
shattering  the  jaw  and  passing  out  at  the  ear.  He 
lay  upon  the  field  of  battle  over  night,  and  when 
carried  to  the  hospital  the  next  day,  the  surgeons 
had  no  hope  of  saving  his  life.  Good  habits  and 
a  good  constitution,  however,  were  in  his  favor, 
and  he  recovered.  He  was  discharged  as  a  cor- 
poral April  25,  1865,  his  retirement  at  that  time 
being  on  accourit  of  wounds  received  in  battle. 
Mr.  Smith  has  always  been  a  Republican,  except 
that  he  supported  William  J.  Bryan  for  President 
in  1896,  and  served  in  the  lower  house  of  the  ]\lin- 
nesota  legislature  in  i88y,  and  represented  the 
Thirty-fourth  district  in  the  upper  house  in  the 
sessions  of  1891  and  1803.  At  the  session  of  1891, 
Mr.  Smith  was  the  only  Republican  member  of 
the  delegation  from  Hennepin  County,  and  more 
than  usual  resjionsibility  devolved  upon  him  on 
account  of  the  desperate  efforts  made  to  secure 
legislation  seriouslv  impairing  the  efficiency  of  the 
IKitnil  limits  and  affecting  other  interests  of  vital 
ini])oi-tance  to  the  city,  but  upon  this  occasion  he 
ni,-inifested  his  abilits'  td  meet  the  emergency,  for 
so  abl\-  and  skillfulh'  did  he  manage  affairs  in  the 
senate  that  no  changes  were  made  with  regard  to 
the  patrol  limits,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  nuich 
needed  legislatii  ni  \\;is  ])rnmiited  li\-  him.  Muring 
the  l;ist  session  uf  liis  menibershii)  lie  was  chair- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


377 


man  of  the  judiciary  committee  of  the  senate.  .\Ir. 
Smith  has  also  l)een  highly  honored  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  G.  A.  R.,  being  elected  commander  of 
the  Department  of  Minnesota  in  1893.  He  was 
the  first  master  of  Ark  Lodge,  A.  ]•".  &  A.  M., 
and  i.■^  a  member  of  Ark  Chapter,  Darius  Coni- 
mandery,  of  the  Knights  Templar,  and  of  Zurah 
Temple.  He  is  one  of  the  most  useful  and  active 
members  of  the  Calvary  ISaptist  church.  He 
was  married  in  1872  to  Mary  Hardy  Chadbourne, 
of  Lexington,  Mas.sachusetts,  who  died  in  1874 
In  1870  he  married  Laura  i'.ean,  of  Delaware. 
(  )hio.     He  has  four  children. 


CHARLES  WOOD  EBKRLLLV. 

It  takes  pluck  and  perseverance,  ccjmbined 
with  strength  of  character  and  steadv  habits,  to 
become  a  successful  business  man.  Such  quali- 
ties C.  W.  Eberlein  must  have  possessed  to  have 
secured,  without  the  aid  of  personal  influence, 
the  position  of  secretary  of  the  St.  Paul  Trust 
Company  when  hardly  twenty-five  years  of  age, 
and  which  he  has  held  since  that  time,  a  period  of 
over  seven  years.  Adam  L.  Eberlein,  the  father  of 
Charles,  was  a  native  of  Lancaster  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  descended  from  a  line  of  substantial 
German  and  Scotch-Irish  families,  old  settlers  in 
that  region.  His  wife,  Eliza  Turner  Wood  (Eber- 
lein), was  born  at  "Kennerslie,"  the  old  family  seat 
in  Northumberland  County, \irginia,  a  descendant 
of  the  early  settlers  of  the  northern  portion  of 
that  state,  and,  by  her  descent  through  the  ISall, 
Kenner  and  Turner  families,  connected  with  many 
of  the  old  families  of  \  irginia.  She  was  a  great 
grand-daughter  of  Colonel  Rodham  Kenner,  a 
very  active  patriot  in  events  jirinr  ti>  and  durino- 
the  War  of  Revolution.  Her  father,  1-Tederick 
Wood,  was  a  native  of  Xewburyport,  Massachu- 
setts, and  a  member  of  the  Xew  England  family 
of  that  name  descended  from  Puritan  stock. 
Charles  was  born  October  3,  1863,  at  AfcConnels- 
ville,  Morgan  Countv,  (  )hic).  His  early  education 
was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
town,  graduating  from  the  high  school  in  his 
sixteenth  year.  He  then  commenced  his  business 
life  by  assisting  the  postmaster  at  McConnelsville. 


holding  this  position  of  assistant  postmaster  for 
a  couple  (jf  years,  though  for  a  time  working  as  a 
clerk  in  the  postoffice  at  Columbus,  Ohio.  In 
1 88 1  anil  1882  lie  served  as  deputy  clerk  for  the 
court  of  conuuon  pleas  of  Morgan  County. 
Desiring  to  ol^tain  a  better  education  he  entered 
Denison  Cniversity,  (iranville,  ( )hio,  the  fall  of 
the  latter  vear.  si-iending  two  years  in  college. 
Mr.  Eberlein  then  engaged  in  newspaper  work 
and  edited  the  McConnelsville  Herald  during 
1885  and  1886.  In  June  of  the  latter  year  he 
removed  to  St.  Paul  and  took  a  clerical  position 
in  the  business  office  of  the  St.  Paul  Dispatch. 
Earlv  the  following  year  he  became  business  man- 
ager and  secretarv  of  that  coq)oration.  In  the 
spring  of  1888,  however,  he  resigned  this  position 
and  entered  the  office  of  the  St.  Paul  Trust  Com- 
pany, his  occupation  being  that  of  bookkeeper. 
He  had  been  witli  this  concern  but  a  few  months 
when  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  secretary  of 
the  corporation,  which  office  he  still  retains.  At 
college  he  was  a  member  of  the  r>eta  Theta  Pi 
fraternitv.  In  politics  he  is  an  Independent 
Republican.  Mr.  Eberlein  is  a  member  of  \\"ood- 
land  Park  P.aptist  Church  of  St.  Paul.  He  is 
not  married. 


378 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JAMES  HEXRY  DUNN. 

Dr.  Dunn  is  a  physician  and  surgeon  in  ^Nlin- 
neapolis,  the  son  of  James  and  ^lary  O'Hair 
Dunn,  of  DubHn,  Ireland.  James  Dunn  was  a 
merchant  wlio  failed  in  1845  and  emigrated  to 
America.  He  sened  in  the  Mexican  war  and 
located  in  Indiana,  .'-■uhsetiuently  ho  removed  to 
}iIinnesota,  and  in  1854  took  a  farm  in  Winona 
County  on  a  soldiers'  warrant.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born  at  I'ort  Wayne,  Indiana, 
May  29,  1853.  He  lived  on  his  father's  farm  till 
he  was  fifteen,  and  received  his  early  education 
in  the  common  and  higher  schools  of  Winona 
County.  He  entered  the  state  normal  school  at 
Winona  where  he  graduated  in  1872.  He  took 
private  instruction  in  the  modem  languages, 
studied  medicine  at  Rush  Medical  College  and 
was  graduated  from  the  medical  department  nf 
the  University  of  Xew  ^'ork  City,  Alarch,  1878. 
He  was  instructor  in  the  second  state  normal 
school  in  1S78  and  1879,  and  engaged  in  general 
medical  practice  till  1883.  He  then  went  abroad 
to  pursue  his  studies,  and  in  1884  and  7885  took 
post-graduate  studies,  in  the  German  tmi\rr- 
sities    of    Hcidell)erg    and     \'ienna.     "-ivinsr  his 


especial  study  to  such  medical  branches  as 
at  that  time  were,  in  default  of  laboratories 
here,  more  successfully  taught  in  Europe  than  in 
America.  A  short  observation  of  French  prac- 
tice was  made  during  a  summer  in  Paris.  He 
also  took  a  short  tour  of  Italian  hospitals.  Un 
his  return  to  America  he  located  in  Minneapolis, 
where  he  has  since  practiced  his  profession.  He 
was  elected  city  physician  in  1887  and  1888,  and 
organized  the  first  cit\-  hospital.  He  has  been 
surgeon  in  charge  of  St.  Mary's  Hospital  since 
its  foundation  in  1887,  and  surgeon  to  Asbury 
Hospital  since  1884.  He  is  consulting  surgeon 
of  the  Great  Northern  Railway  Company,  pro- 
fessor of  genito-urinary  and  adjunct  professor  of 
clinical  surgery  in  the  University  of  Alinnesota. 
His  practice,  though  at  first  general,  has  become 
especially  surgical,  genito-urinar}'  and  consult- 
ing, Dr.  Dunn  having  become  one  of  the  most 
]jrominent  cinisulting  practitioners  in  the  North- 
west. His  ambition  is  to  excel  in  the  great  art  of 
clinical  diagnosis  and  surgical  technique,  rather 
than  to  pursue  special  and  original  researches, 
though  many  experimental  studies  to  confirm  or 
refute  new  medical  and  surgical  theories  have 
1)een  pursued.  h'or  example,  some  disputed 
in  Minnesota,  a  study  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  four  cases  published  in  1 888,  experi- 
mental work  in  abdominal  surgery  and  an 
original  application  of  a  supracubic  cys- 
totomy for  cancers  of  tlie  urethra  (Annals  of  Sur- 
gery, 1804.)  '^  nc^^'  niethod  of  tenotomy  is  now 
in  preparation.  Dr.  Dunn  is  a  teacher,  a  student, 
investigator  and  ])ractitii)ner  of  that  which  has 
been  discovered  and  believed,  rather  than  one 
absorbed  in  the  new  to  the  exclusion  of  the  old. 
He  has  had  a  wide  experience  and  large  success 
with  all  established  procedures  of  general  surgery, 
and  is  conservative  in  adopting  the  new  and  lit- 
tle-tried measures  until  their  value  and  usefulness 
have  been  proven.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Min- 
neapolis Club,  the  .State  Historical  Society,  the 
Minnesota  State  Medical  Associatinn,  and  an  ex- 
president  of  the  latter,  the  Minnesota  Academy 
of  Medicine,  the  ,A.merican  Medical  Association, 
the   Associatidu   of   .'\nierican    ' 'bstetricians  and 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


370 


gynecologists,  and  is  a  l'rc;(|uunt  conlril)Utor  to 
various  medical  ami  surgical  journals.  1  )r.  Dtnni 
has  one  of  the  largest  private  libraries  in  the 
Northwest,  especially  complete  in  new  and  old 
literature  of  American,  English,  I'rench  and  Ger- 
man surgical  authorities,  lie  was  married  in 
1885  to  Agnes,  daughter  of  lion.  J.  L.  Macdon- 
ald,  formerly  judge  of  the  Third  Judicial  District, 
now  practicing  attorney  of  St.  Paul.  They  have 
one  child,  James  L.,  aged  eight  years. 


GEORGE  PARKER. 

The  name  which  stands  at  the  head  of  this 
sketch  is  that  of  the  mayor  of  Hastings,  a  l)road- 
minded,  [nihlic-spiritcd  man,  jealous  of  the  repu- 
tation of  the  city  which  he  represents,  and  deserv- 
ing of  credit  for  the  efficient  and  able  manner  in 
which  he  has  conducted  its  afifairs.  George 
Parker  was  liorn  in  the  village  of  Pakenham, 
Ontario,  in  1849.  He  lived  with  his  parents  until 
twenty-six  years  of  age,  in  the  meantime  accjuir- 
ing  a  good,  liberal  education,  and  also  spending 
considerable  of  his  time  in  work  on  the  farm. 
In  1875  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in 
the  province  of  Manitoba,  but  removed  to  St. 
Vincent,  Minnesota,  in  1878,  where  he  established 
himself  in  the  livery  business.  In  1882  Air. 
Parker  again  engaged  in  farming  in  Pemijina, 
North  Dakota,  but  the  following  year  he  entered 
upon  the  business  of  railroad  contracting  and 
building.  The  first  contract  was  on  the  Canadian 
Pacific  westward  from  Winnipeg.  After  the 
completion  of  that  line  he  obtained  a  contract  in 
Iowa  on  the  extension  of  the  Chicago,  Milwau- 
kee &  St.  Paul  from  Cedar  Rapids  to  Ottumwa. 
In  the  fall  of  1884  he  built  a  small  portion  of  the 
then  Minnesota  Northwestern,  now  the  Chicago- 
Great  Western  railroad.  It  was  about  this  time 
that  he  located  in  Hastings,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  Mr.  Parker  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  public 
affairs.  In  the  spring  of  1895  he  was  elected 
mayor  of  Hastings  on  the  Republican  ticket,  and 
re-elected  in  1806.     He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O. 


( ).  F.  and  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  church,  and  was  married  April  20, 
1875,  at  Pakenham,  Ontario,  to  Miss  Mary  J^l. 
Ilemenway.  Two  children  have  been  born  to 
them,  Mary  Maud  and  Dora  May,  of  whom  the 
former  is  deceased.  Mr.  Parker's  parents  were 
of  Irish  e.xtraction,  born  in  the  Xorth  of  Ireland. 
His  father,  George  Parker,  came  to  Ontario  when 
but  a  boy,  locating  at  Perth,  where  he  learned  the 
cooper's  trade.  He  subsequently  conducted  a 
large  coopering  establishment  at  Pakenham  with 
satisfactory  financial  results.  He  was  a  strong 
supporter  of  the  Reform  party  and  an  active  par- 
ticipant in  puljlic  affairs.  His  wife,  the  mother 
of  George  Parker,  was  .Miss  Abalinda  Eliza 
Toughey,  who  emigrated  with  her  parents  from 
Ireland  to  Quebec  in  her  childhood.  Later  she 
l^ecame  a  resident  of  Perth,  where  she  was  mar- 
ried. Ma\or  Parker,  of  Hastings,  is  an  ardent 
advocate  of  temperance  principles  and  a  total  ab- 
stainer himself,  and  has  not  only  done  much  to 
encourage  the  virtue  of  temperance  in  the  city- 
over  which  he  presides,  l)nt  he  has  also  done 
mucli  to  attract  capital  and  build  up  the  com- 
mercial interests  of  that  conmuniitv. 


380 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN   OF   MINNESOTA. 


STEPHEX  MILLER, 

The  fourth  guveriior  of  Minnesota,  Stephen 
Miller,  was  born  in  Perr)-,  Cumberland  County, 
Pennsylvania,  January  17,  1S16,  the  son  of  David 
and  Kosanna  .Miller,  and  the  grandson  of  Alcl- 
chor  Miller,  who  came  to  America  from  Germany 
about  1785.  His  education  was  secured  in  the 
conuuon  schools  of  Cumberland  County,  which 
were  not  of  a  high  order  in  that  early  day,  but  he 
added  largely  to  this  rather  slender  stock  of  in- 
formation bv  extensive  reading  and  research  at 
a  later  dav.  He  was  ambitious  and  possessed  of 
energy  and  determination  that  enaljled  him  to 
make  a  success  of  everything  he  undertook.  In 
1S34,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  was  in  the  for- 
warding and  connnission  l)usiness  in  Harrisburg, 
in  which  he  ])rospered  for  years.  At  tliis  period 
of  his  life  he  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Funk, 
of  Dauphin  County,  who  was  a  hclijmcet  in  every 
true  sense,  and  encouraged  him  in  liis  ambition  to 
make  a  mark  in  the  world.  In  ])olitics  as  a  young 
man  he  was  a  Whig,  which  party  made  him  ])ro- 
bate  officer  <<\  I  )aui)hin  County  in  1X40,  and  kejit 
him  in  that  office  until  i<S55.  P>esides  attending  to 
his  pu1)lic  duties  during  these  years,  he  edited  the 


Telegraph,  an  influential  Whig  newspaper,  pub- 
lished at  Harrisburg.  In  1855  Governor  Pollock 
appointed  him  flour  inspector  at  Philadelphia,  a 
position  he  held  until  1858,  when  failing  health 
caused  him  to  go  into  the  new  West.  He  came 
to  Alinnesota,  locating  in  St.  Cloud,  one  of  whose 
leading  merchants  he  soon  became.  In  two  years 
he  was  made  delegate  at  large  to  the  national  Re- 
publican convention  which  nominated  Lincoln 
for  the  presidency,  and  the  same  jear  his  name 
headed  the  electoral  ticket  in  Minnesota.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  war  Mr.  ]\Iiller  enlisted  as 
a  private.  Before  he  had  seen  any  service,  how- 
ever. Governor  Ramsey  appointed  him  as  lieu- 
tenant colonel  of  the  First  Infantry,  and  he 
served  with  that  regiment  in  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  until  September,  1862,  when  he  was 
made  a  colonel  and  placed  in  command  of  the 
Seventh  regiment.  His  first  campaign  as  com- 
mander of  this  regiment  was  against  the  Sioux 
Indians  in  this  state,  where  he  distinguished  hiiu- 
self  for  gallantly  and  ability.  It  was  under  his 
direction  that  the  thirty-eight  Indians  who  had 
been  convicted  of  murder,  were  hanged  at  Alan- 
kato  at  the  close  of  the  Indian  outbreak.  Subse- 
(|uentl\-  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier 
general,  l.)ut  saw  no  service  in  that  capacity,  being- 
elected  governor  nf  the  state  in  the  fall  of  1863. 
As  governor  he  contributed  in  every  way  possible 
to  the  comfort  of  .Minnesota  troops  in  the  field, 
and  favored  the  plan  of  the  government  to  bring 
the  war  to  a  speedy  and  successful  close,  .\fter 
retiring  from  the  office  of  governor  he  was  out  of 
politics  until  1873,  when  he  was  sent  to  the  legis- 
lature to  represent  the  six  southwestern  counties 
of  the  state.  In  1876  he  was  again  on  the  Repub- 
lican electoral  ticket,  and  was  the  messenger  wha 
carried  the  official  result  to  Washington.  He  was 
employed  1)\-  the  .Sioux  City  &  St.  Paul  railroad 
land  com])any  during  tlie  last  vears  of  his  life,  and 
resided  first  at  Windom  and  later  at  Vv'orthinglon, 
in  which  latter  place  he  died  in  1881.  I'lic  funeral' 
was  attended  by  a  large  compain-  of  people  from 
.St.  Paul,  and  he  was  buried  with  Masonic  honors. 
(  )f  four  children,  one,  a  daughter,  died  in  infancy. 
The  eldest  son  fell  at  Gettysburg,  fighting  for  his 
country.    The  second  son  was  a  captain  and  com- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


381 


niissary  in  tlir  aniiy,  hut  has  for  sonic  years  bcun 
lost  sij;iil  iif  l)y  the  people  of  this  state.  The 
youngest  son  is  an  employe  of  the  go\iriniirnt  in 
the  printing  office  in  Washington. 


THEODORl".     LI'.OFOLL)     SCITL'R.MEIER. 

Mr.  Schurnieier  is  one  of  the  leading  repre- 
sentatives of  commercial  life  in  the  city  of  St. 
Paul,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Lindoke,  Warner 
&  Schurmeier,  wholesale  dry  goods  merchant-. 
What  success  he  has  achieved  in  business  life  is 
due  entirely  to  his  untiring  persevereiice  and  de- 
votion to  the  commercial  atifairs  in  w  liicli  lie  was 
f^ngageil.  Theodore  Leopold  Schurmeier  was 
born  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  March  14,  1852.  the 
son  of  Caspar  H.  Schurmeier  and  L'ar(jline 
Schurnieier.  His  father  was  engaged  in  the 
wagon  and  carriage  manufacturing  business  in 
that  city,  but  in  1854  moved  with  his  lanuly  to 
St.  Paul,  where  he  has  since  lived  and  become  a 
well-known  business  man.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  city,  and  in  the  Lialdwin  L'niver- 
sity  at  Berea,  Ohio.  He  entered  the  employ  of 
J.  J.  Hill  now  president  of  the  Great  Northern 
system,  in  1870,  when  but  eighteen  years  of  age. 
He  was  employed  in  tli€  railroad  of^ces  for  four 
years,  when  he  was  engaged  as  a  bookkeeper  for 
the  First  National  Bank  of  St.  Paul.  Shortly 
afterward  he  was  made  teller  of  that  institution, 
occupying  this  position  until  1878.  The  whole- 
sale dry  goods  firm  of  Lindcke,  Warner  & 
Schurnieier  was  organized  July  I,  of  that  year, 
Mr.  Schurmeier  becoming  one  of  the  constituent 
members,  with  which  firm  he  has  been  connected 
ever  since,  having  in  charge  the  finances  and 
credit  of  this  business  concern  since  its  organiz- 
ation. Mr.  Schurmeier  has  been  very  successful 
from  the  start.  He  has  a  natural  aptitude  for 
business  life,  and  to  the  thorough  training  which 
he  had  had  in  commercial  affairs  and  methods, 
his  sagacious  conduct  of  the  business  and  his 
faithful  discharge  of  the  responsible  <luties  en- 
trusted to  him,  is  due,  in  great  measure,  the  pros- 
perity which  the  firm  enjoys.    He  is  licld  in  high 


esteem  by  all  liis  business  associates  for  his 
sound  judgment  and  his  careful  and  conservative 
handling  of  the  vital  interests  of  the  firm  with 
which  he  is  connected.  2^Ir.  Schurmeier  seldom 
errs  in  his  calculations  touching  the  financial 
interests  of  which  he  has  charge,  and  as  a  finan- 
cier his  judgment  is  never  questioned.  Aside 
from  his  interest  in  the  firm  of  Lindcke,  Warner 
&  Schurmeier,  he  is  interesteil  largely  in  other 
financial  institutions.  He  is  a  director  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  St.  Paul,  also  in  the  St. 
Paul  Trust  Company,  and  is  the  owner  of  consid- 
erable valuable  real  estate  in  that  city.  Mr. 
Schurmeier  is  liberal  in  his  views  and  generous 
in  his  contributions  to  all  worthy  and  benevolent 
oI)jects  of  charity.  He  is  president  of  the  Min- 
nesota State  Iiiiniigration  .\ssociation,  also  of  the 
Northwestern  Immigration  Association,  cover- 
ing all  of  what  is  commonly  known  as  the  North- 
western states,  and  including  the  Province  of 
Manitoba.  He  is  also  trustee  of  St.  Luke's  hos- 
pital. In  November,  1882,  he  was  married  to 
Caroline  Eudora  Gotzian,  and  has  three  children, 
Conradine,  Theodora  and  Hildegarde.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Schurmeier's  residence  on  Crocus  Hill  is  a 
model  of  architectural  beauty  and  elegance,  in- 
dicative of  the  refined  tastes  of  the  owners. 


382 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


AUGUSTUS  LUTHER  CROCKER 

A.  L.  Crocker  is  one  of  those  active,  enterprising 
business  men  who  have  done  so  much  to  make 
IMinneapohs  what  it  is,  the  conimerciak  industrial 
and  financial  metropolis  of  the  X(^rtlnvest.  He 
comes  of  old  New  England  stock  which  originally 
emigrated  to  this  country  frtjm  England.  On  both 
sides  the  family  records  carry  back  the  line  of 
descent  through  a  long  line  of  honorable  and 
useful  men.  His  father,  Thomas  Crocker,  was 
a  man  of  considerable  property,  whose  place  of 
business  was  at  Paris,  ( )xford  County,  JMaine.  Hi'; 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Almira  Davis,  whose 
family  was  also  prominent  in  the  annals  of  New 
England.  Augustus  Luther  was  born  at  Paris, 
Maine,  May  4,  1850.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  town  and  also  at  Paris  Hill 
academy,  where  he  i)repared  for  Rowdoin  College. 
He  received  the  degree  of  A.  .\1.  fnmi  that  insti- 
tution in  1873,  and  also  took  a  post-graduate 
course  in  mechanical  engineering.  After  taking 
his  engineering  degree,  he  went  to  lun-ope  in 
1875  to  pursue  his  engineering  studies  and  for 
the  advantages  of  travel.  He  traveled  extensively 
on  the  Continent  until  1877.  when  he  returned  to 


America  and  was  for  three  years  interested  in  the 
construction  and  management  of  openhearth  and 
Ijessemer  steel  works  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  and 
also  at  St.  Louis.  In  the  fall  of  1880  he  came  to 
Minnesota  and  located  at  Minneapolis,  where  he 
engaged  in  business  in  the  manufacturing  and 
machinery  line.  Subsequently  he  went  intu  the 
real  estate  and  investment  business.  .Mr.  Crocker 
possesses  an  active  mind  and  is  a  man  of  great 
energy  and  industry.  He  takes  an  active  interest 
in  whatever  makes  for  the  benefit  of  the  city  at 
large,  and  has  attained  a  leading  position  among 
the  enteq)rising  and  puljlic-spirited  citizens  of  the 
city.  It  was  at  his  suggestion  and  largely  through 
his  etrorts  that  the  Ikisiness  Men's  Union  was 
organized  in  1890,  of  which  organization  he  was 
the  first  secretary.  In  1893  ^^^  took  an  active  part 
in  the  reorganization  of  the  BoartI  of  Trade  and 
was  elected  as  its  president.  In  January,  1895, 
the  Northwest  Business  Federation  was  organized 
and  ~S[i-.  Crocker  was  elected  president,  represent- 
ing the  Minneapolis  Board  of  Trade,  .\mong 
other  important  matters  of  ]nil)lic  interest  to 
which  he  has  given  a  great  deal  of  attention  is 
the  development  of  deep  \\aterv.ays  and  the  i)roj- 
ect  of  connecting  the  great  lakes  with  the  At- 
lantic ocean  bv  ship  canal.  Mr.  Crocker  was 
sent  to  the  Toronto  convention  as  a  representa- 
tive of  the  Board  of  Trade  in  1894,  and  was  there 
chosen  chairman  of  the  executive  committee. 
He  has  made  a  special  study  of  the  subject  of  deep 
waterways  and  inland  navigation,  and  prior  to  the 
Cleveland  convention  of  1895  carried  on  an  active 
campaign  among  the  representatives  of  the 
Northwestern  and  New  England  states  in  Con- 
gress, enlisting  their  interest  in  the  project  and 
pledging  them  to  the  support  of  legislation  favor- 
able to  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  deep 
waterways  between  the  lakes  and  from  the  lakes 
to  the  Atlantic  Coast.  The  success  of  the  Cleve- 
land convention  in  1895  was  largely  due  to  his 
eft^orts  in  this  respect  and  in  recognition  of  his 
services  he  was  continued  in  the  responsible  i)osi- 
tion  of  chairman  of  the  executive  conunittee.  Mr. 
Crocker  has  also  taken  a  dccii  interest  in  the 
cau.se  of  good  city  governnuiit  ,ind  rcjjresented 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


383 


llic  I'.uanl  iif  Trade  in  the  iminicipal  ix'furni  con- 
veiitiiin  al  I 'hila<K'l])hia  in  i8i>4,  wliirh  organized 
the  National  .Munieipal  Reform  League,  and  also 
represented  the  same  body  in  the  national  mu- 
nicipal reform  convention  in  ,\l  innia|)olis  in  Ue- 
ceiuber  of  the  same  year.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
executive  coiumittee  of  the  National  .Municipal 
League,  and  a  life  member  of  the  .\merican  Insti- 
tute of  Mining  luigineers,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Minneapolis  Library  Hoard.  .\lr.  Crocker  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  where  the 
same  activity  \vhich  he  manifests  in  business 
affairs  is  enlisted  in  the  cause  of  religion  and  good 
morals.  He  was  married  January  3,  1883,  to 
Clara  Peabody.  They  have  three  children,  Ruth, 
Catharine  and  Thomas. 


RICH.\RI)  EXOS  THOMPSON. 

R.  E.  Thompson  is  a  prominent  _  lawyer  and 
politician  of  Preston,  Fillmore  County,  Minne- 
sota. Though  a  native  of  that  county,  he  is  of 
Nonvegian  ancestry.  His  father,  Iver  Thomp- 
son, came  from  Norway  in  1848.  He  first  lived 
in  Chicago,  and  while  there  was  married  to  Miss 
Cecilia  W'alder.  Miss  Cecilia  was  also  a  native 
of  Norway,  but  she  came  to  this  country  with  her 
parents  in  1837,  settling  in  Michigan.  A  few 
years  later  they  came  to  b'ilmore  County  and  set- 
tled on  a  farm.  Here  their  son  Richard  was  born 
in  the  year  1857.  He  attended  the  common 
schools  in  his  vicinity,  following  the  pursuit  of 
enlarging  their  farm  work,  afterwards  as  he  grew 
to  manhood,  teaching  in  the  district  schools  of 
the  vicinity.  I'rom  1874  to  187c)  he  taught  al- 
most continuously,  and  at  the  latter  date  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  law  in  the  ofSce  of  Judge 
H.  R.  ^^'ells  at  Preston,  Minnesota,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  November,  1881,  and  entered 
into  partnership  with  Judge  .\.  D.  Grav,  imder 
the  firm  name  of  Gray  &  Thompson.  The  firm 
opened  an  ofifice  and  commenced  practice  in 
Preston.  They  have  been  very  successful  and 
have  built  up  an  extensive  law  business,  which 
they  still  enjoy.  For  the  last  ten  years  Mr. 
Thompson,  with  his  brother,  A.  W.  Thompson, 
has  also  been  in  the  abstract  business  of  Filmorc 


County,  the  otiice  being  maintained  under  the 
name  of  Thompson  Brothers  having  the  original 
and  only  set  of  abstract  books  and  tract  index 
of  Fillmore  County.  .Mr.  Thompson  has  always 
been  a  Republican.  .At  an  early  date  he  took  an 
interest  in  the  local  politics  and  soon  became  an 
influential  man  in  his  county.  He  was  deputy 
clerk  in  the  district  court  of  Fillmore  County 
from  1881  to  1885.  In  the  fall  of  1882  he  was 
elected  as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives of  the  State  Legislature.  During  the  ses- 
sion which  followed  he  was  one  of  the  few  who 
voted  for  the  Hon.  William  Windom  from  first 
to  last  in  the  memorable  struggle  in  which  Win- 
dom was  defeated  by  D.  ^L  Sabin.  In  1885  Mr. 
Thompson  was  re-elected  to  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives and  served  with  honor  during  that 
term.  In  November,  1894,  he  was  elected  to  the 
State  Senate  for  four  years,  ending  in  1898.  From 
1890  to  1805  he  was  a  member  of  the  State  Cen- 
tral Republican  Conmiittee.  Move  than  ten 
years  ago  Mr.  Thompson  became  a  ^ faster  ^fa- 
son,  and  is  now  a  Knights  Templar  in  the  Malta 
Commander}',  No.  25,  at  Preston.  On  December 
16,  1884,  he  was  married  to  Anna  Thompson, 
and  they  have  two  children,  ^'ictor  C.  bom  Sep- 
tember 26,  1885  and  Inez  bom  !\fay  13.  1891. 


384 


PROGRESSIVE   MEN   OF  MINNESOTA. 


JA.MES  H.  TUTTLE. 

Rev.  James  H.  Tuttle,  D.  D.,  was  born  at 
Salisbury,  Herkimer  County,  Xew  York,  July  z-j, 
1824.  In  his  youth  he  attended  for  a  while  the 
academy  at  Fairfield,  New  York,  and  afterw-ards 
spent  two  years  in  Clinton  Liberal  Institute. 
Plans  were  formed  for  attending  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, but  they  were  never  carried  out.  All  his  life 
Dr.  Tuttle  has  been  a  diligent  and  faithful  student 
and  a  great  traveler.  I'^ew  men  are  better  informed 
upon  all  subjects  or  can  put  their  knowledge  into 
more  attractive  form  or  employ  it  for  more  prac- 
tical purposes.  He  was  brought  u])  in  a  Baptist 
family,  l>ut  when  quite  young  his  religious  views 
changed  and  he  became  a  L'niversalist.  Soon 
after  this  change  took  place  he  decided  to  enter 
the  ministry.  His  first  settlement  was  at  Richfield 
Springs,  New  "\'(irk.  when  he  was  but  twenty 
years  of  age.  The  ne.xt  one  at  h'ulton,  ( )swego 
County,  in  the  same  state,  where,  in  1848.  he 
married  Miss  Harriet  E.  Merrinian.  (  )f  this 
union  two  sons  were  born.  The  mother  died  in 
Dresden,  Germany,  where  she  had  gone,  hoping 
to  recover  health  and  strength.  Her  death 
occurrcfl  in   187-^.     In   1886  the  oliler  son,  James, 


passed  away  in  his  early  manhood.  He  was  a 
man  of  sterling  wortli,  spotless  integrity  and 
great  business  ability — universally  honored.  The 
younger  son,  George  H.,  is  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent of  the  younger  surgeons  in  New  York  City. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  remained  at  h'ulton 
until  1853,  when  he  was  called  to  Rochester,  New 
\  ork.  The  success  of  his  ministry  in  the  two 
smaller  fields  he  had  cultivated,  made  the  larger 
church,  in  the  more  important  place,  feel  sure  that 
he  who  had  been  so  "faithful  over  a  few  things," 
was  qualified  for  greater  responsibilities.  These 
hopes  were  not  in  vain.  His  ministrv  increased 
in  excellence  and  power.  In  1859  he  removed 
to  Chicago,  taking  the  pastorate  of  the  Second 
L'niversalist  Church,  which  rapidlv  grew  in 
numbers  and  influence  under  his  ministry.  In 
1866  a  few  L'niversalist  families  in  Minneapolis 
were  worshipping  in  Harrison's  Hall,  while  their 
first  meeting-house  was  being  erected.  Dr.  Tuttle 
came  up  from  Chicago  to  preach  before  the  L'ni- 
versalist convention  of  the  state.  The  trustees  of 
the  new  society  invited  him  to  bring  his  family, 
spend  the  summer  vacation  at  Alinneapolis,  and 
preach  for  them  on  -Sunday.  He  came  and  the 
summer  lengthened  into  a  pastorate  of  a  quarter 
of  a  century.  "I  have  had  five  pastorates  in  all," 
he  says,  "and  my  last  three  pastorates  cover  thirty- 
eight  years.  No  minister  has  been  more  fortunate 
in  the  gift  of  noble,  generous  parishes.  Half  a 
century!  What  changes  have  happened  during 
this  period!  A  majority  of  the  w-orld's  greatest 
inventions  date  within  it.  Compare  our  whole 
country,  our  Northwest  especially,  to-day  with 
what  they  were  fifty  \ears  ago.  What  revolutions, 
and  what  progress  m  religious  thought  have 
everywhere  occurred  in  this  space  of  time!"  The 
Church  of  the  Redeemer  grew,  under  his  pasto- 
rate, with  the  growth  of  the  city,  from  a  handful 
of  worshippers  to  a  large  and  ixiwcrful  congrega- 
tion. In  1801,  having  comjileted  his  twenty-fifth 
year  of  service,  he  retired  from  active  work,  and 
liis  associate.  Rev.  Marion  D,  Shutter,  was  chosen 
pastor,  The  title  nf  Pastor  Emeritus  for  life  was 
conferred  upon  Dr.  Tuttle.  The  coiu])letion  of 
his  twenty-fifth  vear  in  the  |)astorMte  was  pu1>lich' 
celebrated — representatives  of  all   deiioininations 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


385 


in  the  city  taking  paft.  iJr.  Tultlc  s  life  is  inter- 
woven witii  the  history  of  the  city.  No  man 
stands  higher  than  he  in  the  estimation  of  the 
community.  He  has  been  prominent  in  all  good 
works,  identified  with  all  charitable  and  humane 
enterprises,  and  always  upon  the  side  of  rati(Mial 
reforms.  His  influence  has  extended  far  beyond 
this  city,  and  in  neighboring  towns  and  states  he 
has  been  widely  sought  fur  the  lecture  platform 
as  well  as  for  the  pulpit.  He  is  known  and 
loved  by  people  of  all  religious  beliefs  and  of 
no  religious  belief — by  all  who  recognize  the 
supremacy  of  character. 


ISAAC  ALBERT  BARNES. 

Isaac  Albert  Barnes  is  a  native  of  New  Bed- 
ford, Massachusetts,  and  traces  his  ancestry  back 
to  the  early  settlement  of  the  country.  His 
father,  Isaac  Barnes,  Jr.,  anil  his  'mother,  Emily 
Weston  (Barnes),  were  both  born  at  Plymouth, 
Massachusetts,  and  moved  to  New  Bedford  about 
1850.  The  family  line  is  easily  traced  back  to 
John  Barnes,  who  settled  in  Plymouth  in  1632, 
twelve  years  after  the  town  was  founded.  Isaac 
Barnes,  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 
Isaac  Albert  Barnes  was  born  in  New  Bedford, 
September  7,  1852.  His  family  were  people  of 
moderate  circumstances,  and  although  eager  to 
obtain  an  education  he  was  denied  the  advantages 
of  college  training.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  and  a  private  school  at  New  Bedford,  and 
gained  experience  and  self-reliance,  as  many  other 
successful  men  have,  as  a  little  street  merchant 
selling  newspapers  and  apples.  But  he  had  deter- 
mined to  be  a  lawyer,  and  finally  succeeded  in 
entering  the  Albany  law  school,  where  he  gradu- 
ated in  1877.  He  also  read  law  in  the  office  of 
Barney  &  Knowlton,  of  New  Bedford,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  that  state 
from  their  ot^ce.  This  firm  was  among  the  lead- 
ing members  of  the  Eastern  bar,  Mr.  Barney 
having  been  for  a  number  of  years  associated 
with  Ben  Butler,  while  Mr.  Knnwlton  is  now 
attorney  general  of  Massachusetts.  Mr.  Banies 
also    practiced     law     in     Boston     for     a    time. 


and  March  10,  1882,  came  to  Minneapolis 
in  search  of  a  wider  and  more  promising  field 
fur  a  young  attorney.  He  was  induced  to  select 
.Minneapolis  as  his  home  through  a  previous  fam- 
ily acquaintance  with  the  late  Judge  John  M. 
Berry.  Since  his  arrival  here  he  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  law,  and  has  also  made 
considerable  investment  in  real  estate.  He  was 
interested  in  platting  and  selling  Barnes"  addition 
to  the  cit\-  (if  Minneapolis,  Barnes"  re-arrange- 
ment of  Wright's  addition,  Barnes"  subdivision  in 
Layman's  addition,  Coplin"s  re-arrangement  and 
Cole  and  Weeks"  re-arrangement.  Mr.  Barnes  is  a 
Republican,  and  while  he  has  never  held  any  pub- 
lic office,  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in 
public  affairs.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Club  of  Minnesota:  was  twice  a  member  of 
the  e.xecutiye  committee.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Commercial  Chili  (if  Minneapolis  and  of  Plym- 
outh Congregational  church  Se])tember  7,  1886, 
he  was  married  to  Lizzie  L.  \\'ilson.  daughter  of 
Hon.  Hudson  Wilsdu,  (if  Faribault,  ^finn.  They 
have  three  children  living.  Harriet  W  .,  Katherine 
and  .Sarah  Elizabeth.  Mr.  P.arnes  has  a  pleasant 
home  on  .Stevens  a\emic.  and  he  and  Mrs.  Barnes 
enjov  the  society  and  friendship  of  a  large  circle 
of  cultivated  people. 


386 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JAMES  PAIGE. 

Tames  Paige,  an  attorney  at  law,  and  a 
teacher  in  the  law  department  of  the  University  of 
Minnesota,  was  l)orn  Xuvembcr  22,  1863,  at  St. 
Louis.  His  father  is  Rev.  James  Alexander 
Paige,  a  minister  o£  the  Presbyterian  church  for 
over  forty  years.  Rev.  ,Mr.  Paige  was  a  graduate 
of  Princeton  College  and  Theological  Seminary, 
and  was  tlie  first  cha]5lain  appointed  in  the  War 
of  the  Relx'llion  by  Abraham  Lincoln.  His 
commission  was  dated  June  4,  1862,  and  he  was 
assigned  to  the  hospitals  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis, 
where  he  remained  in  service  during  the  entire 
war.  He  is  now  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
at  Carlton,  Minnesota.  His  wife.  Caroline  Howe 
Paige,  was  the  daughter  oi  Hon.  Zimri  llc)we,  of 
Castleton.  Aermont.  Her  grandfatlier,  John 
Howe,  served  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and 
her  father,  Zinn-i  Howe,  was  drafted  in  the  War 
of  181 2,  and  served  as  secretary  to  Cieneral  Ornies. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Middlebury  College,  of 
wliich  he  afterwards  hicame  trustee,  and  for  many 
years  was  prominent  at  the  bar  and  on  the  bench 
of  his  native  state.  Another  ancestor  of  Mr. 
Paige's,  whose  name  was  Mcdoun,  received  l>v 
grant  from  George  TIT.,  the  water  power  and  ad- 


jacent land  at  Ware,  Massachusetts.  It  is  thus 
seen  that  ^Ir.  Paige  traces  his  ancestr}-  back  to 
very  earl}'  New  England  times.  His  own  life, 
however,  with  the  exception  of  his  years  at  col- 
lege, has  been  spent  in  the  West.  His  early  edu- 
cation was  obtained  in  the  common  schools  and 
high  schools  of  Illinois  and  Missouri.  At  the 
age  of  si.xteen  he  entered  I'hilips  Andover  Acad- 
emy, at  Andover,  Alassachusetts;  here  he  was  first 
inspired  with  a  desire  for  a  collegiate  and  profes- 
sional education.  Graduating  from  .A.ndover  in 
1883,  he  at  once  entered  Princeton  College,  from 
which  institution  he  graduated  in  1887,  receiving 
the  degree  of  A.  B.  While  in  college,  jMr.  Paige 
was  president  of  his  class  for  some  time,  and  he  is 
now  permanent  secretary  of  the  class  organiza- 
tion. He  was  a  Cliosophic  and  received  the  medal 
for  the  best  disputation  in  the  Baird  prize,  with 
special  conunencement  honors  in  economics. 
Three  years  after  graduating  he  received  the  de- 
gree of  A.  M.  from  Princeton.  Shortly  after  leav- 
ing college  Mr.  Paige  came  to  Minne- 
apolis, and  in  the  fall  of  1887  he  conmienced  the 
study  of  law.  When  the  law  department  of  the 
I'niversity  of  Minnesota  was  established,  a  year 
later  Mr.  Paige  matriculated.  He  graduated  from 
the  law  school  in  1890  with  the  degree  of  LL.  B., 
and  he  received  the  degree  of  LL.  M.  from  the 
same  institution  about  three  years  later.  In  i8yo 
Mr.  Paige  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  formed 
a  partnership  for  the  ])ractice  of  law  with 
his  brother,  Howe  Paige,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Paige  &  Paige,  which  partner- 
ship still  continues.  After  lieiiig  admitted  to 
the  bar  he  became  quiz  master  in  the  college  of 
law,  and  subsequently  he  became  teacher  in  the 
same  institution.  He  has  continued  as  a  teacher 
in  the  law  school  for  the  past  .seven  years.  Dur- 
ing this  time,  in  addition  to  his  professional  work, 
he  has  published  the  following  l)ooks:  "Illustra- 
tive Cases  in  Torts,"  "Illustrative  Cases  in  the  Law 
of  Domestic  Relations,"  "Illustrative  Cases  in 
Partncrshiii,"  "Illustrative  Cases  in  .\gencv,"  "Il- 
lustrative Cases  in  Commercial  Paper,"  and 
"Charts  in  Real  Property:"  and  has  now  in  course 
of  publicatii  in.  "Illustrative  Cases  in  Criminal 
T,aw."      Tlu'se  books  are  used  largclv  throughout 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


387 


the  law  sclionls  of  the  l.'iiilcd  States.  Mr.  Paige- 
is  a  member  and  officer  of  Westminster  Presby- 
terian churcii.  lie  wa'-  niarried  on  June  kj, 
1.S95,  to  .Miss  .Mabeth  liurd,  daugiiter  of  Dr.  lul- 
ward  P.  linrd,  of  Xewhuryport,  Massachusetts. 


CLATDE  BASSETT  LEONARD. 

Claude  Bassett  Leonard  is  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  law  in  Minneapolis.  His  father  is 
Rev.  Charles  H.  Leonard,  D.  D.  Dr.  Leonard 
was  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Redeenier  (Lini- 
versalist)  at  Chelsea,  Massachusetts,  for  about 
twenty-five  years,  prior  to  1869.  Since  1869  he 
has  been  professor  of  homiletic  and  pastoral  the- 
ology in,  and  dean  of  the  theological  school  con- 
nected with  Tufts  College.  His  mother's  maiden 
name  was  Phebe  A.  Bassett,  daughter  of  John 
Bassett,  late  of  Atkinson,  New  Hampshire.  Mrs. 
Leonard  died  April  19,  1872.  The  family  have 
been  residents  of  New  England  on  both  sides  for 
several  generations.  Claude  V>.  Leonard,  the  sec- 
ond of  four  children,  was  born  at  Chelsea,  Mas- 
sachusetts, ]\Iarch  26,  1853.  He  began  his  edu- 
cation in  the  conmion  schools  at  Chelsea,  which 
he  attended  until  he  was  seventeen.  He  then  we}it 
to  Dean  Academy,  at  Franklin,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  prepared  for  college.  He  entered  the 
freshman  class  at  Tufts  College  in  1872  and  was 
graduated  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  in  1876. 
While  in  college  lie  was  a  member  of  the  Theta 
Delta  Chi  fraternuy.  On  completing  his  college 
course  he  entered  the  law  office  of  Starbuck  & 
Sawyer,  at  Watertown,  New  York,  and  remained 
with  them  until  (  )ctober,  1878.  when  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  at  a  general  term  of  the  supreme 
court,  held  at  Rochester,  New  York.  A  month 
later  he  turned  his  face  westward  in  search  of 
the  fresher  fields  and  larger  opportunities  prom- 
ised in  the  Northwest.  He  reached  jNIinneapolis 
November  7,  1878,  and  opened  a  law  ofifice  in  the 
Brackett  Block,  First  Avenue  South  and  Second 
Street.  In  the  latter  part  of  1879  he  was  appoint- 
ed clerk  of  the  probate  court  by  Judge  John  P. 
Rea,  and  remained  in  that  office  until  1882.  In 
January.  1882,  he  formed  a  law  partnership  with 
Edward  ]\I.  Johnson,  the  style  of  the  firm  being 


Johnson  &  Leonard.  In  April,  i8i;i,  Alexander 
McCune  became  a  member  of  the  firm,  the  style 
of  which  has  been  since  that  time  and  is  now, 
Johnson,  Leonard  &  McCune.  This  firm  is 
located  in  handsome  offices  in  the  Farmers'  and 
Mechanics'  Savings  liank  Building  and  is  en- 
gaged in  the  general  practice  of  law,  special  at- 
tention being  given  to  real  estate,  corporation 
and  probate  law.  For  several  years  Mr.  Leonard 
has  made  a  special  study  of  probate  law  and 
practice,  and  in  1889  he  was  nominated  by  the 
Republicans  for  the  office  of  Probate  Judge  of 
Hennepin  County.  That  did  not  prove  to  be  a 
good  year  for  Republican  candidates,  and  Mr. 
Leonard  was  defeated,  with  every  other  candi- 
date on  the  county  ticket.  Mr.  Leonard  is  a 
Past  Master  of  Cataract  Lodge,  No.  2,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M.,  a  member  of  St.  Anthony  Falls  chapter, 
No.  3,  R.  A.  M.  He  is  also  a  Past  Sachem  of 
Dahkotah  Tribe,  No  5,  Improved  Order  of  Red 
Men.  His  church  connections  are  w-ith  the 
Second  L^niversalist  Church  of  ^linneapolis.  He 
was  luarried  at  WatertOAvn,  New  York,  April  14, 
1880,  to  Ella  J.  Eddy,  daughter  of  Henr>^  W. 
Eddy,  late  of  that  citv.  They  have  three  daugh- 
ters, Ruth  E.,  Emily  B.  and  Elva  L. 


388 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


GEORGE  HL'XTL\GT(3N. 

George  Huntington  has  for  seventeen  years 
been  professor  of  logic  and  rhetoric  in  Carleton 
College,  Xorthtiekl,  .Minnesota.  He  has  also 
during  this  time  frequently  supplied  vacant  pulpits 
in  churches  in  the  "Twin  Cities"  and  elsewhere 
throughout  the  state.  Professor  Huntington. 
however,  is  more  ^\■idely  known  for  his  literary 
efforts.  He  is  almost  constantly  engaged  in  some 
form  of  literary  work.  His  literary  labors  began 
in  his  student  days  and  have  Ijeen  continued  more 
or  less  regularly  ever  since.  "Shining  Hours" 
was  his  first  hook,  a  juvenile  story  pitblished 
anonymously  by  D.  Lothro]j  &  Co.  Other  books 
from  his  ]jen  are  the  ".Spectre  of  Pratt's  Parish," 
a  satire  on  making  finance  the  dominating  consid- 
eration in  parochial  affairs:  "The  Rockanock 
Stage,"  a  story  of  ])arochial  life  in  a  small  village; 
"Xakoma."  a  stor\-  of  pioneer  days  in  Minnesota; 
"Kings  and  Cujjbearers,"  a  tale  of  college  life  in 
the  West;  "Robber  and  Hero."  telling  of  the 
famous  jamcs-^'ounger  raid  at  Xorthllcid,  and 
"Maud  iiravton."  a  sc(|uel  to  "Kings  an<l  ("iip- 
bcarcrs."  Prrifessor  Huntington  for  a  year  or 
more  cditerl  the  .Sundav  Schonl  Teacher,  and  for 
two   or   three    vcars   the    Scholar,      He   has   also 


been  a  contributor  to  a  number  of  papers  and 
periodicals,  especially  to  The  Interior,  of  Chicago, 
for  which  he  has  wTitten  both  under  his  own 
name  and  under  the  pseudonym  of  "Parson 
Penn,"  and  The  Advance,  also  of  Chicago,  for 
which  he  has  furnished  poems,  articles,  letters 
of  travels,  short  stories  and  serials,  many  of  his 
books  being  first  published  in  serial  form  in  this 
periodical.  Professor  Himtington  was  born  in 
Prooklyn,  C(.)nnecticut,  Xovember  5,  1835.  He 
is  the  son  of  the  late  Ur.  Thomas  Huntington, 
and  Paulina  Clark  (Piuntington).  Dr.  Thomas 
Huntington  was  a  clergyman  as  well  as  a  physi- 
cian. He  was  not  only  deeply  interested  in  the 
subject  of  natural  science,  but  was  also  an  enthu- 
siastic student  of  theological  subjects.  Jedidiah 
Huntington  was  a  clergv'man  as  well  as  physi- 
this  sketch,  was  an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary 
War.  He  entered  as  a  captain  and  was  made 
colonel  and  lirigadier  general  and  a  member  of 
\\^ashington"s  staff',  and  on  his  retirement  was 
lireveted  major  general.  He  was  collector  of 
customs  at  Xew  London,  Connecticut,  under  four 
administrations;  served  as  treasurer  of  the  state, 
and  as  a  delegate  to  the  convention  for  the  ratifi- 
cation of  the  United  States  constitution.  A  loses 
Clark,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  Professor 
Huntington,  was  a  substantial  farmer  and  ]iromi- 
nent  citizen  of  Brooklyn,  Connecticut.  George 
attended  the  district  school  and  the  village 
acadenn-,  InU  the  dominating  intiuences  of  his 
youth  were  received  at  his  home.  Plere  the  boy 
was  taught  Latin  by  his  father  and  drawing  by  his 
mother;  surrounded  liy  a  cultured  home  circle  he 
learned  to  read  and  think  seriously,  and  here 
acquired  the  high  character  which  he  exhibited 
later  in  life.  When  but  seventeen  \ears  of  age 
lie  was  teaching  in  a  country  school.  It  was  at 
this  time,  through  revival  meetings  conducted  by 
his  uncle,  Rev.  George  Clark,  that  the  youth 
Iiecame  a  Christian,  and  joined  the  Congrega- 
tional Church.  George's  parents,  thinking  that 
lie  had  an  cspeci;il  aptitude  for  mechanical  pur- 
suits, apprenticed  him  to  the  steam  engine  busi- 
ness in  the  sliojis  of  Corliss  iS:  Xightendale,  in 
Pro\-idencc,  Rhode  Island.  In  1S57  he  \vent  to 
Chicaijo   to   erect    in    the    Hour    mill    of    .\danis. 


PROGRESSIVH  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


389 


Brothers  the  first  Corliss  engine  used  in  that  city, 
after  which  he  returned  to  I'rovidcnce,  and  having 
completed  his  prei)aratory  studies,  entered  lirovvn 
Ihiiversit)-.  During  his  sophomore  and  junior 
years  Air.  Huntington  regularly  supplied  the 
])uli)it  at  the  Charles  Street  Mission,  which  he  had 
liellied  to  found.  His  health  gave  way  under  the 
strain  of  hard  stu<ly  and  ftjr  a  year  he  was  com- 
pelled to  live  in  enforced  idleness.  The  next 
year  was  partiallv  devoted  to  ministerial  labors, 
and  the  vear  following  to  theological  study  at 
Andover.  He  was  ordained  in  Central  Village, 
Connecticut,  in  1863,  which  was  his  first  field. 
His  next  pastorate  was  in  Charles  Street  Church, 
now  the  North  Church,  Providence,  Rhode  Island, 
where  he  remained  five  years.  He  removed  from 
there  to  Oak  Park,  Illinois,  holding  a  pastorate 
at  this  place  for  nine  years.  This  he  resigned  in 
1879  to  accept  his  present  position  as  professor 
of  rhetoric  and  logic  in  Carleton  College.  Pro- 
fessor Huntington  was  married,  June  30,  1863, 
to  Caroline  A.  Alason,  of  Brooklyn,  Connecticut. 
They  have  had  but  one  child,  who  died  in  infancy. 


CHARLES  ALONZO  VAN  DUZEE. 

Charles  Alonzo  Van  Duzee,  of  St.  Paul,  is 
descended  on  his  father's  side  from  the  original 
settlers  of  the  Hudson  River  \'alley  who  came 
from  Holland  in  the  Seventeenth  century.  ( )n 
his  mother's  side  his  ancestors  were  from  Wales, 
and  settled  in  Eastport,  ]\Iaine,  early  in  the  historv 
of  that  section.  Charles  Alonzo  is  the  son  of 
Edward  M.  \^an  Duzee,  an  accountant  in  good 
circumstances.  Edward  JM.  has  an  honorable  rec- 
ord as  a  soldier,  having  served  during  the  entire 
War  of  the  Rebellion,  and  having  been  promoted 
during  his  term  of  office  to  the  command  of  his 
regiment  as  major,  the  rank  which  he  held  when 
mustered  out  of  service.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born  at  Independence,  Iowa,  March  10, 
i860.  After  the  close  of  the  war  the  family  re- 
moved to  Minnesota  and  located  at  Anoka  where 
they  remained  for  two  or  three  years.  They 
then  moved  to  Alinneapolis,  where  Van  Duzee 
senior,  was  active  in  organizing  and  establishing 
the  First  Baptist  Church.     The  family  remained 


in  .Minneapolis  until  1875,  \vlien  they  removed  to 
-St.  Paul.  Charles  Alonzo  began  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  Anoka  and  of  Minneapolis. 
He  also  attended  the  University  of  Minnesota,  and 
graduated  from  the  College  of  Dentistry  in  June, 
i8<;o,  at  the  head  of  his  class,  receiving  the 
only  prize  offered  for  excellence.  His  train- 
ing as  a  dentist  covered  a  period  of  nearly 
five  years,  first  in  the  office  of  his  preceptor 
and  then  three  years  at  the  university.  After 
that  he  taught  special  branches  in  the  College  of 
Dentistr}',  University  of  Minnesota,  for  two 
years.  Upon  graduation  from  the  College  of 
Dentistry  he  established  his  office  in  St. 
Paul,  where  he  has  built  up  a  comfortable  prac- 
tice. Dr.  \'an  Duzee  has  served  thirteen  years 
in  the  National  Guard  of  the  state,  and  now  holds 
the  rank  of  major  in  the  Third  infantry.  He 
has  been  for  three  years  a  member  of  the  state 
board  of  dental  examiners,  of  which  he  is  now 
secretary  and  treasurer.  He  was  married  May  12, 
188 1,  to  Miss  I'annie  J.  Parker,  of  St.  Paul.  They 
have  a  son  named  Judson  P.,  aged  eleven  years, 
and  a  daughter.  Ruth,  aged  two.  Dr.  A'an  Duzee 
recalls  as  one  of  the  interesting  facts  of  his  boy- 
hood that  he  earned  his  first  dollar  in  piling  mill 
wood  in  Minneapolis. 


300 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ARTHUR  WESLEY  PORTER. 

Arilmr  Wesley  Porter  is  a  native  of 
Massachusetts,  born  at  Chelsea,  >v:oveinber  14, 
1851,  almost  in  the  shadow  of  Bunker  Hill 
monument.  His  ancestors  were  English  Tories 
living  in  Charleston,  Massachusetts,  at  the  time  of 
the  Revolution,  who,  at  the  beginning  of  the  hos- 
tilities, took  advantage  of  the  amnesty  ofifered  to 
the  adherents  of  the  Crown  and  emigrated  to 
Nova  Scotia.  The  family  subesquently  returned 
to  New  England,  and  Asa  Porter,  father  of  Ar- 
thur Wesley,  took  up  his  residence  at  Chelsea. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  early  edu- 
cation under  his  mother's  direction,  who  was  for 
more  than  thirty  years  a  public  school  teacher  in 
Chelsea  and  vicinity.  He  passed  through  the 
usual  high  school  grades,  graduating  from  the 
Chelsea  high  school  in  1869,  and  was  accepted 
for  admission  to  Harvard  College.  In  the 
meantime  his  voice  had  developed  unusual  (|ual- 
ity  and  power  and  he  turned  his  attention  espe- 
cially to  the  study  of  music.  Among  his  in- 
structors were  some  of  the  finest  in  this  country, 
T.    W.    Adams,    Signor     Ardavani,     George    L. 


Osgood,  il.  W.  Whitney,  the  great  basso,  and 
Dr.  Guilmette,  the  famous  dramatic  singer.     Air. 
Porter  entered  enthusiastically  into  the  study  of 
music  and  united  hard  work  to  imtiring    perse- 
verance.   After  two  years  with  the  quartette  choir 
in  St.  Luke's  Church,  in  Chelsea,  he  was  invited 
to  the  position  of  basso  in  the  Warren  Avenue 
Baptist  quartette  in  Boston.     He  was  introduced 
to  the  position    by    Myron    W.  \\hitney,  under 
whom  he  was  studying.     While  singing  in  this 
church,    a    much  more    flattering    offer   was    re- 
ceived   from     the      Shawmut     Avenue     Baptist 
Church,  which    he    accepted    and    where    he    re- 
mained for  nearly  two  years.        During  all  this 
time  Prof.  Porter  continued  his  studies,  develop- 
ing his  voice  and  preparing  himself  for  the  work 
of  a  teacher  of  vocal  music  and  voice  culture. 
He  came  to    Minneapolis   as    earl\-  as  1882,  and 
has    resided    here     ever    since,    where    he    has 
achieved  a  notable  success  as  a  teacher  and  won 
distinction  as  a  vocalist.     He  possesses  a  basso 
voice  of  great  compass,  extending  from  C  sharp 
below  to  F  sharp  above,  and  possessed  of  dra- 
matic quality,  and    is    equal  to  all  the  demands 
that  may  be  made  upon  it  for  choir  or  concert 
singing,  for  oratorio  or  opera.       In      1889     the 
Gounod  Club,  of  Alinneapolis,  had  arranged  to 
give  the  oratorio   of    the    Messiah,  assisted    by 
Mrs.  Htmiphrey    Allen,   of     Boston,   and    Theo- 
dore Toedt,  of  New  York.     D.  AI.  Babcock,  the 
celebrated  basso  of  Boston,  was  cast  for  the  basso 
parts,  but  suddenly    became    ill.       Cpon    three 
hours'  notice  Prof.  Porter   took    his    place    and 
sang  his  score    with  entire   success,  particidarly 
in  the  great  aria  "W'hy  Do  the     Nations,"    for 
which    he    was    warmly    complimented    by    Mrs. 
.\llen  and   Mr.  Toedt.     Some  idea  of  the  elas- 
ticitv  of  his  voice  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact 
that    it    permits    him    to    sing    successfully    the 
part  of  "Lucifer"  in  Sullivan's  Golden     Legend, 
and  also  the  part  of  "Elijah"  in  the  oratorio  of 
that  name,  and  being  especially  adapted  for  the 
dramatic  parts  of  these  works.   Mr.  Porter  devotes 
his  attention  almost  entirely    to    teaching    voice 
culture,  and  has  won  a  sure  place  in  the  esteem 
of  the  jicople  of  Minneaiiolis  as  an  artist  of  merit. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


.-{'Jl 


\AiU  A1EL\  iLLE  CRAl 'IS. 

Among  the  pioneers  of  Minnesota  was  the 
late  Major  Amasa  Crafts,  who  settled  in  Minne- 
apolis in  1S53.  Major  Crafts  was  an  officer  in 
the  Maine  troops  during  the  Mexican  War,  bnt 
was  never  called  into  active  service.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  Rebellion  his  health  had  become  so 
impaired  that  he  was  incapacitated  for  active 
service  in  tlie  cause  of  the  Union,  although  it  was 
his  strong  desire  to  offer  himself  in  his  country's 
service  at  that  time.  Major  Crafts'  family  is 
traceable  on  his  mother's  side  to  the  early  settle- 
ment of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  where  Simon 
Stone  located  on  the  banks  of  the  Charles  River 
in  1635.  The  land  occupied  by  him  is  now  incor- 
porated in  beautiful  Mount  Auburn  Cemetery; 
but  it  remained  as  the  family  estate  for  over  two 
hundred  years.  It  was  known  as  "Sw-eet  Auburn," 
and  the  broad  sw^eep  of  lawn  overlooking  the 
river  was  surmounted  by  a  spacious  colonial 
mansion.  (  )ne  of  Simon  Stone's  sons  was  among 
the  earliest  graduates  of  Harvard,  and  various 
members  of  the  family  have  occupied  prominent 
positions  in  Massachusetts.  The  Crafts  family  is 
also  one  of  the  oldest  in  New  England,  having 
settled  in  Boston  in  1630,  the  year  of  the  founding 
of  the  city.  A  branch  of  this  family  still  lives  on 
the  ancestral  estate.  When  .\rajor  Amasa  Crafts, 
one  of  the  founders  and  builders  of  the  city  of 
Minneapolis,  located  in  Minnesota,  he  engaged 
in  the  lumbering  business  and  in  wholesale  pork 
packing,  and  also  acquired  large  real  estate 
interests,  which,  with  the  development  of  the  city, 
became  very  valuable.  The  family  residence. 
erected  in  1857  ''•"d  the  first  brick  house  in  the 
city,  once  stood  on  the  present  site  of  the  Century 
building,  corner  of  Fourth  street  and  First  avenue 
south,  and  at  the  time  of  its  construction  was 
regarded  as  quite  a  pretentious  establishment. 
Major  Crafts'  wife  was  l\Tary  Jane  HenryC  Crafts), 
who  was  also  a  native  of  Maine.  Her  male  ances- 
tors were  chieflv  seafaring  men  at  the  time  when 
this  country  had  a  merchant  marine  of  importance. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  l\Iinne- 
apolis,  October  3.  1863.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  and  entered  the  Universit\'  of  Minnesota. 


from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1886.  He  repre- 
sented his  class  in  the  home  oratorical  contest  in 
his  senior  year.  During  the  last  tw^o  years  he 
was  leader  of  his  class  in  college  work,  and  in 
recognition  of  his  standing  was  appointed  one  of 
the  commencement  orators.  He  gave  consider- 
able attention  to  gymnasium  exercises  and  took 
the  championship  in  general  athletics.  ]\Ir.  Crafts 
was  urged  to  enter  the  ministry  bv  President 
Northrop,  of  the  University  of  Minnesota,  and 
also  by  the  president  of  Dartmouth  College, 
but  having  chosen  medicine  for  his  profes- 
sion he  adhered  to  his  original  purpose,  and 
prepared  himself  at  Harvard,  taking  the  four- 
ycar  course,  then  optional,  leading  his  class  on 
the  final  examinations,  and  winning  the  degree  of 
A.  M.  by  the  work  attained.  Subsequently,  he 
received  successive  hospital  appointments  at  the 
Boston  City  Hospital,  and,  being  entitled  by  his 
competitive  examinations  to  first  choice,  w-as 
afforded  the  best  opportunities  for  the  study  of 
nervous  diseases.  In  1891  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Hospital  Club,  and  was  received 
into  fellowship  in  the  ^lassachusetts  "Medical 
Society.  Diu-ing  the  summer  of  1801  he  took 
charge   of   the   practice    of  one    of   the    leading 


392 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


physicians  of  JJoston,  in  his  temporary  absence, 
but  in  September  returned  to  Minnesota,  and  has 
been  engaged  in  practice  in  Minneapolis  ever 
since.  Dr.  Crafts  has  contributed  quite  exten- 
sively to  medical  publications,  chiefly  in  the  line 
of  his  specialty.  He  holds  the  chair  of  nervous 
diseases  in  the  medical  department  of  Hamline 
University,  and  has  been  visiting  neurologist  to 
the  ^Minneapolis  City  Hospital  since  1894;  also  to 
the  Good  Samaritan  Free  Dispensary.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Good 
Samaritan  Hospital  and  Dispensary  Association 
and  secretary  of  the  visiting  staff;  is  treasurer  of 
the  Hennepin  County  Medical  Societv:  treasurer 
of  the  Minneapolis  I'ranch  of  the  \\'estein  Societ\ 
for  the  Suppression  of  Mce;  a  member  of  the 
American  Medical  Association;  of  the  American 
Academv  of  Political  and  Social  Science;  a  fellow 
of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society;  a  member 
of  the  Minnesota  State  Medical  Society;  a  member 
of  the  Hennepin  County  Medical  Society;  a 
member  of  the  Har\'ard  Medical  Alumni  Asso- 
ciation; a  member  of  the  Boston  City  Hospital 
Chtb.  the  ^linnesota  Congregational  Club  and  of 
the  IMinneapolis  Board  of  Trade.  Dr.  Crafts  has 
always  taken  an  active  interest  in  Sunday  school 
work,  and  in  1892  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
central  conunittee  of  the  State  Sunday  School 
Association.  In  1893  he  was  chosen  president, 
and  re-elected  in  1894  and  1895,  and  is  now 
member  of  the  board  of  directors.  He  is  president 
of  the  Minneapolis  Sunday  School  ( )fficers'  Asso- 
ciation, and  in  1893  started,  and  for  a  year  edited, 
the  Minnesota  Sunday  School  Herald,  organ  of 
the  state  association,  but  now  merged  into  the 
International  Evangel,  ptil)lishe<l  at  St.  Louis. 
Dr.  Crafts  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  but  has 
never  taken  a  very  active  part  in  political  affairs. 
His  church  membership  is  with  the  First  Congre- 
gational Clnirch  of  Minneapolis.  He  is  not 
married. 


DAXTFI,  THO.M.XS  McVRTHCR. 

One  of  the  leading  bankers  in  Southwestern 
Minnesota  is  D.  T.  Mc Arthur,  cashier  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Tracv.  Mr.  Mc.Xrthnr's 
ancestn'  is  Scotch.    C)n  the  paternal  side  he  traces 


his  famil}-  line  back  to  Archibald  and  Mary  (Mc- 
Gregor) McArthur,  who  were  born  near  Green- 
ock, in  the  highlands  of  Scotland.  His  grand- 
father, Donald  ]\lc Arthur,  was  also  born  in 
Greenock  and  married  Catharine  McDonald,  of 
Inverness.  He  spent  his  last  days  in  Cheltenham, 
Province  of  Ontario,  Canada.  Daniel  McArthur, 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in 
Toronto,  Canada,  and  reared  to  the  occupation 
of  farming.  He  came  to  Alinnesota  in  1857,  and 
was  married  the  following  year  to  Jane  Martin, 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Jane  (Annet)  Martin, 
who  were  natives  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland.  The 
paternal  grandparents  of  Airs.  Mc.-\rthur  wx're 
John  and  .Margaret  (Colwell)  Martin,  who  lived 
all  their  lives  in  Edinburgh.  Her  maternal  grand- 
parents were  James  and  Jane  (Ste\-enson) 
Annett,  who  were  Ijorn  near  Glasgow,  where 
they  lived  and  died.  Daniel  Thomas  McArthur 
was  born  in  Farmington  township,  C.)lmsted 
County,  Minnesota,  February  4,  1865.  His  ele- 
mentary education  was  received  in  the  district 
schools  and  the  puljlic  schools  of  Rochester, 
Minnestita.  Later  he  pursued  his  studies  in  the 
private  school  conducted  by  Sanford  Xiles  of 
that  place.  When  twenty  years  of  age  he  entered 
tlie  Lincoln  Cmmty  liank,  a  private  banking  in- 
stitution at  Lake  Benton,  Minnesota,  where  he 
was  employed  two  years.  He  then  went  to 
Dakota  where  he  remained  four  years,  engaged 
in  banking,  in  the  real  estate  business  and  in  mer- 
chandise. In  1891  he  moved  to  Tracy,  INIinne- 
sota.  and  in  connection  with  Messrs.  Tucker  and 
Holway  purchased  the  small  private  bank  owned 
bv  lohn  E.  Evan.s,  known  as  the  Commerce 
liank,  and  organized  the  first  state  liank,  with  a 
capital  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  which  was 
increased  to  thirty-five  thousand  dollars  two  years 
later.  (  )n  the  eighth  of  .\])ril,  1S95,  the  liank  was 
reorganized  and  the  Mrst  National  Bank  was 
oijencd  with  a  capital  of  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
Mr.  McArthur  has  served  as  cashier  of  the  bank- 
ing institution  since  it  was  first  organized.  The 
bank  has  been  very  successful  in  its  business,  a 
great  deal  of  wliicli  is  due  to  the  efficient  man- 
agement of  Mr.  Mc.Xrthur.  In  addition  to  his 
banking  interests  Mr.  Mc.Xrthur  has  also  exten- 
sive  real   estate  holdings.      lie   is   the   nwner   of 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


393 


fifteen  huiulrcd  acres  of  land  in  Southern  .Minne- 
sota, of  which  sixty-five  acres  He  within  the  cor- 
porate Hniits  of  Tracy.  Un  this  particular  piece 
of  land  he  conducts  an  experimental  farm,  which 
is  managed  according  to  the  latest  scientific 
methods.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  McArthur 
is  an  ardent  adherent  of  the  principles  of  the  Re- 
publican ]5arty,  and  he  takes  an  active  interest  in 
all  local  affairs,  giving  his  support  to  all  efforts 
calculated  to  advance  the  public  welfare  of  the 
community.  He  has  served  as  president  of  the 
village  council  of  Tracy,  also  as  treasurer,  and  is 
now  serving  his  second  term  as  alderman.  He  is 
a  young  man  as  yet,  but  his  success  so  far  in  life 
gives  promise  of  his  taking  a  foremost  position 
among  the  financiers  of  the  state.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  has  been  past 
chancelor  and  a  delegate  to  the  grand  lodge;  of 
the  Ivy  Leaf  Lodge,  No.  36,  Order  of  Rebecca: 
of  ]\Iodern  Woodmen  of  America;  of  the  Man- 
kato  Lodge  of  the  1^..  1'.  O.  E.,  and  is  connected 
with  the  Chosen  I'riends,  Lodge  Xo.  100,  of 
Tracv. 


HENRY    ADELBERT     RIDER. 

Mr.  Rider  is  the  sheriff  of  Morrison  County, 
Minnesota.  He  is  of  English  descent,  his  grand- 
father having  come  to  this  country  from  Eng- 
land when  a  Ixjy.  His  grandmother  was  also  of 
English  origin.  His  father,  Bradford  Rider,  was 
born  in  Rhode  Island,  and  was  a  farmer  in  mod- 
erate circumstances.  His  mother's  maiden  name 
was  Harriet  Holmes.  Henry  was  born  at  .\orth 
Adams,  Massachusetts,  January  16,  185 1.  He 
had  only  the  advantages  of  a  common  school 
education.  In  1878  he  came  West  and  was  con- 
nected with  the  engineering  department  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  railroad  in  Dakota  and  Mon- 
tana until  1880.  In  that  year  he  went  to  Mexico 
as  an  engineer  for  the  Mexican  National  railroad, 
running  from  the  City  of  Mexico  to  Salvatierra. 
In  1882  he  liecame  connected  with  the  Canadian 
Pacific  railway  as  an  engineer  in  charge  of 
bridges.  In  1883  he  came  to  Minneapolis  and  was 
connected  with  the  civil  engineering  department 


of  the  Northern  I'acific  Railway  Company,  re- 
maining in  their  service  until  1886,  when  he  lo- 
cated in  Little  Falls  Minnesota,  and  during  that 
summer  was  resident  engineer  for  the  Minneapo- 
lis, Sault  Ste.  Marie  &  Atlantic  near  Prentice,  Wis- 
consin. In  1888  he  was  again  connected  with 
the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  and  remained  in 
the  service  of  that  company  until  1891,  during 
that  time  having  charge  of  the  building  of  round 
houses  and  terminal  buildings.  In  1893  he  had 
charge  of  the  preliminary  surveys  of  the  Missis- 
sippi &  Leech  Lake  railroad.  In  politics  Mr.  Rider 
has  always  been  a  Republican,  and  takes  an  act- 
ive interest  in  the  promotion  of  the  principles 
of  that  party.  In  1894  he  was  nominated  and 
elected  sheriff  of  Morrison  County,  which  posi- 
tion he  still  holds.  He  is  a  member  of  the  IMa- 
sonic  order,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  K.  O.  T. 
M.,  and  M.  W.  O.  A.  He  is  past  grand  in  the 
I.  O.  O.  F.  and  past  grand  warden  of  the  same 
order,  and  at  present  is  foreman  of  the  A.  O.  U. 
W.  His  church  affiliations  are  with  the  Episco- 
pal church.  Mr.  Rider  w^as  married  in  January, 
1886.  to  Mrs.  Emma  J.  Merrick,  of  Afinneapolis. 
Mr.  and  Airs.  Rider  reside  at  Little  Falls.  Minne- 
sota. 


394 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JAMES  WOUDWARl)  STRONG. 

The  above  name  is  inseparablv  associated 
with  that  of  Carleton  College  at  X(jrthfield,  which 
is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  educational 
institutions  of  the  Xorthwest.  .Mr.  .Strong  has 
been  president  of  this  college  since  its  organiza- 
tion in  1870,  and  to  him  is  due  the  credit  of 
bringing  it  to  the  high  plane  which  it  occupies 
at  the  present  time.  Dr.  Strung  was  born  of 
Puritan  ancestry;  he  is  a  descendant,  on  the 
paternal  side,  of  Elder  John  Strong,  who  came 
to  America  in  1630,  and  was  the  first  ruling  clder 
in  the  church  at  Xortham]non,  Massacluusetts, 
where  he  died  in  1699.  about  ninety-four  years 
of  age.  This  founder  of  the  American  branch  of 
the  Strong  family  was  the  father  of  eighteen  chil- 
dren, most  of  whom  had  large  families.  Manv 
of  their  descendants  have  been  ])rnmincnt  in  the 
history  of  this  country — notably  Governor  Caleb 
Strong  of  Massachusetts,  and  William  .Strong  of 
the  Ignited  States  supreme  bench.  On  the 
mother's  side  the  family  connections  were  with 
the  first  president  of  Dartmouth  College  ("Presi- 
dent Eleazer  Wheelock)  and  Prof.  I'.ezalecl 
Woodward,    who    were    in    the    fifth    and    sixth 


generation  direct  descendants  from   .Miles  Stan- 
dish.     Elijah   Gridley  Strong,  the  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Brownington, 
(Jrleans  County,   \ermunt,  in   1803.     He  was  a 
farmer   and    a    merchant    in    moderate    financial 
circumstances  and  a  man  of  the  strictest  integrity. 
He  was  active  in  public  affairs,  served  his  county 
as  a  sheriff  for  twelve  years,  and  was  a  leader  in 
the  advancement  of  the  religious  and  educational 
interests   of   the  community   in   which    he   lived. 
In  1848  he  moved  with  his  family  to  Montpelier, 
\'ermont,  and  three  years  later  to  Beloit.  Wis- 
consin, where  he  died  in  1859.     His  wife,  Sarah 
Ashley  Partridge  (Strong),  was  a  native  of  Nor- 
wich, A'ermont,  coming  of  a  family  prominent  in 
military  affairs.    She  was  left  an  orphan  in  infancy 
and  was  brought  up  bv  her  uncle.   Rev.  James 
\A'heelock  Woodward,  who  held  a  pastorate  in  her 
native    town.       She    was    a    woman    of    unusual 
strength  of  character,  combined  with  delicacy  and 
refinement.     Her  family  government  was  almost 
ideal,  and  her  memory  is  held  in  fond  remem- 
brance by  her  children.     She  died  at  r)eloit.  W^is- 
consin,  in  June.  1865.    James  Woodward  Strong 
was  born  at  Brownington,  X'ermont,  September 
29,  1833.     His  early  education  was  received  in  a 
district  school.     Later  he  entered  an  academy  at 
MontjH'lier.  \'ermont.  which  was  under  the  charge 
of  Nathaniel  G.  Clark,  who  became  secretary  of 
the  American  Board  of  I'oreign  Missions,  and  to 
whose  personal  intfuence  young  Strong  owed  a 
great  deal  in  the  shaping  of  his  character.    When 
but  thirteen  years  of  age  the  lad  earned  his  first 
money  working  in  a  ]irinting  ofifice  in  Irasburg, 
\'ermont.     I'rom  his  fifteenth  to  seventeenth  year 
he  clerked  in  a  bookstore  at  lUirlington.  \'ermont. 
When  his  family  came  West  and  settled  at  Beloit, 
Wisconsin.    Janie.s    came    with    them    and    soon 
became  a  student  at  Beloit  College,     ^\'hile  pur- 
suing his  studies  he  \\as  successively  teacher  in  a 
district  school,  telegraph  operator,  citv  clerk  and 
city  superintendent  of  schools.     He  graduated  as 
valedictorian  of  his  class  in  July.  1858.    Overwork 
in  college  caused  him  a  serious  optical  difficulty 
and    during    his    senior    vear    his    lessons    were 
learned  by  hearing  alone.     After  leaving  college 
he  was  for  a  few  months  a  telegraph  operator  and 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


395 


a  reporter  at  Madison,  Wisconsin.  Havinjjf,  how- 
ever, decided  to  study  for  the  ministry,  he  entered 
the  L'nion  'I'liccili  iwjcal  Seminary  at  New  York, 
from  which  he  ,L;ra(hiated  in  1862.  I-"or  two  years 
he  held  a  pastorate  in  the  Congregational  Church 
at  iirodhead,  Wisconsin,  whence  he  came  in 
January,  1865,  to  the  Congregational  Church  at 
l'"ai"il)ault.  In  1870  Mr.  Strong  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  a  college  which  three  years  before  had 
been  located  at  Northfield,  Minnesota.  At  this 
time,  however,  the  colleg'e  was  more  of  an  idea 
than  an  accomplished  fact.  Mr.  Strong's  execu- 
tive force  and  abilities  as  a  leader  and  organizer 
soon  inspired  confidence  and  won  friends  for 
the  enterjjrise.  Through  his  influence  William 
Carleton  of  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  made  an 
unconditional  donation  of  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
and  under  his  administration  Carleton  College 
has  become  one  of  the  foremost  educational 
institutions  of  the  Northwest.  Forbidden  by  his 
eyes,  which  have  lieevi  a  source  of  trouble  to  him 
since  his  college  davs,  President  Strong  has  been 
denied  the  ]>rivilege  of  special  literary  work  and 
has  written  l)ut  little  kir  publication,  but  has 
devoted  himself  successfully  to  laying  the  founda- 
tions of  an  institution  broad  in  its  curriculum, 
thorough  in  its  culture  and  Christian  in  its  spirit. 
The  post-graduate  course  of  Carleton"s  "School 
of  Pure  Mathematics  and  Practical  Astronomy," 
and  its  special  astronomical  work  and  publica- 
tions, have  given  the  institution  a  reputation  in 
Europe  as  well  as  in  America.  President  Strong 
is  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Minnesota 
Congregational  Club.  For  nearly  a  score  of 
vears  he  has  been  president  of  the  Minnesota 
Home  Missionary  Society,  and  also  a  corporate 
member  of  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions. For  the  past  thirty  years  he  has  been  a 
member  of  nearlv  every  national  council  of  the 
Congregational  bodv  held  in  this  country.  r)n 
September  3,  1861,  he  was  married  to  Mary  Dav- 
enport of  P)eloit,  Wisconsin,  a  direct  descendant 
of  Elder  John  Davenport  of  the  New  Haven 
Colonv.  Three  children  have  resulted  from  this 
tmion,  William  "Rrinsmade,  Edward  Williams  and 
Arthur  Dunning. 


JACOB  FRANCIS  F(JRCE. 

Jacob  Francis  Force,  M.  U.,  Secretary  of 
the  Northwestern  Life  Association,  traces  his  an- 
cestry on  his  mother's  side  from  the  Adams  fam- 
il\-  of  Connecticut.  Henry  Force,  great  grand- 
father of  Dr.  Force,  was  a  soldier  in  Col.  Hazen's 
Congress  regiment.  He  was  at  the  battles  of 
Monmouth,  Springfield,  Cherry  \'alley,  Yorktown 
and  at  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  born  at  Stillwater,  Saratoga 
Ctjunty,  New  York,  March  2,  1843.  He  attended 
the  village  schools  and  Stillwater  Academy.  On 
leaving  school  he  engaged  in  mercantile  business, 
but  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  on  August  13.  1862, 
he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Twentv-fifth 
Adlunteers  at  Troy,  New  York.  He  served 
in  Co.  K.  as  a  private,  corporal,  sergeant  and 
first  sergeant.  He  was  appointed  first  lieutenant 
of  the  Twenty-.seconcl  I'.  S.  colored  troops,  De- 
cember. 1863,  and  promoted  to  the  office  of  cap- 
tain. .September  30,  1864.  he  was  severely  wound- 
ed at  I'ln-t  Harrison,  near  Richmond,  and 
was  discharged  on  account  of  his  wounds,  April 
10.    i86q.     Dr.   Force  was   at   the   surrender   of 


396 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


Harper's  I'errv,  Septeinl)i.'r  15,  18O2.  at  (.iettys- 
burg  during  the  two  days  of  the  fight,  at  Mine 
Run,  Bristol  Station,  Aul)urn  Ford,  t'etershiirg, 
Dutch  Gap  Canal,  etc.  On  leaving  the  army  lie 
returned  to  mercantile  business  for  a  time  but 
soon  took  up  the  study  of  medicine.  He  had 
also,  while  engaged  in  Ijusiness,  after  the  close  of 
the  war,  taken  a  course  of  study  at  the  Bryant  and 
Stratton  Business  College  in  Newark,  New  jersey. 
His  medical  studies  were  continued  in  the  Albany 
Medical  College,  where  he  graduated  in  1871. 
The  following  }ear  he  came  \\'est  and  settled  at 
Heron  Lake.  Minnesota,  and  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  In  1885  he  removed 
to  Minneapolis  in  search  of  a  larger  and  more 
profitable  field.  Dr.  h'orce  has  attained  promi- 
nence in  various  capacities.  He  is  a  medical 
director  of  the  X<,rthwesteni  Life  .\ssociation. 
having  been  chosen  for  that  position  in  1S87.  In 
1888  he  was  made  secretary-  and  treasurer  of  the 
association  and  in  1895  he  became  its  manager. 
He  is  also  a  director  in  the  Metropolitan  Bank  of 
Minneapolis.  Politically  Dr.  Force  is  a  Repub- 
lican. His  first  ballot  was  cast  for  Lincoln  while 
lying  in  the  hospital  in  the  fall  of  1864,  his  vote 
being  sent  home  to  New  York.  Since  he  came 
to  Minnesota  he  has  been  county  superintend- 
ent of  schools  in  Jackson  County  during  four 
years;  postmaster  at  Heron  Lake  eight  years, 
and  pension  surgeon  for  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment for  a  period  of  thirteen  years.  Dr.  Force 
is  a  member  of  the  Foss  M.  E.  Church,  where 
he  has  been  actively  identified  for  the  past  ten 
years.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
order,  the  G.  A.  R.  and  the  Loyal  Legion.  He 
was  married  April  4,  1867,  to  Sarah  F.  Mesick. 
They  have  three  children  living,  Frank  Wilson, 
a  druggist  at  Windoni,  .Minnesota,  Charles  E.,  as- 
sistant secretary,  Xorthwestern  Life  Association, 
and  a  daugliter.  May.  who  was  graduated  from 
the  high   sclujol  in    181;:^. 


Tllo.MAS  CHALMERS  CLARK. 

Dr.  Clark,  of  .Stillwater.  Minnesota,  traces  his 
ancestry  liack  to  the  landing  of  the  ship  Mary 
and  Jolin.  from  England,  al  Dorclicster,  Massa- 
chusetts,   in    i6_^o.       lie    was    born    at    Onincv, 


Massachusetts,  April  22,  1853.  His  father,  Rev. 
Xelson  Clark,  was  a  native  of  Brookfield,  Ver- 
mont, where  he  was  born  in  1813.  For  thirty- 
five  years  he  was  pastor  of  Congregational 
churches  in  Vermont  and  ^Massachusetts.  He 
removed  to  Minnesota  in  1880,  and  soon  after- 
wards died.  His  wife,  Elizabeth  Gilman,  was 
grand-daughter  of  Rev.  Samuel  Hidden,  who  was 
for  forty-five  years  pastor  of  the  Congregational 
Church  at  Tamworth,  New  Hampshire.  She  is 
now  living  at  Stillwater,  Minnesota.  As  above 
stated,  the  family  line  is  traced  back  to  the  early 
settlement  of  the  countrv  on  the  father's  side. 
The  founder  of  the  family  in  this  country  was 
one  of  the  company  led  by  Thomas  Hooker, 
which  settled  on  the  Connecticut  River,  and 
his  descendants  living  for  several  generations 
at  North  Hampton,  ^lassachusetts.  On  the 
mother's  side  the  family  line  is  traced  directly 
to  Anne,  daughter  of  Thomas  Dudley,  one  of 
the  early  colonial  governors  of  Massachusetts. 
.\nne  Dudley  married  Silas  Bradstreet,  who  was 
also  a  colonial  governor  of  Massachusetts.  The 
members  of  the  family  on  both  sides  belong  to 
the  sturdy  New  England  stock,  whose  impress 
has  been  so  strongly  stamped  upon  the  social, 
intellectual  and  religious  life  of  our  country. 
Thomas  Chalmers  began  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  Massachusetts  and  was  grad- 
uated from  Bristol  Academy,  at  Taunton,  ^lassa- 
chusetts,  in  1870.  He  removed  to  Stillwater, 
-Minnesota,  in  the  fall  of  that  year  and  engaged 
in  teaching.  He  was  thus  employed  until  the 
spring  of  1877.  About  this  time  he  commenced 
the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  \\'.  H.  Pratt,  of 
-Stillwater,  and  also  served  as  hospital  steward  in 
the  state  prison  in  the  spring  of  1877  and  until 
the  fall  of  1879.  He  graduated  from  the  Rush 
Medical  College,  in  Chicago,  in  1881,  as  the  vale- 
dictorian of  a  class  of  one  Inmdred  and  seventy- 
two.  Tie  leturned  to  Stillwater,  where  he  began 
to  jM-actice  medicine,  and  is  so  engaged  at  the 
present  time.  Dr.  Clark  has  always  taken  an 
active  interest  in  military  affairs.  He  enlisted  in 
Company  K.  h'irst  Regiment  M.  N.  G.,  in  1883,. 
at  the  time  of  its  organization.  He  went  in  as  a 
private,  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant  and 
assistant  surgeon  in   1886,  was  made  capt;iin  and' 


PKOOKESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


397 


assistant  sur.iJfon  in  1894,  ami  major  and  surgeon 
in  1805.  He  was  a  nicnilK-r  of  the  First  Rcgi- 
iiiciil  and  llir  State  Ixillc  Teams  from  1SS5  mitil 
i89(;.  lie  (|ualilied  as  a  shari)slK)<jter  at  every 
encampmenl  held  since  1884,  and  was  deccsratcd 
as  a  distingtiislied  ritleman  in  iSoo.  I  )i-.  Clarl<  is 
an  ardent  Republican.  He  was  chairman  of  tlie 
Republican  C'ount\-  t'onnnittec  in  i8(jo,  and  alter- 
nate to  the  Republican  Xatiiinal  (.'onvenlinn  in 
Minneapolis  in  i8<j2.  With  exception  of  the 
ofifice  of  coroner  he  has  never  held  any  political 
office,  nor  has  he  desired  any.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  county,  state  and  naticMial  medical  societies; 
a  member  of  the  Association  of  Military  Surgeons 
of  the  I'nited  States:  is  one  of  the  board  of 
managers  of  the  Minnesota  Society  of  the  Sons 
of  the  American  Revolution;  is  a  Knights  Templar 
and  an  active  member  of  the  Masonic  order;  is 
past  master  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  Xo.  i.  and  past 
high  priest  of  the  Ro)al  Arch  Chapter,  No.  17. 
Dr.  Clark  is  also  active  in  Christian  work.  He 
is  a  member  and  elder  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Stillwater.  He  was  married  in  June. 
1882,  to  Miss  Sarah  A.  Stephens,  of  New  York 
Cit\-,  and  has  three  children  liviii"-. 


MARTIN  NORWOOD  HILT. 

Mart.  N.  Hilt  is  one  of  the  younger,  active 
business  men  of  Minneapolis.  He  is  a  native  of 
Indianapolis,  where  he  was  born  r)ctober  24. 
1868.  His  father,  Franklin  L.  Hilt,  was  born  in 
Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  moved  to 
Indianapolis  when  a  boy.  During  the  war  he 
was  state  inspector  of  arms.  Later  he  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  architectural  iron,  jail  work 
and  similar  line  of  iron  construction.  He  died  in 
1884.  His  wife  was  Miss  A.  E.  Nonvood.  She 
was  born  in  Indianapolis,  and  her  grandfather 
was  one  of  the  veterans  of  the  state  and  an  early 
settler  in  Indianapolis.  Mart.  Hilt  was  born  at 
Indianapolis  and  attended  the  district  and  high 
schools  of  that  city.  He  earned  his  first  money 
by  selling  papers.  From  the  time  he  was  eight 
years  old  until  he  was  twelve  he  devoted  most  of 
his  time  out  of  school  to  this  work;  afterwards 
he  worked  in  the  office  of  R.  F.  Catterson  &  Son, 


real  estate  and  rental  business.  During  a  vaca- 
tion in  1885  his  brother,  Geo.  L.  Hilt,  moved  to 
Minneapolis  and  Martin  succeeded  him  as  man- 
ager of  the  rental  business  of  the  firm.  He  con- 
tinued in  this  business  until  March,  1888,  w'hen 
he  moved  to  Minneapolis  to  accept  a  position  in 
the  rental  ofifice  of  his  brother,  as  manager  of 
the  insurance  branch  of  the  business.  This  ar- 
rangement continued  until  August,  1894,  when, 
upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Geo.  L.  Hilt,  he  succeeded  to 
the  entire  business  under  the  style  of  the  Hilt 
Agency.  Mr.  Hilt  makes  the  rental  business  an 
exclusive  one,  believing  that  he  can  best  serve 
the  interests  of  his  clients  in  that  way.  While 
engaged  in  building  up  a  business  Mr.  Hilt  has 
had  little  time  to  give  to  political  atifairs.  He  has 
always  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  primaries, 
and  has  always  been  a  Republican.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Commercial  Club,  and  is  the  Past 
Regent  of  the  Cecilian  Council,  1367,  R.  A.,  and 
a  member  of  the  Grand  Council  of  Minnesota. 
He  was  first  Secretary  of  the  Cecilian  Council 
and  one  of  its  organizers.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Wesley  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  1892 
Mr.  Hilt  was  married  to  Miss  Abbey  C.  Winslow, 
a  daughter  of  ^Ir.  C.  M.  Winslow.  The\-  have  no 
children. 


398 


PROGRESSIVE  MEX  OF  MINNESOTA. 


SEA\'ER  E.  OLSON. 

The  above  name  is  a  houseliold  word  through- 
out tlie  State  (jf  Minnesota,  and  will  Ije  readily 
recognized  as  that  of  tlie  head  of  the  firm  of  S.  E. 
Olson  Co.,  of  Minneapolis,  which  runs  one  of  the 
largest  retail  stores  in  the  Xorthwest.  Mr.  (Jlson 
was  born  in  the  parish  of  Ringsaker,  near  Haniar, 
in  X'orway,  on  February  2,  1846.  His  father  was 
a  contractor  and  builder.  Seaver's  early  training 
was  strongly  religious  in  its  character,  both  his 
parents  being  members  of  the  Baptist  Church 
and  holding  strong  religious  views,  and  in  other 
respects  his  home  advantages  were  unusuall}' 
favorable.  Tollef  Olson,  an  uncle  of  Seaver's, 
was  for  fifty  years  a  seminary  professor,  receiving 
at  the  end  of  this  period  a  gold  medallion  from 
the  king  for  being  the  (ildest  educator  in  contin- 
U(nis  service  in  that  country.  It  was  under  his 
uncle's  tuition,  uj)  to  his  tenth  year,  that  voung 
Scaver  received  his  early  educational  training. 
That  the  elementary  knowledge  he  received  at 
that  early  age  was  of  great  value  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  from  his  tenth  to  twelfth  year 
he  taught  a  district  school.  The  ( )lson  family 
emigrated  to  America  in  1838,  landing  at  Quebec. 
From    tliere   thev   came   directlv   to   the   Ignited 


States  and  located  at  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin.  The 
father  "took  up"  a  piece  of  public  land  a  distance 
of  seventeen  miles  from  that  place  and  pursued 
the  occupation  of  an  agriculturist  until  his  death 
in  1884.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  worked  on 
the  farm  for  a  vear,  and  then  secured  employment 
in  a  general  store  in  La  Crosse,  where  he  worked 
for  nearly  two  years.  He  was  but  fourteen  years 
old  at  this  time  and  desired  to  have  a  college 
education,  which  his  parents  could  not  afford  to 
give  him.  He  determined  to  secure  it  himself, 
however,  and  with  this  purpose  in  view  started 


out    for    Ileloit,    Wise 


He    struggled    for 


nine  months  attending  school  and  W(.)rking  at 
such  employment  as  he  could  get  to  pay  his 
expenses,  but  finally  was  compelled  to  give  up 
the  hope  that  he  had  cherished  for  so  long,  deter- 
mined in  mind,  however,  that  his  younger  lirother 
should  not  lack  the  college  education  of  which 
he  had  been  deprived.  It  is  to  Air.  Olson's  credit 
to  say  that  this  purpose,  formed  in  youth,  he 
carried  out  later  in  life.  He  took  his  brother  off 
the  farm  and  for  ten  vears  furnished  him  the 
means  of  completing  his  studies,  both  in  this 
country  and  in  Eurtjpe,  having  fitted  him  for 
the  honored  position  which  he  afterwards  held  as 
president  of  the  South  Dakota  State  University. 
This  brother  lost  his  life  in  the  disastrous  Tribune 
fire  in  i88g.  After  giving  up  his  idea  of  attending 
college  ."leaver  obtained  a  position  in  a  store  in 
ISeloit.  The  proprietor  of  the  store  shortlv  after- 
wards opened  another  at  Cambridge,  \\'isconsin, 
and  the  young  lad  was  given  the  management  of 
it.  He  held  this  position  until  Januarv  i,  1864, 
at  which  time  his  former  emi)loyer  at  La  Crosse 
offered  him  the  position  of  head  bookkeeper  and 
general  manager  of  the  store  in  which  he  had 
worked  as  a  lad.  .\lr.  (  )lson  held  this  res]:)onsil)le 
position  until  January  i,  1867,  at  which  time  he 
started  out  in  business  for  himself  and  opened  a 
store  in  Rushford,  under  the  firm  name  of  S.  E. 
( )lson  (S:  Co.  This  firm  did  a  large  business,  but 
in  1870  .Mr.  Olson  sold  out  and  attached  himself 
to  his  former  employer  in  La  Crosse  as  a  partner. 
Three  years  later  he  organized  in  La  Crosse  the 
w^holcsalc  and  retail  dry  goods  house  of  Olson, 
Smith  1*^  Co.  This  firm  was  dissolved  in  1876,  the 
jobbing  interests  of  the  concern   being  retainer! 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


399 


b}-  Mr.  CJlsim.  In  1878  lie  removed  his  stuck  to 
Miiine;ii)olis  ami  became  connected  with  the  tinii 
of  N.  15.  liarwood  &  Co.  The  failure  of  this 
house,  however,  two  years  later,  left  the  young 
merchant  stranded,  lie  was  not  discouraged, 
however,  but  in  company  with  M.  I).  Int^ram 
succeeded  in  bcirrowing  sufficient  money  to  buy 
the  remnant  of  the  stock  from  llu-  sheriff's  sale, 
and  started  up  in  business  again  under  the  firm 
name  of  Ingram,  ( )lson  &  Co.  The  business 
became  prosperous  in  a  short  time,  so  that  in  1887 
Mr.  Olstju  was  able  to  purchase  Mr.  Ingram's 
interest  and  continue  the  business  as  sole  tnvner. 
The  business  grew  to  such  an  extent  that  .Mr. 
Olson  decided  to  make  a  venturesome  departure. 
In  1803  '1*?  built  a  large  business  block  on  the 
corner  of  h'ifth  street  and  First  avenue  south, 
Alinneapolis,  in  which  a  dei^artment  store  was 
opened.  In  181)4  'i^'  organized  the  present  S.  E. 
Olson  Co.  .Mr,  (  )lson  is  an  enterprising  and 
progressive  merchant  and  has  within  that  short 
time  built  up  an  enormous  trade,  the  .^.  E.  Olson 
mammoth  establishment  being  one  of  the  largest 
of  its  kind  west  of  Chicago.  In  all  matters 
tending  towards  the  welfare  and  development  of 
Minneapolis,  Mr.  ( Mson  has  always  taken  an  act- 
ive part.  He  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  first  to 
suggest  the  idea  of  an  exposition  in  Minneapolis, 
and  contributed  a  great  deal  of  his  time  to  make 
the  expositions  successful.  He  was  for  several 
years  president  of  the  .State  Bank  of  IMinneapolis. 
De,spite  his  busy  life  he  has  devoted  some 
attention  to  politics,  and  is  one  of  the  recognized 
leaders  of  his  nationality  who  espouse  the  Repub- 
lican cause.  He  has,  however,  refused  all  tenders 
of  office.  Mr.  Olson's  church  connections  are 
with  the  Baptist  body.  He  was  married  in  1880 
to  Miss  Ida  Hawlev,  of  Minneapolis. 


HENRY  PR.\TT  ITH.\:M. 

H.  P.  Upham,  President  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  ,St.  Paul,  comes  of  a  family  probablv  as 
ancient  as  am  in  England.  The  name  is  found 
recorded  in  the  Domes-day  Book  prior  to  the 
Norman  conquest.  The  first  of  the  Upham  familv 
who  settled  in  America  was  John  Upham,  who 


landed  at  Weymouth,  .Massachusetts,  in  1635, 
His  descendants  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
stirring  events  of  the  Colonial  period,  partici- 
pating in  the  various  wars  from  that  of  King 
Philip  to  the  Revolution.  Mr.  Upham  is  ninth  in 
the  line  from  the  original  John,  the  emigrant.  His 
father, Joel  W.  Upham,  was  a  native  of  Brookfield, 
Massachusetts.  He  married  .Miss  Seraphine  Howe, 
also  of  an  old  Colonial  family.  She  died  in  1839. 
Mr.  Uphaiu,  who  was  one  of  the  pioneer  manufac- 
turers of  the  famous  turbine  water  wheels,  died  at 
Worcester  in  i87().  Their  son,  Henry  P,  Upham, 
was  Iiorn  in  Millhury,  Massachusetts,  on  January 
26,  1837,  He  was  educated  at  the  ])ublic  schools 
of  Worcester,  Alassachusetts,  and  in  1856,  after 
i|uitting  school,  came  West  to  seek  his  fortune  in 
the  then  almost  unknown  territory  of  Minnesota. 
Mr.  I'pham  reached  .St.  Paul  on  .^^arch  19,  1857. 
It  was  then  a  straggling  village,  with  little  about 
it  to  indicate  its  future  importance.  Though  not 
yet  of  age,  Mr.  Upham  confidently  embarked  in 
business  in  the  new  village,  forming  a  partnership 
with  Chauncy  W.  Griggs.  The  firm  engaged  in 
tlie  lumber  business  and  continued  for  some  vears 
with  success.  In  1863  Mr.  I'pham  became  teller 
in  the  bank  of  'I'hompson  Brothers,  then  the 
leading  institution  of  its  class  in  the  citv.     When 


400 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


these  gentlemen  organized  the  h'irst  National 
Bank  of  St.  Paul,  Mr.  L'phani  became  its  teller 
and  later  its  assistant  cashier.  In  iS6<j  he  took 
part  in  the  organization  oi  the  City  IJank  of  -St. 
Paul,  of  which  he  was  cashier.  I*"our  years  later 
it  was  deemed  advantageous  to  consolidate  with 
the  First  National  r)ank,  and  l\lr.  L'pham  became 
cashier  of  the  consolidated  institution,  and  in 
18.S0,  upon  the  death  of  Horace  Thompson,  he 
was  elected  president.  As  the  head  of  one  of 
the  leading  Jinancial  institutions  of  St.  Paul.  Mr. 
Upham  has  been  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the 
conmiercial  life  of  that  city  for  a  sciire  of  years. 
On  September  23,  1868,  Mr.  I'pham  married 
]\Jiss  Evelyn  G.  Burbank.  daughter  of  the  late 
Colonel  Simeon  I'.urliank.  The\  have  three  chil- 
dren, Gertrude,  Grace  and  John  Phincas.  The 
fondness  for  books  and  reading,  which  Mr. 
L'pham  has  indulged  to  the  extent  of  collecting 
a  large  private  librar}',  has  also  Ijeen  recognized 
by  his  election  to  various  societies  of  a  literary, 
historical  and  geneological  character.  He  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  thorough  geneolog- 
ical scholars  in  the  I'nited  States.  For  several 
years  he  was  a  director  of  the  St.  Paul  public 
library.  Mr.  U]:)ham  is  a  valued  member  of  the 
American  Antiquarian  Society  ancl  Society  of 
Antiquity  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  of  the 
I^linnesota  Historical  Society,  of  the  ^linnesota 
Club,  of  the  Ramsey  County  Pioneer  Association. 
of  St.  Paul  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  of  the 
Masonic  and  Ivnights  Templar  orders. 


DANIEL  FLSH. 

Judge  Daniel  Fish,  of  Minneapolis,  traces  his 
ancestry  back  to  Daniel  Fish  who  migrated 
from  Massachusetts  to  Rhode  Island  in  1680.  A 
branch  of  the  same  family  also  settled  on  Long 
Island  from  which  sprang  Hamilton  I-'ish,  Gov- 
ernor and  .Senator  of  .New  York  and  Secretary  of 
State  under  President  Grant.  Daniel  Fish, 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  farmer, 
who,  in  1840  emigrated  from  Western  New  "S'ork 
and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Winnebago  County,  lli- 
nois,  in  the  spring  of   1841,  and  died    in    T847. 


some  weeks  before  the  birth  of  his  son.  The 
mother  of  the  elder  Daniel  was  Sarah  Ireland, 
member  of  a  family  somewhat  distiguished  in 
early  New  York  history  as  containing  a  number 
of  Baptist  clergymen.  Parmelia  Adams,  the 
mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in 
Washington  County,  New  York,  in  1810,  the 
daughter  of  Elisha  Adams,  whose  father,  Edward, 
was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution.  Judge  Daniel 
Fish  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Cherry  Valley,  Win- 
nebago County,  Illinois,  January  31,  1848.  Up  to 
the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  attended  the  district 
school,  but  at  that  time  left  home  and  for  a  year 
and  a  half  was  a  student  in  the  public  schools  at 
Rockford,  in  the  same  county,  supporting 
himself  as  a  chore  bov  in  the  family  of 
Maurice  B.  F)errick,  now  of  Chicago.  On 
January  4,  1864,  when  but  a  lad  of  six- 
teen, Daniel  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Com- 
pany G,  Forty-fifth  Illinois  A'olunteer  Infantry, 
joining  his  regiment  near  Mcksburg.  He  served 
with  it  until  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  coming  home  on 
a  furlough,  but  before  it  had  half  expired,  hear- 
ing of  Sherman's  proposed  march  to  the  sea,  he 
started  with  all  haste  to  join  his  regiment.  He 
was  too  late,  however,  only  being  able  to  get  as 
far  as  Nashville,  where  he  l)ecame  attached  to  a 
Provisional  Division  of  the  Army  of  the  Ten- 
nessee. He  fought  under  General  Steedman  at 
Nashville,  and  followed  Hood's  retreating  troops 
into  Alabama,  whence  he  was  transferred  with 
the  Twenty-third  Corps  to  North  Carolina,  .going 
by  sea  from  .Vnnapolis  to  Morehead  City,  and 
thence  by  rail  to  New  Berne.  Though  but  a  lad  of 
.seventeen,  young  Daniel  marched  with  the  Provi- 
sional Division  as  sergeant  of  his  company,  and 
was  in  the  thick  of  the  fight  at  Southwest  Creek 
(sometimes  called  the  Battle  of  Kinston'),  on  the 
way  to  Goldsboro  where  he  met  Siierman's  army 
and  rejoined  his  old  regiment.  .\ftcr  the  sur- 
render of  Tohnson  he  marched  to  Washington 
and  took  part  in  the  grand  review,  being  finally 
mustered  out  at  Louisville,  Kcntuck-y,  Julv  12, 
1865.  After  leaving  the  army  he  spent  one  win- 
ter in  a  district  school  in  Iowa,  and  then  engaged 
in  business  as  a  bookseller  at  Manchester,  in 
which    business   he   remained    for   four  vcars,   it 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  01"   MINNESOTA. 


lol 


enabling  him  to  complete  a  fair  comnKjn  school 
education  and  to  acquire  a  familiarity  with  gen- 
eral literature.  In  the  winter  of  1870  and  1871 
he  taught  a  country  school  in  Jones  County, 
Iowa,  continuing  at  the  same  time  the  study  of 
law  begun  while  at  Manchester.  The  following 
spring  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  imme- 
diately started  for  the  Xorth  Star  state.  .Mr.  Fish 
arrived  in  .Mnneapolis  May  13,  1871,  without  any 
money  and  with  no  property  except  a  few  dozen 
books.  I'art  of  these  he  sold  at  auction  and 
proceeded  on  to  Brainerd.  I"or  a  while  he 
worked  on  the  N.  P.  railroad  as  a  shoveler  on  the 
dump,  then  crossing  to  what  is  now  the  Great 
Northern  road,  worked  his  way  to  Delano,  in 
Wright  County,  where  he  put  out  his  sign  as  a 
lawyer,  judge  Fish's  first  office  was  in  the  ]n\h- 
lic  room  or  office  of  the  Delano  hotel,  and  he 
earned  his  first  professional  fee  assisting  the  late 
Judge  Cornell,  then  attorney-general,  in  a  nuir- 
der  trial.  To  add  to  his  meagre  income  he  en- 
gaged in  soliciting  insurance,  acting  as  real  estate 
agent,  collecting  and  the  like.  In  the  spring  of 
1872  he  established  the  paper  now  known  as  the 
Delano  Eagle,  but  five  months  of  excessive  labor 
as  editor  and  general  factotum  in  a  newspaper 
office  broke  his  health,  and  since  that  time  he  has 
steadily  pursued  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
In  1875  he  was  elected  Judge  of  Probate  of 
Wright  County,  and  two  years  later  was  defeated 
as  a  candidate  f(.)r  county  attorney.  In  1879  he 
was  appointed.  In-  Governor  Pillsbury,  Judge  of 
Probate  to  fill  a  vacancy.  The  fall  of  the  follow- 
ing vear,  however.  Judge  Fish  removed  to  I\Iin- 
neapolis,  where  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  law 
firms  of  Fish  &  ( )vitt.  Msh,  Evans  &  Holmes 
and  Young  &  Fish,  his  present  partner  being  the 
Hon.  A.  H.  Young,  for  many  years  a  Judge  of 
the  District  Court.  Judge  h'ish  was  the  first 
attorney  of  the  board  of  park  commissioners,  and 
conducted  the  early  and  important  litigation 
which  established  the  powers  of  the  board  and 
settled  the  foundations  of  the  present  system  of 
parks  and  boulevards  in  Minneapolis.  He  was 
also  the  attorney  of  the  board  of  state  park  com- 
missioners and  as  such  had  charge  of  the  legal 
proceedings  which  resulted  in  the  acquisition  of 


Minnehaha  Park.  He  became  the  attorney  of 
the  board  of  court  house  and  city  hall  commis- 
sioners in  June,  1887,  and  has  been  its  legal  ad- 
viser during  its  entire  existence.  The  same  year 
he  became  the  general  counsel  and  trust  officer 
of  the  Minnesota  Title  Insurance  and  Trust  Com- 
pany, serving  as  such  for  about  five  years,  but 
resumed  his  general  practice  in  1892.  In  1896 
he  was  strongly  supported  for  the  office  of  Dis- 
trict Judge.  Judge  Fish  is  a  Republican,  takes 
an  active  part  in  the  campaigns  of  his  party,  and 
was  an  alternate  delegate  to  the  famous  Chicago 
convention  in  1880.  He  was  Commander  of  the 
John  A.  Rawlins  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  in  1886;  As- 
sistant Adjutant  General  of  the  Departrnent  of 
Minnesota  the  same  year;  Adjutant  General  of 
the  National  Encampment  in  1888,  and  is  at  pres- 
ent Judge  Advocate  on  the  staft'  of  Department 
Commander  McCardy.  His  church  connections 
are  with  the  Park  Avenue  Congregational  church. 
He  was  married  .\ugust  21,  1873,  to  Elizabeth 
?vl.  Porter,  daughter  of  Rev.  Giles  M.  Porter, 
then  of  Garnavillo,  Iowa,  and  a  niece  of  the  late 
President  Porter,  of  Yale  College.  They  have 
had  five  children,  Annie,  wife  of  Rev.  Charles 
Graves  of  HumVjoldt,  Iowa:  Elizabeth.  Florence, 
Horace  and  Helen. 


402 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WILLIA}.!  HALL  YALE. 

Govermir  Yak-,  as  he  is  familiarly  known,  has 
been  a  leading  member  of  the  Ijar  of  the  North 
Star  state  for  a  period  of  forty  years.  His  reputa- 
tion as  a  lawyer  is  state-wide,  while  he  has  a 
national  reptitation  as  a  champion  of  Republican 
principles.  He  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  Thomas 
Yale,  who  came  to  America  in  1637,  and  settled 
at  Xew  Haven.  Connecticut.  It  was  his  son. 
Elihu  Yale,  in  whose  honor  ^'alc  Colles;e  was 
named.  Elihu  returned  to  England  when  a  child: 
afterwards  went  to  the  Plast  Indies,  where  he  ac- 
(|uired  a  fortune;  returned  to  London  and  became 
governor  of  the  East  Indian  Company.  His 
munificent  gifts  to  the  college  at  Xew  Haven 
caused  its  name  to  be  changed  to  "Yale."  Wil- 
liam Hall  Yale  is  the  son  of  Wooster  and  Lticy 
(Hall)  Yale,  and  was  born  in  New  Haven,  Con- 
necticut, November  12,  1831.  Wooster  Yale 
settled  on  the  farm  originally  opem-il  by  Captain 
Tliomas  Yale,  a  nephew-  of  I'.lihu  ^'aU•.  at  \\'all- 
ingford,  Connecticut.  He  was  at  one  time  an 
extensive  shoe  manufacturer  in  his  native  town  of 
Wallingford:  later  in  life  he  had  an  exchange 
office  at  New  Haven,   of  wliich   countv   he  was 


sheriff  for  several  years,  returning  to  Wallingford 
a  short  while  before  his  demise.  From  his  sixth 
to  eleventh  year  young  William  attended  the 
[jublic  schools  of  Wallingford.  One  of  his  school 
mates  of  that  period  was  Gen.  Joseph  R.  Hawley, 
now  a  United  States  senator  from  Connecticut. 
For  the  next  three  years  the  boy  worked  on  the 
farm,  his  only  opportunities  for  education  being 
such  as  the  winter  term  of  a  district  school 
afforded.  Subsequently  he  spent  three  years  at 
the  Connecticut  Literary  Institute  at  SufHeld. 
When  but  eighteen  William  commenced  teaching 
school  at  Norwalk,  in  his  native  state.  He  fol- 
lowed that  profession  there  for  about  five  years, 
employing  his  leisure  time  in  reading  law  in  the 
office  of  G.  R.  Cowles,  an  attorney  of  that  city. 
In  1854  he  secured  a  position  as  bookkeeper  of 
the  Sharp's  Rifle  Manufacturing  Company,  at 
Hartford,  where  he  remained  till  the  spring  of 
1857,  when  he  came  West  and  located  at  \\'inona, 
Minnesota.  In  the  summer  of  that  veav  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  He  practiced  alone  for  a 
while,  then  became  a  partner  of  Judge  William 
Mitchell,  which  partnership  continued  until  1874. 
For  three  or  four  years  he  practiced  alone,  then 
took  as  partner  one  of  his  former  law  students, 
AI.  B.  Webber,  the  firm  being  known  as  Yale  & 
Webber.  Mr.  Yale  s  early  associates  at  the  bar 
were  such  men  as  Daniel  S.  Norton,  later  L^nited 
.'states  senator  from  Minnesota;  the  late  Hon. 
William  Windom ;  Jtidge  Thomas  Wilson,  after- 
wards member  of  congress:  William  Mitchell, 
now  a  member  of  the  supreme  bench,  and  C.  H. 
Berry,  afterwards  attorney  general  of  the  state 
and  United  States  district  judge  for  the  Territory 
of  Idaho.  Even  with  such  men  as  contemporar- 
ies Governor  Yale  soon  acquired  eminence  in  the 
legal  fraternitv.  His  cases  were  prepared  with 
great  care,  and  he  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  best 
pleaders  that  ever  stood  before  the  bar  in  Minne- 
sota. Since  coming  to  the  state,  Air.  Yale  has  for 
more  than  two-thirds  of  the  time  held  some  civil 
or  political  ofifice.  Six  months  after  locating  at 
Winona  he  was  elected  city  ju.stice,  holding  that 
office  for  two  vears;  before  the  expiration  of  the 
term  he  was  elected  judge  of  probate  to  fill  an 
unexpired    term :    was   subscquentb-    prosecuting 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


403 


attorney  for  two  terms;  was  a  state  senator  in  1867 
and  i8()<S;  lieutenant  J4;overnor  from  i(S7o  to  1874, 
and  senator  aj^ain  in  1876  and  1877,  also  in  1895 
and  1897.  An  evidence  of  Mr.  Yale"s  i)o|nilarity 
is  the  fact  that  each  time  lie  was  elected  lientt-nant 
governcir  Ik-  had  the  lari^est  majiirit\  uf  ;in\  man 
on  the  Republican  ticket,  and  the  last  time  he  was 
chosen  senator  he  received  five  hundred  majority 
running  ag'ainst  a  very  pojndar  candidate  in  a 
strong-  Democratic  district.  Governor  Yale  has 
been  an  active  member  of  the  Rei)ublican  ])arty 
since  the  campaign  of  1856,  and  has  been  promi- 
nent in  the  counsels  of  his  part\-  in  the  state  of 
Minnesota.  In  1876  he  was  appointed  a  delegate 
to  the  Rei)ublican  national  convention  at  Cincin- 
nati, l)Ut  owing  to  sickness  in  the  family  he  was 
unable  to  attend.  He  attended  the  national  con- 
vention held  in  Minneapolis  in  1892  as  a  dele- 
gate. The  state  conventions  of  the  Repul:)lican 
party  in  1872,  1873  and  1880  were  presided  over 
by  Mr.  Yale:  the  latter  year  bringing  him  the 
honor  without  opposition.  During  the  four  years 
he  presided  over  the  senate,  j\Ir.  Yale  won  for 
himself  golden  opinions  for  the  promptness  and 
impartiality  with  which  he  discharged  his  official 
duties,  and  he  acquired  an  enviable  reputation  as 
a  parliamentarian.  He  is  a  fluent  and  eloc|uent 
speaker,  and  is  recognized  as  a  ])ower  on  what- 
ever side  of  the  question  he  is  found.  In  1894 
Governor  Nelson  apixiinted  3ilr.  Yale  as  one  of 
the  regents  of  the  state  university,  which  honor 
he  appreciated  more  highly  than  any  office  to 
which  he  had  ever  been  chosen:  but  under  a  re- 
cent decision  of  the  supreme  court  he  could  not 
serve  until  his  term  as  state  senator  expires.  ]\[r. 
Yale  is  active  in  church  an<l  l)enevolent  enter- 
prises, and  has  l^een  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Episcopal  church  in  Southern  Minnesota  ever 
since  coming  to  this  state.  He  was  married  in 
185 1  to  Sarah  E.  Ranks,  of  Xorwalk,  Connect- 
icut, who  died  in  1871,  leaving  one  child,  Charles 
R.  Y'ale,  who  is  general  claim  agent  for  the 
Great  Northern  Railway.  In  ( )ctober,  1872,  he 
was  married  again  to  ^fary  Louisa  Hovt.  also  of 
Norwalk,  who  has  one  child,  \\'illiani  Hoyt  Yale, 
wlio  is  now  a  student  at  the  state  tmiversitv. 


OLIXER  CRO.MWELL  WYMAN. 

The  employment  of  (jur  energies  upon  the 
work  at  hand  will  almost  invariably  bring  its  re- 
ward to  those  using  such  methods  in.  all  the  pur- 
suits ui  life.  The  success  achieved  h\  Mr. 
Wynian,  who  is  the  senior  member  of  the  whole- 
sale dry  goods  house  of  W'yman,  Partridge  & 
Co.,  is  but  another  evidence  of  what  perseverance 
in  business  will  accomplish.  (  )liver  Cromwell 
Wyman  was  born  at  Anderson,  Indiana,  January, 
1837.  His  father,  Henry  Wyman,  a  native  of 
.\'ew  York,  was  prominently  identified  with  the 
early  history  of  the  state  of  Indiana,  and  also 
with  that  of  Michigan.  His  death,  occurring  in 
the  latter  state  in  1891,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-nine  \ears,  closed  a  successful  i)rofessional 
career  of  more  than  fifty  years  in  the  practice  of 
medicine.  Mr.  \\'vman's  mother's  maiden  name 
was  Prudence  Rerry.  She  died  Init  a  few  months 
after  her  son's  birth:  her  ])arents  were  pioneer 
settlers  in  the  Hoosier  state.  When  Mr.  Wyman 
was  but  seven  years  old.  he  removed  to  the  state 
of  Iowa  with  his  maternal  grandmother.  With 
the  advantage  of  but  a  common  school  education, 


4-04 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


Mr.  W'viiian,  at  the  early  age  of  {(jurteen  years, 
began  his  active  Inisiness  career  at  Aiarion,  Iowa, 
wliere  he  remained  in  business  until  1874,  when 
he  came  to  .Minnesota,  locating  in  Minneapolis. 
He  at  once  engaged  m  active  business,  establish- 
ing the  wholesale  dry  goods  house  of  Wynian  & 
Mullin.  -Mr.  .\lullin  having  been  a  former  business 
partner  at  ]\larion,  Iowa.  The  firm's  Inisiness 
place  was  220  Hennepin  avenue.  In  iS  jo  Mr. 
Mullin  withdrew  from  the  partnership,  and  Mr. 
George  Henry  Partridge,  who  had  lieen  associ- 
ated with  the  credit  department  of  the  house  f'lr 
some  vears,  became  the  junior  partner,  under  the 
name  of  Wyman,  I'artridge  &  Co.,  Samuel  1 ). 
Coykendall.  of  Rondimt,  \ew  York,  remaining 
the  special  partner.  The  firm  continues  the  same 
at  the  present  time.  The  business  of  this  hcuise 
has  gradually  increased  since  its  beginning  here, 
and  it  is  now  one  of  the  largest  wholesale  dry 
goods  houses  in  the  West.  The  Inisiness  is  nnw 
located  in  their  own  building,  corner  of  First 
avenue  north  and  Fourth  street,  a  very  desirable 
localitv  for  the  convenience  of  the  wholesale  trade. 
It  must  be  gratifying  to  any  man  to  realize  that 
his  earlv  business  methods,  so  judiciously  fol- 
lowed, have  achieved  good  results.  Mr.  Wyman's 
political  affiliations  have  been  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  Fle  does  not,  however,  take  any 
active  part  in  party  politics.  In  185S  he  was 
married  at  Loudon,  Iowa,  to  Charlotte  E.  ^Mullin, 
who  died  Octolx-r  i,  1880.  Flis  second  marriage 
was  in  i88q,  to  I'.ella  M.  Ristine.  of  Cedar  Rapids, 
Iowa.    Mr.  Wvman  has  four  children  living. 


1)]LL(  )X  O'BRIEN, 

Minnesota  owes  much  to  the  liroad-niinded, 
earnest  ciiaracters  found  among  her  early  settlers. 
Such  was  Dillon  O'Brien,  one  of  the  foremost 
Irish-Americans  of  two  decades  ago.  Dillon 
O'Brien  was  born  at  Kilhiiore,  in  Roscominon 
County,  Ireland,  on  July  1.  1817.  His  education 
was  received  from  ]irivate  tiitm-s  and  later  at  the 
Jesuit  College  of  Clongowes,  from  which  he 
graduated.  In  i8^()  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Kelley.  In  1857,  with  his  wife  imd  faniil\-,  then 
consisting  of  four  children,  he  came  to  this 
countrv.  and  after  a  vcar's  residence  in  Michigan, 


he  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  govern- 
ment school  at  La  Pointe,  on  Madeline  Island, 
Lake  Superior.  The  school  was  aftenvards  moved 
to  the  mainland,  near  Bayfield.  Mr.  O'Brien 
remained  at  its  head  until  1863,  when  he  moved 
to  St,  Anthony,  and  a  little  later  to  St.  Paul,  where 
he  continued  to  live  until  his  death  on  February 
12,  1882,  Air.  O'Brien's  friends  found  him  a  man 
of  rare  and  charming  qualities.  He  had  been 
brought  up  and  spent  his  early  manhood  ill 
circumstances  which  placed  him  lieyond  any 
anxiety  as  to  material  comforts.  Yet  ease  and 
lu.xury  brought  neither  enervation  nor  narrowing 
of  sympathies,  and  when  loss  of  fortune  came  he 
met  it  with  undaunted  courage.  Mr.  (J'Brien 
grasped,  as  if  Iiy  intuition,  the  spirit  of  American 
life.  He  recognized  the  possibilities  of  the  devel- 
(ipment  of  the  Northwest  with  great  clearness,  and 
with  a  characteristic  hopefulness  and  enthusiasm 
lent  himself  to  the  work  of  bringing  his  country- 
men from  the  crowded  seaboard  cities  of  the  East 
to  the  broad  farming  lands  of  the  Northwest.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  to  point  out  the  mutual 
advantages  to  the  state  and  the  settler  of  finding 
a  home  here.  He  organized  the  first  Irish  emigra- 
tion society  in  the  early  si.xties.  It  was  the  pur- 
pose of  this  society  to  induce  emigrants  leaving 
Ireland,  or  already  arrived  in  the  East,  to  seek 
homes  in  Minnesota.  The  society  was  productive 
of  excellent  results,  not  nnlv  in  the  actual  work  it 
accomplished,  but  bv  calling  the  attention  (if  the 
people  to  the  importance  of  the  general  subject. 
When  the  state  afterwards  formed  an  immigration 
department,  Mr.  O'Brien  was  appointed  one  of 
the  commissioners.  In  the  isolation  of  the  long 
winters  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  Mr, 
O'Brien's  naturally  fine  literary-  powers  found 
expression  in  the  preparation  of  his  first  novel, 
"The  Dalys  of  Dalystown,"  which  he  published 
in  St.  Paul,  shortly  after  he  went  there  to  live. 
This  book  was  followed  by  three  others,  "Dead 
Broke,"  "The  Widow  Melville's  Boarding  House" 
and  "Frank  Blake,"  all  published  in  St.  Paul. 
He  was  the  leading  spirit  in  establishing  the 
"Northwestern  Chronicle"  and  was  its  first  editor, 
.\s  a  lecturer  he  was  very  successful  and  traveled 
cxtensivclv  to  accept  engagements  for  the  plat- 
form.    Though  imich  of  Mr.  (  VP.rien's  life  w^as. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


405 


devoted  to  the  work  of  helping  his  lelluw  men 
to  a  better  condition  in  hfe,  he  had  nothing  of 
the  professional  reformer  in  his  disposition. 
Aside  from  his  writing  and  public  speaking  his 
greatest  work  was  accomplished  i)y  personal 
efiforts  applied  on  individual  cases  where  good 
might  be  accomplished.  lie  was  a  man  of  very 
marked  personality,  but  at  the  same  time  had 
not  an  enemy  in  the  world.  This  was  probably 
due  to  the  punctilious  respect  which  he  had  for 
the  rights  of  others.  In  conversation,  where  he 
was  at  his  best- — witty,  fluent,  graceful  and  spon- 
taneous— there  was  never  a  word  of  mere  gossip 
or  scandal  or  an  unkind  allusion  or  an  unfeeling 
jest.  Air.  O'Brien  was  a  total  al)staincr  from  an 
early  period  in  his  life  and  he  was  a  constant 
worker  in  the  cause  of  temperance.  As  far  as  he 
acted  with  any  party  he  was  a  Democrat.  In 
recognition  of  this  fact  and  of  his  services  to 
the  community,  the  Democratic  party  gave  him 
a  complimentary  nomination  for  clerk  of  the 
supreme  court  in  1870 — at  a  time  when  the 
possibility  of  election  to  any  state  office  on  a 
Democratic  ticket  was  nut  of  the  question. 


T(  )HX  HENRY  KERRICK, 

John  Henry  Kerrick  is  a  dealer  in  machinery 
in  Minneapolis,  the  head  of  the  firm  of  Kerrick 
&  Frost.  He  was  born  in  Gilletts,  Bradford 
County,  Pennsylvania,  August  16,  1842,  the  son 
of  John  D.  Kerrick,  now  deceased,  and  Margaret 
M.  Decker  (Kerrick).  The  only  educational  ad- 
vantages he  enjoyed  in  youth  were  those  of  the 
common  schools.  Mr.  Kerrick  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  A.  T.  Nichols  &  Co.,  of  W'illiamsport, 
Pennsv  Ivania,  as  a  bookkeeper  in  their  machine 
works.  This  was  his  first  business  engagement. 
Subsequently  he  traveled  for  them  as  salesman 
for  several  years,  and.  finally,  located  a  branch 
house  for  this  firm  at  hulianapolis,  which  did 
the  largest  business  of  any  establishment  in  that 
line  in  the  state.  He  sold  his  interest  in  the 
Indianapolis  establishment  in  1880  and  came  to 
Minnesota,  locating  at  Minneapolis,  where  he 
engaged  in  the  same  line  of  business,  outfitting 
saw  mills,  planing  mills,  sash  and  door  factories, 
machine  shops,  etc.     His  business  increased  very 


rapidly,  and  for  several  years  he  did  the  largest 
machinery  business  then  carried  on  west  of 
Chicago,  amounting  to  over  half  a  million  dollars 
in  the  course  of  twelve  months.  The  hard  times 
of  1884  caused  embarrassment,  which  was  subse- 
(juently  recovered  from  and  the  business  re- 
established muler  the  firm  name  already  given, 
and  is  now  conducted  with  success.  Air.  Kerrick 
has  an  honorable  record  as  a  soldier.  He  enlisted 
in  the  army  in  the  (  )ne  Hundred  and  Seventy- 
ninth  New  York  \  olunteers  as  a  private  and 
participated  in  the  battles  of  Cold  Harbor 
Spottsylvania  Court  House,  White  House  Land- 
ing, Petersburg,  and  was  at  the  surrender  of  Lee 
at  Appomatto.x.  At  the  battle  of  Petersburg  the 
flag  fell  from  the  hands  of  the  color  sergeant, 
who  was  shot  in  seven  places,  and  Mr.  Kerrick 
seized  it  and  carried  it  from  Petersburg  to  the 
close  of  the  war  and  back  to  Elniira.  New  York. 
He  is  a  meml^er  of  Morgan  Post,  No.  4,  G.  A. 
R.  He  has  always  been  a  loyal  stipporter  of 
the  candidates  and  principles  of  the  Repub- 
lican party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Fowler  M. 
E.  Church,  a  new  society  organized  in  1894 
bv  Bishop  Fowler.  Mr.  Kerrick  was  married 
.\pril  II,  1876,  to  Mrs.  Mrginia  A.  Smith.  They 
have  no  children. 


406 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHRISTOPHllK  WEBBER  HALL. 

For  nearl\-  a  score  of  }ears  I'rofessor  C.  \\  . 
Hall  has  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  the  faculty 
of  the  University  of  Minnesota.  He  is  a  native 
of  Wardsboro,  \'ermont,  and  was  Imrn  on  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1845.  His  father,  Lewis  Hall,  was  for 
many  years  a  farmer  at  Wardsboro.  His  mother 
was  a  daughter  of  Captain  Calvin  Wilder,  a  pros- 
perous tanner  of  Plymouth,  \'ermont.  The  Hall 
family,  it  appears,  migrated  from  Enfield,  Con- 
necticut, soon  after  the  admission  of  \'ermont  as 
a  state.  They  doubtless  belonged  to  the  family 
which  played  so  important  a  part  in  the  settle- 
ment (if  the  Xew  Haven  Colony,  in  1638,  and 
the  subsequent  history  of  the  Xew  Haven  and 
Connecticut  Colony.  During  his  boyhood,  young 
Hall  attended  the  school  at  W'est  W'ardsboro  vil- 
lage, and  tin-  select  school  in  the  vicinity,  after 
which  lie  went  to  Iceland  and  (iray  Seminary,  at 
Townshend,  \  ernumt,  fur  several  terms.  In 
1865,  his  father  having  moved  to  Athens,  \'cr- 
niont,  his  schooling  was  transferred  to  Chester 
Academy,  where  he  pursued  his  studies,  support- 
ing himself  by  teaching  penmaiisliip.  It  was 
through  the  advice  of  Hcnrv  H.  .Shaw,  principal 
of  this  academy,  that  llir  l)()y  resolved  upon  tak- 
ing a  college  cfiurse.      In  the  fall  of  1867  he  en- 


tered Aliddlebury  College.  By  teaching  school 
winters,  and  devoting  his  vacations  to  active  occu- 
pations, he  was  enabled  to  complete  his  course 
without  interruption  and  graduate  in  1871.  Dur- 
ing his  college  career  }\[r.  Hall  excelled  in  mathe- 
matics and  scientific  studies.  He  won  two  W'aldo 
scholarships:  secured  the  Ixjtanical  prize  offered 
his  class;  was  assigned  the  scientific  oration  at 
commencement,  and  was  elected  to  membership 
in  the  I'hi  Beta  Kappa  Society.  In  the  Greek 
fraternity  life  of  his  college,  ^Ir.  Hall  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Detla  Cpsilon  B)rotherhood.  There 
are  two  things  in  the  college  life  of  Dean  Hall 
which,  more  than  all  others,  moulded  his  subse- 
(|uent  career.  The  first  was  his  love  for  natural 
history  and  the  delightful  companionship  of  his 
teacher.  Professor  Henrv  INIartin  Seelv,  which 
was  thus  secured.  The  other  was  his  love  and 
reverence  for  President  Kitchell,  then  in  the 
height  of  his  intellectual  and  moral  powers.  The 
first  year  after  leaving  college  was  spent  in  Glenn's 
halls,  Xew  York,  as  jjrincipal  of  the  Glenn's 
I'alls  Academy.  Reaching  the  conclusion  that 
the  Western  states  offered  unusual  advantages  to 
the  young  teacher,  in  the  summer  of  1872  Mr. 
Hall  started  for  the  West.  The  position  of  prin- 
cipal of  the  high  school  of  Mankato,  Minnesota, 
was  secured  and  filled  for  one  \ear,  when  the 
superintendency  of  the  city  schools  of  ( )watonna 
was  acce])ted.  This  position  was  held  until  1875. 
I-'rofessor  Hall's  scholarly  ambitions  led  him  to 
wish  for  further  study  and  in  the  sunmier  of  1875 
he  went  to  Europe,  accompanied  liy  his  bride,  who 
was  Aliss  Ellen  A.  Duimell,  daughter  of  Af.  H. 
I^unnell,  of  Owatonna.  Thev  had  been  married 
on  July  2/,  1875.  Mrs.  Hall  died  C|uite  suddenly 
at  Leipzig  on  the  twenty-first  of  the  following 
February.  Professor  Hall  continued  his  studies  at 
Leipzig  University  until  December.  1877,  when  he 
returned  to  this  countr\  ;in(l  during  the  remainder 
of  the  winter  was  occu])ied  with  a  course  of  lec- 
tures on  general  zoologv  at  Middlebury  College. 
,\botit  this  lime  lie  \\as  iii\-ited  to  join  the  faculty 
of  the  L'niversity  of  Minnesota,  and  he  entered 
u]ion  his  new  duties  in  the  s]M-ing  of  1878.  He 
was  soon  ])ronioted  to  the  prolessorship  of  geol- 
ogy, mincralog\-  and  biology.  In  i8i)i  he  was 
relieved  of  the  charge  of  biologv,  the  rapid  devel- 
(i]i!nenl   of  tlie  work  in  pinsiology,   zoology  and 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


407 


bolaii)  ikniandiny  llic  estaljlislnnenl  uf  new  de- 
partments. CJn  DeeenilHT  J(>.  if^f>3,  lie  was  mar- 
ried to  Mrs.  Sophia  L.  llait;lit,  daut;liler  of  Eh 
Seely  of  Ushkosh,  Wisconsin.  .Mrs.  ilall  was  a 
woman  of  rare  brilhancy  and  of  a  broad,  generous, 
lovely  character.  She  (bed  on  July  12,  1891,  leav- 
ing Professor  Hall  an  infant  daughter,  Sophia. 
In  i8(j2  the  resignation  of  his  colleague,  Pro- 
fessor \Vm.  A.  Pike,  Dean  of  the  college  of 
Mechanic  Arts,  necessitated  the  reorganization 
of  the  technological  work  in  the  university  and 
Professor  Hall,  who  has  been  closely  identified 
with  the  establishment  of  the  school  of  mining 
and  metallurgy,  was  appointed  dean  of  the  re- 
organized department,  which  was  called  the  Col- 
lege of  Engineering,  Metallurgy,  and  the  Me- 
clianic  Arts.  The  organization  comprised  seven 
professional  courses  leading  to  degrees.  With 
the  growth  of  the  university  during  the  past  nine- 
teen _\ears.  Dean  ilall  has  lieen  most  intimately 
identified.  This  has  been  particularly  true  of  the 
advancement  in  scientific  investigation,  and  the 
development  of  the  departments  in  natural  his- 
tory. Aside  from  his  work  as  a  teacher  Dean 
Hall  has  written  many  papers.  One  of  the  last 
and,  perhaps,  that  of  most  popular  character,  is 
the  Historical  Sketch  of  the  University  of  .Minne- 
sota, prepared  for  the  "Gopher,"  issued  by  the 
class  of  1897.  In  1896  he  was  the  alumni  orator 
at  the  conuiiencement  exercises  of  his  alma 
mater.  Most  of  Dean  Hall's  writings  relate  to  the 
geology  of  Minnesota.  As  assistant  Geologist 
on  the  Geological  Survey  of  Minnesota,  1878- 
1881,  and  assistant  I'nited  States  geologist  from 
1884  to  the  present  time,  he  has  had  an  extensive 
field  experience.  For  the  past  thirteen  years  he 
has  been  the  secretary  of  the  Minnesota  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences,  and  to  a  large  extent  has 
directed  its  work,  l-'or  a  number  of  years  he  has 
edited  its  bulletin  and  has  furnished  many  scien- 
tific papers  for  its  pages.  Dean  Hall  is  a  mem- 
l)er  of  the  Congregational  denomination ;  in  pol- 
itics a  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  several 
leading  scientific  societies,  the  more  prominent 
l5eing  the  American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  the  .Society  for  the  Promotion 
of  Engineering  Education,  the  American  Forestry 
Association  and  the  Geological  Society  of 
America. 


WILLIAM  WATKINS  SMITH. 

Among  the  substantial  financial  institutions  in 
the  southwestern  part  of  the  state  is  the  banking 
house  of  Griffith  &  Smith  at  Sleepy  Eye.  W.  W. 
Smith,  of  this  firm,  is  the  son  of  W'illiam  A. 
Smith,  who  removed  from  Goshen,  Orange 
County,  New  York,  to  Oakfield,  Fond  du  Lac 
County,  Wisconsin,  in  1846,  where  lie  acquired  a 
large  farm,  some  six  hundred  acres,  and  amassed 
a  handsome  fortune  as  a  farmer.  Mr.  W.  A. 
Smith  was  active  in  promoting  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation and  provided  amply  for  his  own  children 
in  this  respect.  His  wife  was  Miss  Martha  Strong 
^^'atkins,  a  native  of  Hamptonburgh,  Xew  York, 
a  ladv  of  superior  culture  and  many  Christian 
graces.  The\'  were  married  in  1846,  and  reared 
a  family  of  five  children,  of  whom  William  was 
the  voungest.  Mrs.  Smith's  ancestors  were  of 
English  and  Scotch  descent  and  came  to  this 
country  during  the  Colonial  days.  Mr.  Smith's 
ancestors  were  Colonial  settlers,  and  his  father 
won  distinction  in  the  War  of  1812.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  born  February  24.  1857.  at 
Oakfield,  Wisconsin.  He  remained  on  the  farm, 
attending  the  countrv  school  in  winter,  until  the 
fall  of  1876.  when  lie  entered  Lawrence  I^niver- 
sity.    at    Appleton.    ^^'lsconsin.      He    graduated 


408 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


there  in  June,  1881,  in  the  Latin  Scientific  course, 
with  the  degree  of  JJ.  S.  Un  the  fifth  of  the  follow- 
ing July  he  set  out  for  Canton,  South  Dakota, 
where  he  had  secured  a  position  in  what  is  now 
the  First  National  Bank  of  that  city.  He  re- 
mained there  one  year,  when  he  became  persuaded 
that  a  similarly  conducted  institution  un  his  own 
account  would  be  more  to  his  advantage,  and  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Clarence  L).  Griffith, 
of  Appleton.  Wisconsin,  with  whom  he  proceeded 
to  Sleepy  Eye.  where  the_\-  established  a  banking 
business  under  the  name  of  the  ^Merchants  Bank. 
This  enteqjrise  was  inaugurated  August  I,  1882. 
and  has  been  in  operation  without  change  of  part- 
nership ever  since.  Air.  Smith  has  had  ([uite  a 
successful  business  career,  but  has  not  forgotten 
that  the  first  dollar  he  ever  earned  was  received 
for  hoeing  corn  while  a  l)oy.  for  a  neighbor.  Ik- 
is  a  Republican  in  iicilitics.  though  he  never  has 
taken  a  very  active  part  in  party  affairs.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  local  school  board  for 
twelve  years,  and  treasurer  of  that  body  for  six 
years.  He  was  also  complimented  by  Governor 
Nelson  with  an  appoiiitment  on  his  stafif  with  the 
title  of  major.  He  is  a  tnember  of  the  !.''.( ).  F. 
and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  not  a  member 
of  any  church,  but  is  an  attendant  and  supporter 
of  the  Congregational  church,  of  Sleepy  Eye.  He 
was  married  September  2g,  1885.  at  Kasson,  Min- 
nesota, to  ]Miss  Ada  Cogswell  Bunker,  youngest 
daughter  of  John  E.  Bunker.  They  have  two 
children,  Arthur  Bunker  and  William  Watkins, 
Jr.  Mr.  Smith's  business  interests  are  not  con- 
fined to  Sleepy  Eye,  but  he  is  interested  in  liank- 
ing  institutions  at  Echo  and  Montevifleo. 


JOHN  P.KTTERSDN   REA. 

John  Patterson  Rea  was  born  on  election 
dav  and  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  politics 
ever  since.  He  comes  of  a  line  of  distinguished 
ancestors.  His  father,  Sanuiel  A.  Rea,  was  a 
woolen  manufacturer.  His  jjaternal  grandfather, 
Samuel  Rea,  was  a  sf)ldier  in  the  Revolution  and 
a  cousin  of  General  John  Rea,  of  Penns\lvania, 
who  after  the  Revohition  serverl  many  vears  in 
the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  and  in  the  con- 


gress of  the  United  States.  Judge  Rea's  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Ann  Light.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Samuel  Light,  of  Lebanon  County, 
Pennsylvania,  who  built  the  New  Market  iron 
works  in  that  county  in  1807  or  1808,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Jacob  Light,  who  settled  at  Cincin- 
nati, ( )hio,  in  1 79 1.  Her  mother  was  a  daughter 
of  John  Light,  secretary  of  the  meeting  that 
adopted  the  Lebanon  resolves  in  1775,  and  who 
was  a  member  of  the  Lancaster  committee  of 
safety  during  the  Revolution.  His  grandmother 
on  his  father's  side  was  Mary  Patterson,  a  cousin 
of  General  Robert  Patterson,  of  Philadelphia. 
Judge  John  P.  Rea,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  in  Lower  Oxford,  Chester  County, 
Pennsylvania,  October  13,  1840.  He  attended 
the  common  schools  and  Hopewell  Academy  for 
four  terms.  In  1867  he  graduated  in  the  classical 
course  at  Ohio  W'esleyan  University,  Delaware, 
Ohio.  He  was  prize  essayist  of  the  academy  in 
i860  and  also  prize  essayist  of  his  class  in  college, 
and  he  was  selected  by  his  class  in  1866,  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Zetagathean  Society,  to  sign  the  grad- 
uation diplomas.  He  studied  law  for  about  six 
months  at  Piqua,  Ohio,  but  completed  his  law 
studies  with  Honorable  (  ).  J.  Dickey,  of  Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  August  20,  1868.  He  practiced  there  till 
December,  1875.  He  removed  to  Alinneapolis 
January  2,  1876,  and  was  editor  of  the  .Minne- 
apolis Tribune  from  January  10,  1876,  till  May  I, 
1877.  Since  that  time  he  has  practiced  law  in 
Minneapolis,  except  while  sen'ing  on  the  bench. 
He  entered  the  army  as  a  private  in  Company  B, 
Eleventh  ( )hio  Infantry,  April  16,  1861.  He  was 
tendered  and  declined  a  second  lieutenancy  in 
the  Eighteenth  I'nited  .States  Infantry,  July,  1861. 
He  helped  to  recruit  Company  I,  First  Ohio  Vol- 
imteer  Cavalry,  in  .\ugust,  1861,  and  was  com- 
missioned second  lieutenant  of  that  company. 
He  was  afterwards  promoted  to  first  lieutenant 
and  on  April  i,  1863,  was  raised  to  the  rank  of 
captain.  Novemlier  2^.  iSf)^,  he  was  breveted 
major  for  gallantry  in  action  at  Cleveland,  Ten- 
nessee. He  served  until  Xovembcr  22,  1864,  and 
was  then  nnistercd  out  on  the  expiration  of  his 
enlistment  as  the  senior  ca]itain  of  the  regiment. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


409 


He  was  detailed  by  General  Thoinas  to  conimaiul 
his  escort  in  May,  1862,  l)ut  prcferriiij^  U)  remain 
in  his  company  obtained  a  release  from  the  detail. 
When  at  home  with  his  company  in  i''ebruar\-, 
1864,  he  was  offered  and  declined  a  commission 
as  colonel  of  a  new  regiment.  He  was  in  every 
engagement  of  his  company  up  to  the  close  of 
his  service,  and  connnanded  it  in  the  battles  of 
Blackland,  Bardstown,  Wasliin.!;t<iii,  I'erryville, 
Galatin,  Stone  River,  Tullahoma,  .Xolensville,  Elk 
River,  Alpine,  Chickamauga,  .Shelbyville,  Mac- 
Alinnville,  l-'armingtun.  C'levclantl,  Charlestown, 
relief  of  Knoxville,  Moulton,  Decatur,  Rome, 
Kenesaw  Mountain,  Lovejoy  .Station,  Kilpatrick's 
raid  around  Atlanta  and  on  numerous  sc(_mting 
raids.  He  only  missed  ten  days  of  service  during 
the  term  of  his  enlistment,  eight  of  which  days 
were  while  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  as  a 
prisoner.  Judge  Rea  was  one  of  the  early  mem- 
bers of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  having 
joined  at  Piqua,  Ohio,  in  December,  1866,  and 
was  a  delegate  to  the  first  ilepartment  encamp- 
ment of  that  state.  He  has  been  post  commander 
of  George.  H.  Thomas  Post  at  Lancaster,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  of  George  N.  Morgan  Post  of  Min- 
neapolis, senior  vice  commander  department  of 
Minnesota  for  1881  and  1882,  department  com- 
mander in  1883,  senior  vice  commander-in-chief 
in  1884  and  1885.  and  commander-in-chief  in 
1887  and  1888.  Judge  Rea  has  also  been  actively 
interested  in  politics,  and  made  his  first  speech 
in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  1857.  In 
1858  he  stumped  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania, 
for  Honorable  John  Hickman,  and  was  on  the 
stump  for  the  Repul)lican  party  for  every  year 
from  that  time  until  he  removed  to  Minnesota. 
He  learned  his  politics  from  John  Hickman  and 
Thadeus  Stevens,  and  was  frecpiently  elected  to 
membership  on  political  committees  and  in  polit- 
ical conventions.  He  was  appointed  assessor  of 
internal  revenue  for  the  Xinth  Pennsylvania  dis- 
trict bv  President  Grant  in  1869,  and  held  the 
office  until  it  was  abolished  in  May,  1873.  Since 
coming  to  Minnesota  he  has  held  the  ofifice  of 
judge  of  probate  court  in  1877  and  was  re-elected 
in  1879  and  declined  a  third  term.  He  was 
appointed  judge  of  the  Fourth  judicial  district 
in  April,    1886.   was   elected   to   succeed   himself 


r               '  ' ' 

^^S^M 

* 

'^ 

l^v 

9 

^ 

mIHi 

■d 

without  opposition  in  the  fall  of  that  year  and 
served  until  July,  1890,  when  he  resigned.  He 
has  been  a  member  of  the  law  firms  in  Minne- 
apolis of  Rea  &  Hooker,  Rea,  Hooker  &  Woolley, 
Rea,  Woolley  &  Kitchel,  Rea  &  Kitchel,  Rea, 
Kitchel  &  Shaw,  Rea,  Miller  &  Torrance,  Rea  & 
Hubachek,  and  is  now  the  head  of  the  firm  of 
Rea  &  Healey.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Phi 
Kappa  Psi  college  society  at  Ohio  Wesleyan 
Cniversity  and  was  president  of  the  executive 
council  of  that  fraternity  for  two  years,  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution  and  the  Loyal 
Legion,  holding  the  ofifice  of  junior  vice  com- 
mander for  Minnesota  for  one  year,  and  was 
also  for  one  vear  a  member  of  the  council  in  chief 
of  the  order.  He  was  brigadier  general  of  the 
staff  of  Governor  Hubbard  for  two  years,  and  a 
member  of  the  board  of  visitors  of  West  Point 
Academy  for  the  year  1893.  He  has  always  been 
a  Republican.  Init  refused  in  1892  to  support  the 
Republican  candidate  for  president,  preferring 
]\Ir.  Cleveland.  On  the  current  financial  issue 
he  proclaims  himself  an  uncompromising  bimet- 
allist.  Judge  Rea  is  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  and  was  married  October  26,  1869, 
to  Emma  M.  Gould,  of  Delaware,  Ohio.  They 
have  no  children. 


410 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  NELSON. 

Air.  Nelson  is  the  head  of  the  Nelson-Tenney 
Lumber  Company,  manufacturers  and  dealers  in 
lumber  at  Alinneapolis.  Mr.  Nelson  is  a  splendid 
example  of  the  self-made  man,  and  an  instance 
in  which  the  making  has  been  well  done.  He 
was  born  of  humble  parents  in  Greenup  County, 
Kentucky,  May  4,  1843.  His  parents  were  na- 
tives of  Somerset  Count}',  Maryland.  His  father 
lost  his  health  and  the  support  of  the  family  de- 
volved upon  the  sons.  This  left  Benjamin  F., 
with  little  opportunity  for  schooling,  and  when 
seventeen  years  of  age  he  engaged  with  a  partner 
in  the  lumber  business.  This,  after  two  years, 
was  broken  up  by  the  war,  and  an  attempt  at 
farming  was  unsuccessful  for  the  same  reason. 
Kentucky,  although  a  slave-holding  state,  and 
sympathizing  for  the  most  part  with  the  Confed- 
eracy, was  controlled  by  the  strong  arm  of  the 
Federal  power,  and  such  of  her  sons  as  saw  fit 
to  enter  the  Southern  army  did  so  from  a  firm 
conviction  of  right  and  duty,  rather  than  from 
loyalty  to  their  state.  Mr.  Nelson  was  nineteen 
years  of  age  when  he  enlisted  in  Company  C,  of 
the  Second  Kentucky  Battalion,  and  went  into 
active  service  under  the  command  of  the  Confed- 
erate general,  Kirby  Smith.     Fie  served  success- 


ively under  Humphrey  Marshall,  Wheeler,  For- 
rest and  Morgan,  and  participated  in  the  battles 
of  Chickamauga,  Mclnville,  Synthiana,  Shelby- 
ville.  Lookout  Mountain,  Mount  Sterling  and 
Greenville,  besides  numerous  cavalry  skirmishes. 
Mr.  Nelson  was  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight 
for  over  two  years.  In  1864,  while  on  re- 
cruiting duty  in  Kentucky,  he  ventured  into  the 
Federal  lines  as  far  as  the  Ohio  river.  He  had 
secured  a  few  recruits  and  was  returning  with 
thein  when  he  was  captured  and  sent  to  Lexing- 
ton. While  he  was  confined  in  prison  there 
fourteen  men  were  taken  out  and  shot,  two  of 
them  being  recruits  captured  with  Nelson,  and  for 
a  time  he  was  in  danger  of  suffering  the  same  fate 
on  suspicion  of  being  a  spy.  He  was,  however^ 
sent  to  Camp  Douglas,  in  Chicago,  where  he  was 
held  tmtil  1865,  when  he  was  sent  to  Richmond 
and  paroled  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Air.  Nelson 
returned  to  his  home  in  Kentucky,  where  he  was 
employed  in  a  saw  mill  for  a  few  months,  and 
then  decided  to  try  his  fortune  in  the  far  West. 
It  was  the  third  day  of  September,  1865,  that  he 
landed  in  St.  Paul.  He  only  remained  there  one 
day,  when  he  came  on  to  St.  Anthony.  He  was 
much  impressed  \\'ith  the  A-alue  of  the  water 
power,  and  believed  the  falls  would  be  sur- 
rounded by  a  great  city.  Mr.  Nelson  went  to 
work  at  rafting  lumber,  and  when  the  season  was 
over  took  up  a  claim  near  Waverlv,  where  he 
built  a  house,  but  farming  did  not  suit  him,  and 
he  again  went  into  the  lumbering  business.  In 
1872  Mr.  Nelson  formed  a  partnership  with  W. 
C.  Stetson  in  the  planing  mill  business.  The 
business  increased  until  they  found  it  necessary 
to  build  another  mill  in  order  to  take  care  of 
their  trade.  At  this  time  they  conunenced  deal- 
ing in  luml)cr  in  a  small  way,  which  rapidly  in- 
creased imtil  1880,  when  the  partnershi]i  was 
dissolved.  In  1881  Mr.  Nelson  associated  with 
himself  in  business  William  Tcnnev  and  H.  W. 
McNair,  and.  later,  H.  B,  Frey  was  admitted  to- 
the  partnership.  Soon  afterwards  Mr.  McXair 
withdrew  and  W.  I"".  Brooks  entered  tin-  firm. 
It  is  now  organized  under  the  name  nf  the 
Nelson-Tenuev  Lumber  C'ompany.  This  com- 
])anv  has  two  large  saw  mills,  with  a  capacity  of 
scventv-five  million  feet  a  vear.      .Mr.  Nelson  is. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


411 


interested  in  various  utlier  enterprises.  In  1887  he 
bought  the  Minneapolis  Straw  Paper  mill,  and  in 
1888  the  Red  River  paper  mill  at  T'ergus  Falls. 
These  were  consolidated  under  the  name  of  the 
Nelson  Paper  Company.     In  1890,  together  with 
T.  B.  Walker  he  bought  the  print  paper  mill  in 
Minneapolis,  and  the  old  and  new  companies  were 
merged    into    the    Henne])in    Paper    Company, 
operating  at  Little  Falls.     He  is  also  a  director 
of  the  Metropolitan  bank.     B.  F.  Nelson  com- 
mands the  respect  and  confidence  of  his  fellow 
citizens  of  Minneapolis  in  a  marked  degree,  and 
has  held  numerous  important  public  offices.     In 
1879  he  was  elected  alderman  of  the  First  ward, 
and  was  continued  in  office  until   1885.     When 
the  park  board  was  organized   Mr.  Nelson  was 
elected  to  service  in  that  branch  of  the  munici- 
pal government.     For  seven  successive  years  he 
served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  in 
1894,  when  the  question  of  the  price  of  gas  was 
submitted  to  arbitrators,  Mr.  Nelson  was  selected 
by  the  city  as  its  representative.     In  the  same 
year  occurred    the    great    strike    on    the    Great 
Northern  railway,  and  Mr.  Nelson  was  selected 
as  one  of  the  committee  of  citizens  of  Minneapo- 
lis to  arbitrate  in  that  dispute.     Mr.  Nelson  was 
a  member  of  the  original  building  committee  of 
the  Minneapolis  Exposition ;  he  gave  a  great  deal 
of  his  time  to  personal  supervision  of  the  con- 
struction of  the  building,  and  has  been    on    the 
board  of  directors  of  the  Exposition  ever   since. 
He  is  now  one  of  the  owners  of  the  property.  Mr. 
Nelson  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  but  a  man    of 
broad  and  liberal  views.    He  has  served  his  party 
locally  as  an  active  worker  on  campaign  commit- 
tees, and  exerts  a  large  influence  in  its  plans  and 
deliberations.       Notwithstanding    his    extensive 
business  and  many  public  duties,  Air.  Nelson  has 
found  time  to   sec  some  of  the    world,  having 
traveled  extensively  in   Me.xico,   Europe,  Egypt 
and  the  Holy  Land.    His  religious  connection  is 
with  the  Methodist  Church,  and  his  eminent  busi- 
ness capacity  was  recognized  in  his  selection  as 
trustee  of  Hamline  L'niversity.  He  has  been  twice 
married,  first  in  i860,  to  Martha  Ross,  who  died 
five  years  later,  leaving  two  sons,  William  E.  and 
Guy  H.   His  present  wife  was  l\Iary  Fredinburg, 
who  has  one  daughter. 


EDWARD  H.  HUEBNER. 

E.  H.  Huebner,  mayor  of  Winthrop,  Sibley 
County,  is  one  of  the  progressive  young  Repub- 
lican politicians  of  central  Minnesota,  and  a  lead- 
ing member  of  the  bar  in  that  part  of  the  state. 
Mr.  Huebner  is  of  foreign  descent,  as  his  name 
indicates.  His  father,  who  is  not  now  living,  was 
Conrad  Huebner,  a  native  of  Austria.  His 
mother,  who  is  also  dead,  was  born  in  Switzer- 
land. Mr.  Huebner  was  born  in  Chicago,  Jan- 
uary 23,  1865.  During  the  same  year  his  parents 
moved  to  New  Ulm,  Minnesota,  and  Edward 
grew  up  there,  attending  the  common  schools  of 
the  town  and  later  the  State  Normal  School  at 
Mankato,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1886.  Soon 
after  he  entered  the  office  of  John  Lind,  at  New 
Llm,  and  commenced  reading  law.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  1888.  After  a  year  with  Mr. 
Lind  he  removed  to  Winthrop  and  opened  an 
office  of  his  own.  He  at  once  took  an  active  part 
in  the  politics  of  the  county,  and  in  1890  was 
nominated  for  the  office  of  county  attorney,  on 
the  Republican  ticket.  The  county  had  always 
been  democratic  by  three  hundred  majorit\%  but 
Air.  Huebner  accepted  the  nomination  and  came 
within  three  votes  of  defeating  his  opponent.  This 
was  considered  a  remarkable  run  as  the  opposition 


412 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


candidate  had  two  years  before  won  o\-er  two 
other  candidates  by  a  pkirality  of  nearly  five  hun- 
dred votes.  In  i8q2  Mr.  Huebner  was  again  nomi- 
nated and  was  elected,  being  the  first  Republican 
to  be  elected  to  the  office  of  county  attorney  in 
Sibley  County.  He  was  re-elected  in  1894,  and 
in  March  (if  the  same  year  was  elected  mayor  of 
W'inthrop.  He  declined  re-nomination  for  the 
mayoralty  in  1895,  '^^^'^  ^^'^^  induced  to  accept  in 
1896  and  was  again  elected.  Among  the  secret 
societies  to  which  Mr.  Huebner  belongs  are  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Odd  Fellows.  He 
occupies  the  office  of  Chancellor  Commander  of 
the  local  lodge  of  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Congregational  church.  Though 
now  thirtv-one  \ears  of  age.  Mr.  Huel.)ner  is  a 
bachelor. 


jAMKS  THOMPSON    McCLEARY. 

In  November,  1896,  James  Thompson  Mc- 
Cleary  was  elected  for  the  third  time  to  congress 
as  the  representative  of  the  Second  Minnesota 
district.  This  honor  has  been  most  worthily 
bestowed,  for  Mr.  .McCleary  ranks  as  one  of  the 
leading  Republican  members  of  the  house,  and  on 
economic  and  financial  (|uestions  is  an  authority 
of  national  rejuitation.  During  the  political  cam- 
paign of  1S96  he  was  one  of  the  most  forceful  and 
convincing  e.xponents  of  Republican  principles  of 
whom  the  party  could  boast.  In  congress  Mr. 
McCleary  is  not  addicted  to  much  speaking.  His 
motto  seems  to  be,  '"Speak  well  but  not  often." 
In  the  Fifty-third  congres-s  he  made  two  note- 
worthy speeches,  one  against  the  repeal  of  the 
federal  election  laws,  a  subject  which  his  extensive 
and  thorough-going  studv  of  constitutional  his- 
tory and  constitutional  law  had  well  fitted  him  to 
discuss;  the  other,  on  the  tariff,  in  which  he  pre- 
sented clearly  tlic  fumlamcntal  ])rinciples  on 
which  rests  the  whole  doctrine  of  protection. 
Mr.  McClcary"s  most  famous  speech  was 
made  in  congress  on  the  afti'rnnon  of  I"cbrnnr\-  12. 
1896,  in  closing  the  general  debate  on  the  senate 
amendment  providing  for  the  independent  free 
coinage  of  silver  at  the  ratio  of  16  to  1.  In  the 
national  campaign   of   i8f/)  this  speccli   was  the 


document  most  widely  circulated  in  all  parts  of 
the  country.  Indeed,  investigation  shows  that  in 
point  of  circulation  no  other  speech  ever  delivered 
approaches  it.  It  was  translated  into  several  for- 
eign languages,  and  the  reports  show  that  in  all 
forms  its  circulation  exceeded  eleven  million 
copies.  In  its  leading  editorial  of  January  28,  1897, 
the  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Times-Star  says:  "Among 
the  men  whose  names  have  been  frequently 
used  of  late  in  connection  with  cabinet  positions 
is  Congressman  James  T.  ^IcCleary  of  Minne- 
sota. He  has  been  proposed  for  secretary  of  the 
treasury,  and  the  leading  papers  of  the  country 
are  saying  that  the  northwest  could  not  have  a 
better  representative  in  the  cabinet.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  glance  at  Mr.  McCleary's  career.  He  finds 
himself  famous  at  forty-four,  after  four  years  of 
public  life.  Elected  to  the  Fifty-third  congress, 
he  was  an  observant  and  unassuming  member. 
Re-elected  to  the  Fifty-fourtli  congress,  his  op- 
portunity came.  In  the  first  session  ^[r.  Towne 
of  Duluth,  a  Reiniblican  representative  from  the 
same  state,  deserting  the  party  platform,  made  a 
speech  in  favor  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver. 
His  colleague,  Mr.  AlcCleary,  was  selected  to  re- 
pl}-.  This  speech  in  reply  to  J\Ir.  Towne  was  a 
master  stroke.  In  the  array  of  facts,  in  the  ajipeal 
to  history,  in  the  analysis  of  Mr.  Towne's  argu- 
ments, in  force  of  logical  statement  it  was  over- 
whelming. The  instances  of  fame  gained  by  a 
single  speech  are  rare.  We  do  not  now  recall 
another  case  in  America  of  a  man  leaping  into 
national  ] imminence  at  one  bound.  The  nearest 
approach  to  it,  perhaps,  was  Sumner's  rise  to  anti- 
slavery  eminence  as  a  result  of  his  eloquent  ad- 
dress on  'Freedom  Xational,  Slavery  .Sectional' 
Tom  Convin  was  at  the  height  of  his  fame  when 
he  made  his  celebrated  speech  against  the  Mex- 
ican war.  Daniel  \\'ebster's  re]iutation  as  an 
orator,  patriot  and  statesman  was  country-wide 
before  he  delivered  his  innnortal  oration  in  replv 
to  Ilaync.  Patrick  Henry  was  not  (ni1<nii\\ri  when 
he  thrilled  the  burgesses  of  Mrginia  with  his 
matchless  ])lca  for  indeijendencc.  .Miraham  Lin- 
coln had  a  natinnal  fame  when  he  made  his 
Cooper  Institute  speech.  Robert  ( i.  Ingersoll 
was  a  familiar  name  when  he  nominated  lames  G. 
Plaine  in  the  (  incinnati  convention.  General 
C,;irfield  was  a  i-onsiiicuous  slatesm.in  and  orator 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


before  he  spoke  so  ably  for  anolliei-  al  Chicago 
that  he  got  the  prize  himself.  In  1895  few  people 
outside  of  his  congressional  district  of  Minne- 
sota had  heard  of  James  T.  McCleary.  In  1896 
he  was  one  of  the  greatest  figures  in  the  national 
campaign.  His  speech  on  the  currency  ques- 
tion was  distributed  b}-  the  million  copies  and  of 
all  the  literature  sent  out  by  the  campaign  com- 
mittee it  did  the  best  service  for  the  sound  money 
cause."  Mr.  McCleary  was  bom  in  Ingersoll,  (Jn- 
tario,  February  5,  1853.  His  fkther,  Thompson  Mc- 
Cleary,  was  an  architect  and  builder.  His  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Sarah  McCutcheon.  From  his 
earliest  boyhood  he  was  a  careful  student.  After 
leaving  the  high  school  of  his  native  town,  he 
entered  McGill  university,  at  Montreal,  where  his 
education  was  completed.  Before  coming  of  age, 
he  came  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Wiscon- 
sin, where,  after  serving  with  great  success  for 
several  years  as  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools, 
he  was  elected  superintendent  of  schools  of  Pierce 
county.  In  this  position  he  achieved  a  reputation 
that  quickly  spread  Ijeyond  the  confines  of  the 
state.  He  was  acti\-cl\-  interested  in  teachers' 
institutes,  and  the  (|uality  of  his  work  as  an 
educator  was  such  as  to  stamj)  him  as  one  of  the 
leading  champions  in  the  state,  of  newer  and  bet- 
ter methods  of  education.  In  1881  he 
resigned  the  office  of  county  superintendent  to 
accept  that  of  state  institute  conductor  in  Minne- 
sota and  professor  of  history  and  civics  in  the 
state  normal  school  at  Mankato.  These  positions 
he  held  until  June,  1892,  when  he  entered  the 
field  of  congressional  politics.  During  the  vaca- 
tion seasons  of  his  school  work  in  Minnesota  Mr. 
McCleary  conducted  teachers'  institutes  in  \Ms- 
consin,  the  Dakotas,  X'irginia,  Tennessee  and  Col- 
orado. In  1888  he  published  "Studies  in  Civics," 
and  in  1894  "A  Manual  of  Civics,"  works  of  much 
merit,  which  are  used  as  text  books  in  the  best 
schools  of  the  country.  In  1883  he  was  elected 
secretary  and  in  1891  president  of  the  Minnesota 
Educational  Association.  His  specialties  as  a 
student  and  teacher  of  history  and  civics  naturally 
led  him  to  an  investigation  of  living  American 
economic  questions.  These  complex  subjects  he 
pursued  in  all  their  ramifications  with  great  dili- 
erence  and  intelligence  for  vears  before  he  entered 


the  domain  of  politics.  As  may  easily  be  inferred, 
it  was  by  means  of  this  inquiry'  that  he  was  brought 
face  to  face  with  the  thought  that  if  he  should 
become  a  member  of  congress,  a  practical  field 
would  at  once  be  opened  in  which  he  might  make 
a  fair  test  of  his  theories.  Political  conditions  in 
the  Second  Minnesota  district  were  such  as  to 
favor  his  ambition.  His  hosts  of  warm  personal 
friends  in  all  parts  of  the  district  easily  secured 
liim  the  nomination,  and  he  was  elected  by  a 
large  majority,  and  has  been  twice  re-elected  by  an 
ever-increasing  vote.  His  quick  rise  in  public  life 
to  a  position  of  national  prominence  is  due  to  the 
years  of  study  already  referred  to.  His  training 
had  peculiarlv  adapted  him  for  a  public  career, 
and  when  the  great  political  parties  in  1896 
divided  on  the  financial  question,  he  was  ready 
without  additional  preparation  to  take  imme- 
diately a  position  as  one  of  the  accredited  spokes- 
men of  the  Republican  side.  This  he  did  with 
honor  to  himself  and  benefit  to  the  party,  as  has 
already  been  noted.  Mr.  McCleary  was  brought 
up  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  His  wife's  maiden 
name  was  Mary  Edith  Taylor.  They  have  one 
son,  Eeslie  Taylor  McCleary,  who  is  his  father's 
private  secretary.    The  family  home  is  in  Mankato. 


414 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


IGXATIL'S  DUXXELLY. 

Ignatius  Uonnelly  was  born  in  Philadelphia 
in  the  year  1831.  His  father,  Dr.  Philip  Carroll 
Donnelly,  was  an  eminent  physician  of  Philadel- 
phia. He  was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Fintona, 
in  Tyrone  County,  Ireland.  He  came  to  America 
in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  and  in 
1826  married  Aliss  Catherine  Frances  Gavin,  who 
was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1810;  a  daughter  of 
John  Gavin,  who  came  to  this  country  from  Tyr- 
one County  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century. 
Mr.  Donnelly's  mother  died  on  June  13,  18S7,  at 
Philadelphia.  She  was  a  woman  of  great  mental 
endowment.  The  Donnelly  family  is  supposed  to 
have  settled  in  the  northernmost  part  of  Ireland 
more  than  two  thousand  A'ears  ago.  From  this  point 
they  have  found  their  way  inward  during  the  suc- 
ceeding centuries  to  the  center  of  Tyrone  County. 
Dr.  Donnelly,  the  father  of  Ignatius,  held  a  num- 
ber of  important  positions  in  and  about  Philadel- 
phia, and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Philadel- 
phia College  of  ]\Iedicine.  He  was  respected  by  ail 
who  knew  him  and  was  long  remembered  b}^  the 
poor  of  Philadelphia  for  his  many  charities.  His 
son,  Ignatius,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  Philadelphia,  graduating  from  the  Philadelphia 
High  School  in  1849.  Soon  afterward  he  en- 
tered upon  the  study  of  law  in  the  ofifice  of  Benja- 
min H.  Brewster,  later  attorney-general  of  the 
United  States.  In  1853  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  at  once  entering  upon  the  practice  of  his 
profession  soon  built  up  a  considerable  business. 
!Mr.  Donnelly  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  in 
1855  for  the  state  legislature,  but  declined  the 
nomination  because  of  difference  of  opinion  with 
the  party  on  the  slavery  question.  During  the 
same  year  he  was  married  to  Miss  Katherine  Mc- 
CafTrey,  who  was  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  and 
had  been  principal  of  a  boys'  grammar  school  in 
that  city.  This  was  the  beginning  of  an  ex- 
ceptionally happy  married  life.  In  the  spring  of 
1856,  Mr.  Donnelly,  accompanied  by  his  wife, 
made  a  journey  through  the  west,  visiting  Chi- 
cago, the  state  of  Iowa,  and  finally  St.  Paul.  He 
was  so  pleased  with  the  prospects  of  Minnesota, 
that,  with  Mr.  John  X^iningcr,  brother-in-law  of 


Governor  Ramsey,  he  purchased  six  hundred  and 
forty  acres  of  land  in  Dakota  County  and  laid  out 
the  town  of  Xininger.  The  new  town  throve  apace, 
but  unfortunately  about  one  year  later  the  panic 
of  1857  swept  over  the  country  and  Xininger  col- 
lapsed under  the  blow.  Mr.  Donnelly  had  built 
a  beautiful  house,  but  found  himself  practically 
bankrupt.  It  was  during  this  same  year  that  Mr. 
Donnelly  first  entered  politics.  He  was  nomi- 
nated for  state  senator  by  the  Republicans  of  his 
county,  but  was  defeated.  Next  year  he  was 
nominated  again  and  was  beaten  by  only  six  votes. 
I\Ir.  Donnelly  was  by  this  time  becoming  thor- 
oughly identified  with  the  life  of  his  adopted  state. 
In  November  of  1858  he  resumed  the  practice  of 
law;  shortly  afterwards  forming  a  partnership  with 
Archibald  AI.  Hayes  and  Oren  T.  Hayes,  the 
name  of  the  firm  being  "Hayes,  Donnelly  and 
Hayes."  At  the  same  time  Mr.  Donnelly  organ- 
ized the  Agricultural  Society  of  Dakota  County, 
which  was  one  of  the  first  societies  of  its  kind  or- 
ganized in  Mimiesota.  It  was  during  the  follow- 
ing year  that  Mr.  Donnelly  first  appeared  on  the 
lecture  platform.  His  first  lecture  was  on  "Style  and 
Composition  as  Indicative  of  Character."  This 
lecture  was  repeated  at  other  places  and  was  high- 
ly conmiended ;  the  people  of  the  new  territory  be- 
gan to  realize  that  a  man  of  superior  intellectual 
attainments  had  come  among  them.  On  June 
20,  1859,  Mr.  Donnelly's  name  was  presented 
for  nomination  as  lieutenant-governor  before  the 
Republican  convention.  On  the  third  ballot  he 
was  nominated,  and  was  probably  one  of  the 
youngest  men  ever  ]ilaced  in  this  jjosition.  The 
campai,gn  which  followed  was  a  most  active  one 
and  Donnelly  stumped  the  state  most  efi'ectively. 
For  the  first  time  the  Republican  party  carried 
Minnesota.  It  was  during  his  service  as  lieutenant- 
governor  that  I\fr.  Donnelly  had  the  ojiportunity 
of  issuing  a  proclamation,  as  acting  governor,  call- 
ing for  volunteers,  in  response  to  the  national  call 
issued  by  President  Lincoln.  ^luch  of  the  ex- 
ecutive work  pertaining  to  the  enlistment  and  or- 
ganization of  the  regiments  devolved  upf)n  the 
lieutenant-governor.  In  1861  he  was  renominated 
and  rc-clccted  lioutcnant-governor  bv  a  large  ma- 
joritv,  and  in   ^RGz  was  niiniinaled  for  Congress 


PROGREvSSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


415 


vvithuut   uppusition.      VVilhiu   a   inuiilli   alter   his 
nomination  the  Sioux  massaci'c  occurred.      There 
was  a  call  for  volunteers,  and   Donnelly  joined 
General  H.  H.  Sibley,  who  was  to  be  in  command 
of  the  relief  expedition,  and  went  to  the  front,    in 
the  election  that  fall,   Mr.    Donnelly   had   about 
one  thousand  two  hundred  majority.       He  took 
his  seat  in  the  House  in  December,  1863,  as  a 
member  of  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress.     It  was 
early  in  his  congressional  career  that  Mr.  Don- 
nelly wrote  a  famous  letter  to  Thaddeus  Stevens, 
protesting  against  the  swindle  incorporated  in  cer- 
tain estimates  for  expenses  required  to  carry  out 
the  stipulations  of  the  Indian  treaty  of  the  Chip- 
pewas,  of  March,   1863.     Mr.  Donnelly  charged 
that  enormous  amounts  would  be  stolen  if  the 
estimates  were  accepted.       The  letter  created  a 
sensation,   and   Mr.    Donnelly  regards   it  as  the 
turning  point   in  his  political   career.       He  be- 
lieves it  was  the  initial  cause  of  the  great  opposi- 
tion to  his  renomination  to  Congress,  and  of  the 
enmity  which  many  politicians  felt  for  him  during 
succeeding  years.       However,  he  was  re-elected 
and  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Thirty-eighth  and  Thirty-ninth  Congresses.  There 
was  much  opposition  to  his  renomination  in  1866, 
but  notwitlistanding  the  bitter  fight  waged  against 
him,  he  was  not  only  renominated  but  re-elected 
over  Colonel  William  Colville,  a  strong  Demo- 
crat, of  a  brilliant  war  record,  by  a  majority  of 
four  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  votes. 
This  was  his  last  term  in  Congress.    It  was  during 
this  term   that   the   famous   conflict   with   Elihu 
Washburn  took  place.      This  contest  with  a  po\v- 
erful  man,  backed  by  a  still  more  powerful  circle 
of  political  friends,  made  Donnelly  famous.      His 
speeches    in     Congress    attracted    national     at- 
tention.      But    in    the    campaign     for    renom- 
ination     ]\lr.      Donnelly      was      nominated      by 
part    of    the    convention,    and     General     Hub- 
bard by  the  remainder.       Hubbard  subsequently 
withdrew  and  Donnelly's  enemies  set  up  General 
C.  C.  Andrews  in  his  place,  who  drew  of¥  enough 
votes  to  defeat  Donnelly,  and  a  Democrat.  Eugene 
Wnison,  was  elected.      In  i860  he  became  a  can- 
didate for  United  States  Senator,  but  Governor 
Ramsev  secured  the  nomination  after  a  hot  po- 


litical battle.  After  his  defeat,  in  1868,  for  Con- 
gress, Mr.  Donnelly  continued  to  act  with  the 
Republican  party  until  1870.  In  that  year,  at  the 
written  solicitation  of  three  thousand  five  hundred 
Republicans  he  consented  to  run  for  Congress  on 
a  low  tariff  platform,  at  the  same  time  receiving 
the  endorsement  of  the  Democrats.  In  1872  he 
supported  Horace  Greeley  as  a  Liberal  Repub- 
lican. He  was  prominent  some  years  later  in 
the  organization  of  the  State  Farmers'  Alliance, 
with  which  he  was  closely  identified  as  long  as 
it  remained  a  force  in  politics.  Since  the  or- 
ganization of  the  People's  Party  he  has  been  a 
conspicuous  member  not  only  of  the  state  but  of 
the  national  organization.  During  the  past 
twentv  vears  he  has  served  a  number  of  terms  in 
the  state  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 
In  1878  he  was  the  candidate  for  Congress  of  the 
Independent  Greenbackers,  and  received  the  en- 
dorsement of  the  Democratic  party.  His  Re- 
publican opponent  was  W.  D.  ^^'ashbum.  and  as 
a  result  of  the  close  election  there  followed  a 
somewhat  sensational  but  unsuccessful  contest  be- 
fore the  Elections  Committee  of  Congress. 
Throughout  his  long  political  career  ^Ir.  Don- 
nellv's  pen  had  not  been  idle.  He  nearly  always 
had  some  sort  of  a  literan'  venture  on  hand,  and 


416 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


was  almost  continuously  an  editor  of  some  kind  of 
a  newspaper.       During  the  winter  of  1 880-81  he 
attempted  something  more  extended  in  literan 
work.       His  first  book  was  "Atlantis,"'  which  re- 
ceived very  extended  notice  and  was  reprinted  in 
England,  and  translated  and  published  in  I'rance 
and  Germany.      More  than  twenty  editions  have 
been  printed  in  different  languages.   "Ragnarok," 
followed  and  achieved  almost  as  wide  a  reputa- 
tion  as  its  predecessor,  the  first  edition   of  five 
thousand  copies  was  sold  in  two  months.       This 
has  also  been  republished  in  England.    But  Don- 
nelly's greatest  literary  celebrity  is    due    to    his 
"Great  Cni-ptogram,"  in  which   he  endeavors  to 
establish    Bacon's    authorship    of    Shakespeare's 
plays.    In  1889  "Caesar's  Column"  appeared.    *  >f 
this  book   seven   hundred  thousand  copies   have 
been  sold,  and  it  has  been  translated  int(j  several 
languages.     It     was     followed     a     year     or     sn 
later    bv    "Dr.     Huguet,"    an    appeal    to    char- 
ity   written     on    behalf    of    the    negroes;     and 
this    was    followed    by    "The    Golden    Bottle,'' 
which    has    been    extensively    printed    in  Eng- 
land and  other  countries.      It   is   an    attempt   to 
show,  by   a   romance,   that   the   solution   of   the 
world's  troubles  is  an  abundant  supply  of  money. 
Mr.  Donnelly  has  never  been  known  to  make  a 
statement  of  his  religious  views.       He  has  never 
been  a  member  of  any  church,  but  his  friends  say 
that  his  books  show  the  profoundest  respect  for 
Christianity  and  a  most  unshaken  belief  in  the 
immortality  of  the  soul.      Mr.  Donnelly's  charac- 
ter is  described  as  a  most  extraordinarj'  combina- 
tion of  fierce  determination,  amiability  and  mag- 
nanimity.   His  remarkable  command  of  language, 
his  oratorical  powers,  his  ready  wit.  his  unflag- 
ging industry  and  undoubted  courage,  have  con- 
tributed in  their  several  ways  to  the  development 
of  his  most  interesting  career. 


JOHN  1 1  .\  R  k  1  X(  ;T(  )X  .^TE\E\'.S. 

The  first  settler  on  the  west  bank  of  the  .\lis- 
sissip])i,  on  the  site  of  the  city  of  Minneapolis, 
was  Colonel  John  TI.  .Stevens.  Since  he  came 
to  Minnesota  and  took  up  his  farm  overlooking 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  in    1841),  he  has  been 


one    of    the    most    conspicuous    and    interesting 
figures  in   Minneapolis  affairs.     Few   men   have 
the  privilege  of  seeing  great  cities  built  up  on 
the    sites    of   their   modest    frontier   homesteads. 
Colonel  .Stevens  has  not  only  seen  this,  but  he 
has  been  an  active  participant  in  the  upbuilding 
process.     Colonel  Stevens  is  a  native  of  Canada, 
though  his  parents  and  ancestors  for  generations 
were  Xew  England  people.     He  ttaces  his  line 
back  to  Captain  Stevens,  who  served  with  honor 
in   King  Philip's  war  during  the  early   colonial 
times.     Gardner  Stevens,  Colonel  .Stevens'  father, 
was  a  native  and  a  citizen  of  \'ermont.     He  mar- 
ried Del)orah  Harrington,  also  of  X'ermont.  who 
was  the  only  daughter  of  Dr.  J(_)hn   Harrington, 
whi.i  was  a  surgeon  in  the  colonial  army  during 
the  revolution.     John  was  their  second  son.     He 
was  born  on  June  13,  1820.      The  boy  was  edu- 
cated at  the  common   schools  in  the  East,  and 
in  the  puljlic  schools  in  Wisconsin  and  Illinois, 
in  which  latter  state  he  cast  his  first  vote  in  1842. 
During    his    earlv    manhood    the    Mexican    war 
broke    out,    and    Colonel    Stevens    enlisted    and 
served  through  the  war.     For  a  year  or  so  after 
the  close  of  the  war  he  remained  in  Wisconsin 
and    Illinois,   and    in    1849   came    to    Minnesota. 
Upon    arriving    at    the    I'alls    of    St.    ,\nthony. 
Colonel   Stevens   formed   a  business   partnership 
with  b'ranklin  Steele,  who  had  a  store  at  the  little 
hamlet  on  the  east  bank  of  the   river.     But  the 
voung  man  saw  clearly  the  advantages  of  a  site 
on  the  west  Ijank.     This  ground  was  then  a  niili- 
tarv  reservation,  and  repeated  attempts  to  secure 
permission  to  settle  upon  it  had  been  unsuccess- 
ful.     Colonel   Stevens,    however,  finally    secured 
official  leave,  and  at  once  took  up  a  farm  on  the 
site  now  covered  by  the  heavy  business  portion 
of  Minneapolis,  and  the  great  tiour  milling  ilis- 
trict.     'J'lie   following  year  he  brought  a  young 
wife   from   Illinois  to  this  new   farm   and   estab- 
lished the  first  home  in   Minneapolis  ])roper,  or 
the   original    .Minnea|)olis.      Vov  a   time   Colonel 
.Stevens  worked  this  river-side  farm,  but  it  soon 
became  evident  that  the  ground  was  needed  for 
a  town.     He  was  a  practical  surveyor,  ami   with 
generous    public    spirit    he    platted    the    land    to 
which  he  had  already  become  attached,  laid  out 
cit\  lots  and  blocks,  and  subse(|uenll\-  gave  awav 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


417 


many  of  Iheni  to  people  who  woukl  occupy  lliciu. 
From  that  time  on  Colonel  Stevens  was  for  many 
years  foremost  in  furthering  the  interests  of  the 
city  and  state.  He  took  a  lively  interest  iu  the 
promotion  of  inunigration  and  the  exploration 
and  settling  of  the  country  west  of  .Minneajjolis, 
in  those  clays  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness. 
Many  incidents  in  his  long  life  in  the  state  are 
of  absorbing  interest.  For  several  years  after 
he  built  his  house  on  the  river  bank  it  was  the 
center  of  the  life  of  the  young  conmumity.  A 
liberal  hospitality  was  dispensed.  Immigrants, 
neighbors,  hunters  and  explorers,  and  often  the 
Indians  themselves,  were  entertained  at  that  old 
house.  In  it  churches,  societies,  lodges  and  boards 
were  organized.  The  old  building,  after  lieing 
moved  from  place  to  place  as  the  city  develcjped, 
has  at  last  found  a  resting  place,  appropriately, 
near  the  Falls  of  Minnehaha,  in  the  beautiful  park 
now  belonging  to  the  city,  whither  it  was  moveil 
by  the  school  children  of  Minneapolis  in  the 
spring  of  1896.  Colonel  Stevens'  love  for  agri- 
culture and  everything  pertaining  to  the  farm 
was  of  enormous  benefit  to  the  young  farming 
community  of  Minnesota.  His  influence  was  felt 
in  the  establishment  of  the  agricultural  and  horti- 
cultural associations,  and  in  the  promotion  of 
good  methods  of  farming  and  stock  raising.  He 
was  the  first  man  to  bring  thoroughbred  stock 
into  the  state.  After  his  farm  at  the  Falls  was 
made  a  city  site,  he  carried  on  farming  at  other 
place,  at  one  time  having  a  large  establishment 
at  Glencoe,  Minnesota.  His  lifelong  devotion 
to  agriculture  was  honored  by  his  election  to 
the  office  of  the  president  of  the  Minnesota  State 
Agricultural  Society.  Though  never  seeking 
ofiice.  Colonel  Stevens  was  in  the  earlier  times 
called  to  serve  the  public  in  several  ofificial  capaci- 
ties. He  was  the  first  register  of  deeds  of  Henne- 
pin County  and  served  for  several  terms  in  both 
branches  of  the  state  legislature.  During  the 
Indian  uprising,  as  brigadier  general  of  the 
militia,  he  commanded  troops  and  volunteers  sent 
to  the  front.  With  all  his  cares  and  duties  he 
has  during  his  bnsy  life  found  time  to  do  a  great 
deal  of  writing,  and  has  owned  a  number  of 
papers.  Among  those  which  he  has  conducted 
or  edited   were   the   St.    Anthony   Express,   The 


Chronicle,  Glencoe  Register,  Farmer  and  Gar- 
dener, Farmers'  Tribune,  and  Farm,  Stock  and 
Home.  In  1890  he  published  a  book  of  personal 
recollections,  entitled,  "Personal  Recollections  of 
Minnesota  and  Its  People,  and  Early  Histor}-  of 
Minneapolis."  He  also  contributed  several  chap- 
ters to  the  publication  known  as  "Atwater's 
History  of  Minneapolis."  Colonel  Stevens  was 
married  on  ]\lav  i,  1850,  to  Miss  Frances  Hellen 
Miller,  a  daughter  of  Abner  Miller,  of  Westmore- 
land, New  York.  They  were  married  at  Rock- 
ford,  Illinois.  They  have  had  six  children.  Mar)- 
Elizabeth,  the  first  white  child  born  in  Minne- 
apolis, died  in  her  seventeenth  year.  Cathrine 
D.,  the  second  child,  is  the  wife  of  P.  B.  Winston. 
The  third  daughter,  Sarah,  is  not  living.  Gard- 
ner, the  fourth  child,  and  only  son,  is  a  civil  en- 
gineer. Orma,  the  fifth,  is  now  Mrs.  Wm.  L. 
Peck.  The  sixth,  Miss  Frances  Hellen,  is  mar- 
ried to  Isaac  H.  Chase,  of  Rapid  City,  South  Da- 
kota. It  is  characteristic  of  Colonel  Stevens  that, 
though  comfortably  off  at  the  present  time,  he 
has  never  made  his  wonderful  opportunities  for 
personal  profit  a  means  of  amassing  wealth.  The 
public  spirit  and  broad  generosity  of  the  man 
have  made  such  a  course  practically  impossible 
for  him. 


4.18 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


AUOLPII   CiL'STAF  GALLASCU. 

Mr.  Gallasch  is  cashier  of  the  Northern  Ex- 
cliange  Bank,  of  St.  Paul.  He  was  born  at  West 
Bend,  Wisconsin.  His  father,  Adolph  Gallasch, 
was  a  miller  by  occupation,  but  onl}'  enjoyed  mod- 
erate financial  success.  His  mother,  Amoene 
Wolfrom  (Gallasch).  was  the  daughter  of  a  wealthy 
manufacturer,  and  a  lady  of  many  accomplish- 
ments. When  Adolph  was  but  six  years  old  his 
parents  migrated  to  the  North  Star  state,  locating 
at  Winona.  The  boy  received  his  early  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  that  place,  which  was 
supplemented  by  a  course  at  the  St.  Paul  Business 
College.  After  leaving  this  institution,  he  secured 
a  position  as  bookkeeper  at  Red  Wing,  with  .Mr. 
W.  E.  Hawkins.  Here  he  remained  for  two 
years,  when  he  accepted  a  similar  position  with 
C.  Betcher  &  Co.  He  was  with  this  firm  for 
three  years,  when  he  rcmfived  to  Crooks! on  and 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  in  partnership 
with  John  W.  Hack,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Hack  &  Gallascli.  The  firm  enjovcd  a  pros]ier(ius 
business  and  continued  successfully  until  i8So, 
when  it  was  dissolved,  Mr,  Gallasch  having  in  the 
meantime  engaged  in  other  business  enterprises. 


In  1887  he  was  appointed  cashier  in  the  Scaiulia 
American  Bank  at  Crookston,  which  position  he 
held  until  1890,  when  he  resigned,  and  was  elected 
vice-president  of  the  bank.  He  is  now  a  director 
of  this  institution.  In  1895  h^  ^^'^^  offered  the 
cashiership  of  the  Northern  Exchange  Bank,  at 
St.  Paul;  this  office  he  still  holds.  Mr.  Gallasch 
is  also  president  of  the  Polk  County  Bank,  at  Thief 
River  Falls,  Minnesota.  In  addition  to  his  ex- 
tensive banking  interests,  Air.  Gallasch  is  also  in- 
terested in  several  other  business  enterprises,  and 
is  president  of  the  Red  River  \"alley  Loan  &  In- 
vestment Company,  of  Crookston.  Air.  Gallasch 
is  comparatively  a  young  man  as  yet,  and  the 
success  which  he  has  achieved  in  l:>iisiness  is  a 
convincing  proof  of  his  enteqjrising  character  and 
his  abilities  as  a  financier.  The  first  money  ever 
earned  by  Mr.  Gallasch  was  as  a  lad  picking  hops; 
later  working  in  the  harvest  field  for  two  seasons. 
With  the  exercise,  ln)wever,  of  economy,  and  con- 
servative business  methods  in  the  investment  of 
the  money  he  had  earned,  Air.  Gallasch  has  at- 
tained a  business  success  that  promises  much  for 
the  future.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and 
while  a  resident  of  Crookston  served  as  city  treas- 
urer for  two  terms.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Crookston  Lodge  A.  E.  &  A.  Al..  and  of  the 
Commercial  Club  of  St.  Paul.  His  church  af- 
filiations arc  with  the  German  Lutheran  body.  He 
is  not  married. 


THOAIAS  CANTY. 

Thomas  Canty  is  associate  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  .Minnesota,  and  a  notable  ex- 
ample of  a  self-made  man.  Thomas  Canty  is  of 
Irish  ancestry.  His  parents  were  Jeremiah  Canty 
and  Anna  Stanton  (Canty).  They  were  both  born 
in  the  county  of  Kerry,  Ireland,  Imt  met  and 
married  in  London.  Tlnmias  L'anty,  father  of 
Jeremiah,  was  a  well-to-do  farmer  fifty  years  ago, 
but  somewhat  extravagant,  and  during  the  famine 
of  1848  he  became  impovcrislied.  The  family 
scattered  and  Jeremiah  left  for  London  in  seai-ch 
of  his  fortune.  Thomas,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  in  London,  .April  24.  1854,  and 


PROGRBSSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


419 


came  to  America  with  his  parents  when  Init  two 
years  of  age.  His  father  was  a  laborer  and  settled 
first  at  Detroit,  Michigan,  then  removed  t(j  Lodi, 
Wisconsin,  to  Clayton  County,  Iowa,  and  finally 
purchased  a  farm  near  Monona,  Iowa,  where  he 
died  when  Thomas,  his  eldest  son,  was  twenty 
years  of  age,  leaving  a  widow  and  seven  children. 
Thomas  attended  school  regularly  until  lie  was 
nine  years  of  age,  and  was  a  very  apt  pupil.  After 
that  he  was  onlj-  able  to  attend  school  a  few 
months  each  winter.  The  teachers  were  gener- 
ally incompetent,  but  Thomas  was  ambitious  and 
pursued  his  studies  with  great  success,  and  with 
a  preference  for  mathematics.  In  the  spring  of 
1861J,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  passed  the  exami- 
nation and  received  a  first  grade  certificate 
to  teach  school  in  Clayton  County,  Iowa.  When 
he  was  but  thirteen  a  dispute  arose  with  regard 
to  the  rent  his  father  should  pay  for  the  farm 
he  occuiiied.  and  it  was  agreed  that  the  farm 
should  be  surveyed.  Thomas  found  an  error  in 
the  surveyor's  figiu'cs,  walked  fourteen  miles 
through  a  snow  stt)rni  to  the  house  nf  the  sur- 
veyor, had  tlie  error  corrected,  saved  his  father 
sixty  dollars,  and  prevented  a  law  suit.  His 
mother  wanted  him  to  be  a  blacksmith  and  in- 
sisted that  he  leam  some  trade.  He  was  deter- 
mined to  be  a  lawyer.  In  1872  he  went  South 
determined  to  find  a  suitalMe  position  as  teaclicr 
and  landed  penniless  and  friendless  at  Carbon- 
dale,  Illinois,  where  he  worked  sixteen  hours  a 
day  driving  a  mule  used  in  pulling  buckets  out  of 
a  coal  shaft.  In  this  way  he  earned  mone\' 
enough  to  take  him  to  Texas.  There  he  taught 
school  for  four  years,  in  the  meantime  applying 
himself  diligently  to  his  studies,  and  altliough  un- 
able to  take  a  college  course,  he  thus  ac(|uired 
substantially  the  same  advancement  which  a  col- 
lege training  would  have  given  him.  In  the  mean- 
time his  physical  strength  had  been  exhausted, 
his  father  had  died  and  he  went  back  to  the  low-a 
farm  to  regain  his  health  and  help  his  mother 
take  care  of  the  family.  He  remained  on  the 
farm  two  years  devoting  all  his  spare  time  to 
the  study  of  law.  Owing  to  crop  failures  debts 
had  accumulated  which  he  assumed.  He  de- 
feated a  graduate  of  Harvard  and  another  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin  for  a  position  as  prin- 


cipal of  a  high  school,  took  his  earnings  and 
paid  a  thousand  dollars  of  his  debt  and  got  an 
extension  of  time  on  the  balance.  In  the  spring 
of  1880  he  went  to  Grand  I'orks,  Dakota,  to 
practice  law,  but,  not  satisfied  with  the  outlook, 
he  returned  Octolier  I,  of  the  same  year,  to  .Min- 
neapolis, and  entered  the  law  office  of  Seagrave 
."^mith  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  the  following 
February.  He  was  so  poor  that  he  was  obliged  to 
l)oard  himself,  but  his  indomitable  will  carried  him 
through.  His  first  case  was  a  contest  over  the  title 
to  a  tract  of  land  near  Lake  Minnetonka  which 
had  been  lost  by  two  prominent  attornevs,  but  he 
look  up  a  new  line  of  defense  and  won  his  case. 
Another  notable  series  of  cases  was  that 
of  the  employes  of  the  contractors  en- 
gaged in  opening  .Sixth  avenue  Xorth.  In 
this  case  he  had  arrayed  against  him 
fourteen  able  lawyers,  but  Mr.  Canty  won 
every  case.  He  defended  the  appeals  to  the  dis- 
trict court  and  again  in  the  supreme  court,  but 
he  was  successful  in  ever\-  instance.  At  the  time 
of  the  street  car  strike  in  1889  he  won  distinction 
and  popular  applause  by  his  successful  resistance 
of  the  action  of  the  numicipal  court  in  sentencing 
men  to  the  work  house  whom  he  claimed  were 
in  no  wav  connected  with  the  strike.     He  took 


420 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


the  men  under  sentence  out  of  jail  on 
writs  of  habeas  corpus,  carried  their  cases 
to  the  district  court,  argued  them  before 
Judge  Smith  and  secured  tlieir  release. 
Judge  Canty  was  a  Republican  until  recent 
years  and  aggressive  in  his  defense  of  Re- 
publican principles,  but  the  developments  during 
Grant's  second  term  cooled  his  enthusiasm  con- 
siderably. His  first  vote  was  cast  for  the  Hayes 
electors,  but  he  never  approved  of  the  decision 
of  the  electoral  commission,  doubted  Hayes' 
election  and  v,-as  particularly  displeased  with  the 
action  of  the  commission  in  refusing  to  go  thor- 
oughlv  into  the  evidence.  He  continued  to  vote 
the  Republican  ticket,  however,  on  state  and 
national  matters  until  the  passage  of  the  McKin- 
ley  bill.  In  local  politics  he  was  always  inde- 
pendent. In  the  fall  of  1890  Air.  Canty  was 
nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  for  judge  of 
the  district  court  in  Hennepin  County.  Up  to 
that  time  he  had  never  been  a  candidate  for  or 
held  any  public  office.  He  was  elected  and  held 
that  office  for  three  years.  On  July  14, 
1892,  he  was  nominated  for  associate  justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  by  the  People's  Party  of  Min- 
nesota, and  was  also  nominated  for  the  same 
office  by  the  democratic  party  on  the  next  third 
day  of  August,  and  was  elected.  He  entered 
upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  that  enviable 
and  honorable  position  the  first  of  January,  1894. 
His  record  on  the  district  bench  was  that  of  a 
careful,  painstaking,  able  jurist,  and  since  his 
elevation  to  the  higher  office  of  the  supreme 
bench  he  has  sustained  himself  in  that  regard 
and  justified  the  highest  expectations  of  his 
friends.  Judge  Canty  is  a  member  of  the  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  is  a  thirty-second  degree  Alason 
and  a  Shriner.     He  has  never  married. 


SEAGRAVE  SMITH. 

Seagrave  Smith  is  senior  judge  of  the  dis- 
trict court  of  the  Fourth  Judicial  District,  com- 
posed of  Flennepin,  Wright,  Anoka  and  Isanti 
Counties.  Mr.  Smith  is  of  Welsh  and  English 
Ancestry.  His  father  was  a  farmer  and  fkalcr  in 
livestock  in  Stafford,  'rnll-nul  ('lainty,  Connec- 
ticut, and  was  of  Welsh  descent.     I  lis  ancestors 


were  among  the  early  settlers  at  Scituate,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  those  of  his  mother  were  English, 
and  settled  at  Uxbridge,  ^Massachusetts.  Alary  A. 
Smith's  maiden  name  was  Seagrave,  from  whom 
Judge  Smith  takes  his  name.  Seagrave  Smith 
was  born  September  16,  1828,  at  Stafford;  Con- 
necticut. When  a  boy  he  worked  upon  his  fa- 
ther's farm  and  attended  the  school  of  the  village 
until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age.  He  was  then 
placed  under  the  tutelage  of  Rev.  George  W. 
Pendleton,  a  Baptist  clergyman,  of  whose  church 
his  father  and  mother  were  members.  After 
three  years"  study  with  a  tutor,  he  entered  the 
Connecticut  Literary  Institution,  at  Suffield, 
Connecticut,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1848. 
.Seagrave  had  made  up  his  mind  to  be  a  lawyer, 
but  his  father  was  strongly  opposed  to  that  con- 
clusion, and  offered  to  transfer  him  one-half  of 
his  property  and  an  equal  partnership  in  the  busi- 
ness, and  threatened  that  if  his  offer  was  not  ac- 
cepted, he  W(iuld  furnish  him  no  further  financial 
assistance.  This  did  not  deter  the  young  man 
from  his  purpose.  He  went  to  teaching  school 
and  reading  law,  entering  the  office  of  Alvin  T. 
Hyde,  September  9,  1849,  at  Stafford,  his  native 
town.  Air.  Smith  continued  his  studies  until  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  August  13,  1852.  In  the 
spring  of  185 1  he  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  Pro- 
bate Court.  Soon  after  his  admission  to  the  bar, 
he  made  up  his  mind  to  go  west,  but  he  was  the 
only  child  of  his  parents  and  his  mother  objected 
to  his  going  so  far  away,  and  prevailed  upon  his 
father  to  give  him  a  thousand  dollars  with  which 
to  buy  a  law  library,  if  he  would  remain  in  the 
east.  Seagrave  took  the  thousand  dollars, 
bought  his  library,  and  settled  in  Colchester, 
Connecticut,  in  ( )ctober,  1852,  and  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  In  the  fall  of  1854  he 
was  elected  town  clerk,  in  1855  he  was  elected 
as  a  Demociat  to  the  state  senate,  and  still  later 
was  appointed  clerk  of  the  Probate  Court  of  the 
Colchester  district,  which  office  he  held  until  his 
removal  to  the  west  in  1836.  In  Jul\-,  1836,  Air. 
Stuith  made  a  tri])  to  the  west,  in  accordance 
with  lii^  long  eult'rtaiued  purpose:  visited  Kan- 
sas, but  was  not  pleased  with  the  ])rospect,  and 
came  to  .St.  Paul.  The  outlook  there  was  more 
])roiuising  ;in(l  he  decided  to  make  that  his  future 
home.      .Settling   up   his   business   in    Colchester, 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


421 


he  returned  t(j  Minnesota  in  the  spring  of  1857, 
and  located  at  Hastings,  Ijringing  his  family, 
consisting  of  his  wife  and  two  children.  He 
formed  a  partnershij)  with  J.  W.  Uc  Silva,  and 
began  the  practice  of  law.  He  continued  in  that 
business  at  Hastings  until  1877,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Minneapolis.  During  his  residence  in 
Hastings,  he  was  the  attorney  for  the  Hastings 
&  Dakota  Railroad,  the  St.  Paul  &  Chicago 
Railway,  the  Minnesota  Railway  Construction 
Company,  and  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St. 
Paul  Railroad.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  Democrat,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  politics  in  Dakota  County, 
holding  many  important  positions,  among  which 
was  that  of  County  Attorney,  to  which  he  was 
elected  in  1857;  County  Commissioner,  to  which 
he  was  elected  in  i860,  Judge  of  Probate,  to 
which  lie  was  elected  in  1861,  and  re-elected  in 
1863  and  1865,  holding  the  ofifice  six  years.  In 
1867  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  and  in 
1873  was  again  chosen  for  County  Attorney.  In 
1875  he  ran  as  an  independent  candidate  for  the 
State  Senate  against  Ignatius  Donnelly,  and  was 
defeated  by  a  small  majority.  He  took  an  especial 
interest  in  the  public  schools,  and  was  influential 
in  establishing  the  graded  schools  of  Hastings. 
But  Hastings  was  too  small  a  field,  and  in  1S77 
Mr.  Smith  moved  to  Minneapolis,  He  formed 
a  partnership  with  W.  E.  Hale,  which  continued 
until  the  spring  of  1880.  For  three  years  he 
conducted  his  business  without  a  partner,  but  in 
1883  he  went  into  partnership  with  S.  A.  Reed, 
which  continued  until  March.  i88q,  when  he  was 
appointed  Judge  of  the  District  Court  of  the 
Fourth  Judicial  District,  which  position  he  now 
holds.  In  i8yo  he  was  elected  without  opposition, 
being  supported  by  all  parties,  and  was  elected 
again  in  i8g6  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  In 
1887  he  was  elected  City  Attorney  by  the  City 
Council,  and  held  the  office  for  two  terms.  Judge 
Smith  has  been  honored  liy  his  political  friends 
with  numerous  nominations  to  important  posi- 
tions, among  which  were  Judge  of  the  District 
Court  in  the  h'irst  Judicial  District,  in  1864,  and 
again  in  1874.  and  Attorney  General  of  the  State 
of  Minnesota  in  1869.  In  1884  Judge  Smith  was 
the  Democratic  nominee  for  District  Judge  for 
the  Fourth  Judicial  District,  but  was  defeated  by 
Hon.  A.  H.  Young.  In  1888  he  was  nominated 
bv  the   Democrats  as  their  candidate  for  Chief 


Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  but  was  defeated 
by  Hon.  James  Gilfillan.  He  was  nominated  by 
the  Democrats  for  the  same  office  in  1894,  but 
was  defeated  by  the  present  incumbent,  Hon.  C. 
M.  Start.  In  each  instance  he  ran  ahead  of  his 
jiarty  ticket,  which  was  in  the  minority.  Judge 
.*>mith  as  a  lawyer  and  judge  possesses  superior 
ability  and  strict  integrity,  and  has  discharged 
the  duties  of  the  responsible  position  he  now  oc- 
cupies in  such  a  manner  as  to  command  the  con- 
fidence and  respect  of  the  profession  and  the  pub- 
lic generally.  Judge  Smith  is  very  domestic  in 
his  habits.  He  enjoys  the  comforts  of  home  and 
the  society  of  his  family,  and  can  always  be  found 
at  home  when  not  engaged  in  business  elsewhere. 
He  has  been  married  three  times:  first  to  Miss  S. 
Almira  Cady,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Captain 
John  P.  Cady,  of  Monson,  Alassachusetts.  The 
issue  of  this  marriage  was  four  children,  two  sons 
and  two  daughters:  two  of  these  are  still  living, 
Cady  and  Claribel.  He  married  for  his  second 
wife,  Mrs.  Fidelia  P.  Hatch  widow  of  Professor 
Homer  Hatch,  of  Hastings,  Minnesota.  By  this 
marriage  he  had  one  son,  Theron  S.,  who  is  now 
living.  For  his  third  wife  he  married  Mrs.  Har- 
riet P.  Norton,  of  Otis.  Massachusetts,  widow  of 
Albert  T.  Norton,  who  had  lived  and  died  in 
Flastings.  Minnesota.  She  is  still  living,  but  has 
nci  living  children. 


422 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


^■ 


y^-^. 


WILLIAM  \VL\1)(J.M. 

No  other  of  .Minnesota's  sons  has  been  able  to 
measure  up  to  the  stature  of  William  Windom  as 
a  statesman.  For  ten  years  he  sat  in  the  house  of 
representatives,  for  twelve  \ears  he  was  a  distin- 
guished member  of  the  United  States  senate,  and 
two  jjresidents  of  the  United  States  called  upon 
hini  to  discharge  the  important  duties  of  secre- 
tary of  the  treasury.  While  a  member  of  the  cab- 
inet of  President  Harrison,  he  died,  January  29, 
1891,  and  in  him  the  whole  nation  felt  that  it  had 
lost  one  of  the  al)lest  and  most  careful  men  who 
ever  served  it  as  head  of  the  treasury^  department. 
Mr.  Windom  was  a  Quaker  by  descent,  and  his 
father  and  mother,  Hezekiah  and  Alercy  Windom. 
traced  tlieir  ancestry  back  to  Quaker  families  that 
settled  in  \  irginia  early  in  the  Eighteenth  cen- 
tury. He  was  the  youngest  child  of  the  family, 
and  was  born  in  Helmont  County,  Ohio,  May  10, 
1827,  and  there  passed  the  first  ten  years  of  his 
life.  His  parents  then  went  to  Knox  County, 
Ohio,  which  became  the  permanent  family  home, 
and  here  it  was  that  the  youngest  son  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  and  cstali- 
lishcd  the  splendid  character  upon  which  he  so 
succcssfullv  builded   his  future.     As  a  bov   Mr, 


Windom  was  attracted  to  the  profession  of  law, 
and  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  his  parents, 
who  as  Quakers  regarded  the  law  with  peculiar 
disfavor,  and  were  anxious  that  their,  son  should 
learn  an  "honest  trade,"  took  an  academic  course 
at  Alartinsburg,  Ohio,  which  he  followed  by  a 
thorough  law  course  in  the  office  of  Judge  R.  C. 
Hurd.  of  Mt.  Vernon,  Ohio.  In  1850,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and 
after  five  years  of  practice  in  his  native  state, 
came  to  Minnesota,  locating  in  Winona.  In  1856, 
after  he  had  been  a  resident  of  this  state  for  one 
year,  he  was  married,  in  Wandck,  Massachusetts, 
to  Ellen  Towne,  third  daughter  of  the  Rev,  R.  C. 
Hatch.  It  was  in  the  fall  of  1858,  when  he  was 
thirty-one  years  of  age,  that  he  entered  public 
life,  and  was  elected  as  a  republican  to  the  Thirty- 
seventh  congress.  This  was  the  commencement 
of  a  brilliant  congressional  career,  which  termi- 
nated in  1869,  when  he  was  appointed  L'nited 
States  senator  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  I ).  S. 
Norton,  deceased.  The  legislature  elected  him  to 
the  senate  in  1871,  and  re-elected  him  in  1877. 
Mr.  Windom's  name  w-as  presented  to  the  na- 
tional Republican  convention  of  1880  as  a  candi- 
date for  nomination  to  the  presidency,  and  the 
loyalty  with  which  the  delegates  from  Minnesota 
supported  him  during  twenty-eight  ballots  fur- 
nishes one  of  the  most  interesting  incidents  in  the 
political  history  of  the  state.  President  Garfield, 
who  was  the  nominee  of  that  convention,  made 
Mr.  Windom  secretarv  of  the  treasurv  in  his  cab- 
inet, and  in  this  position  he  served  until  the  death 
of  Garfield  and  the  accession  of  Mr.  Arthur. 
.Sliortly  after  his  retirement  from  the  cabinet  the 
Minnesota  legislature  again  elected  him  to  the 
United  States  senate,  where  he  served  nut  another 
unexpired  term,  retiring  from  that  bodv  March 
3,  1883.  P'rom  this  time  until  March,  i88<),  when 
he  entered  President  Harrison's  cabinet  to  take 
the  treasury  portfolio,  he  devoted  himself  to  his 
private  business.  As  a  national  financier  he  had 
a  high  standing,  and  from  1889  to  t8<)i,  the  war 
of  his  death,  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  members  of  the  Harrison  administration. 
He  achieved  a  world-wide  reputation  in  connec- 
tion with  his  idan  for  refunding  the  public  debt. 
It  was  in  aj)i)reciation  of  his  skill  in  finance  and  of 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


423 


his  distinguislicd  public  services  that  tiie  Board  of 
Trade  and  Transportation  of  New  York  invited 
him  to  api)ear  Ijefore  it  for  an  address.  He  was 
reciuested  to  fix  the  date  liimsclf,  which  he  did 
for  fanuary  29,  iStji.  On  that  day  lie  i^roceeded 
fnnn  Washington  to  New  York,  where  he  joined 
a  brilliant  company  of  New  York  business  men 
at  Delmonico's.  During  the  progress  of  the 
banquet  he  resi)nndcd  to  the  toast,  "( )ur  Coun- 
try's Prosperity  Dependent  L'pon  Its  Instruments 
of  Commerce."  He  spoke  for  forty  minutes,  and 
the  applause  which  greeted  him  at  the  close  was 
a  fitting  tribute  to  what  was  pcriiaps  the  most 
brilliant  oratorical  cfTort  of  his  life.  He  arose  in 
his  place  to  bow  his  thanks  to  the  gentlemen 
whose  guest  he  was.  and,  sitting  down,  the  fes- 
tivities were  about  to  proceed  when  it  was  dis- 
covered that  he  was  dead.  He  had  passed  away 
from  heart  disease  inunediately  upon  taking  his 
seat,  certainly  without  warning,  and  probably 
without  pain,  for  when  attention  was  attracted  to 
him  his  eves  were  closed  and  he  looked  as  if  he 
had  fallen  asleep. 


CHARLE.S  AlUNRO  START. 

C.  M.  Start  occupies  the  honoraljle  pijsition  of 
chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Minnesota. 
Judge  Start  is  a  son  of  Simeon  Gould  Start  and 
Marv  S.  (Barnes)  Start.  His  parents  were  both  of 
English  descent  and  from  the  south  of  England. 
He  was  born  October  4,  1839,  at  Bakersfield. 
Franklin  County,  \'ermont,  and  received  his 
schooling  at  Barre  Academy.  He  began  his  study 
of  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  William  C.  Wilson  at 
Bakersfield,  \'ennont.  where  he  was  admitted 
to  practice  in  i860.  He  was  engaged  in  the  prac- 
tice of  law  until  he  enlisted  in  July,  1862,  in  Com- 
pany I  of  the  Tenth  \'ermont  \'olunteers.  He  was 
commissioned  first  lieutenant  of  the  same  com- 
pany August  II,  the  same  year.  On  December 
I,  1862,  he  resigned  from  the  service  on  a  sur- 
geon's certificate  of  disability.  The  next  year,  1863, 
he  removed  to  Minnesota  and  settled  in  October 
at  Rochester,  where  he  began  the  practice  of  law 
and  where  he  has  resided  ever  since.  Judge  Start 
is  Republican  and  cast  his  first  vote  for  Lincoln  in 
i860.     His  abilitv  as  a  vonnsf  lawver  was  recog- 


nized in  Olmsted  t_'ount\-  in  his  election  to  the 
office  of  count)-  attorney  for  eight  years.  In  1879 
he  was  elected  attorney-general  of  .Minnesota  and 
served  from  January  i,  1880,  until  March  12, 1881, 
when  he  resigned  to  accept  an  appointment  to 
the  office  of  judge  of  the  Third  Judicial  District. 
He  conducted  the  duties  of  that  office  with  such 
signal  ability  that  he  was  unanimously  re-elected 
for  three  successive  terms  and  was  occupying 
that  position  when,  in  i8()4.  he  was  nominated  by 
the  Republicans  for  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  He  was  elected  and  took  his  seat  on  Janu- 
ary 5,  1805.  He  now  holds  that  position, 
the  most  honorable  in  the  gift  of  the  state,  and 
discharges  the  duties  of  his  office  with  great 
aliility  and  fairness,  and  has  the  confidence  of  the 
people  and  of  the  legal  profession  of  the  state 
in  an  unusual  degree.  He  possesses  those  quali- 
ties which  go  to  make  up  the  best  equipment  of 
the  careful,  conscientious  and  able  jurist,  and  his 
selection  to  this  office  has  given  unanimous  satis- 
faction, not  only  to  the  members  of  his  own  party, 
but  to  the  Democratic  jiarty  as  well.  Judge  Start 
is  an  attendant  of  the  Congregational  church.  He 
was  married  .\ugust  10,  1865,  to  Clara  A.  A\'ilson, 
of  Bakersfield,  \'ermont.  Thev  have  one  child, 
Clara  L.  Start. 


424 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES  GRA\ES  TITCOMB. 

Charles  Graves  Titcomb,  of  St.  Paul,  was 
born  at  Nashua,  New  Hampshire,  March  20,  1844. 
Mr.  Titcomb  is  a  son  of  John  Pierson  Titcomb.  a 
merchant  of  Harvard,  Illinois,  and  of  Lavinia 
Atwood  Smith  (Titcomb).  His  grandfather  on 
his  father's  side  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point, 
where  he  completed  his  military  course  with  high 
honors.  He  was  also  a  poet  as  well  as  a  musician 
of  marked  ability.  John  Pierson  Titcomb's  mother 
was  of  French  birth.  The  grandparents  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  on  his  mother's  side  were 
residents  of  Bangor,  Maine.  Charles  Graves  re- 
ceived his  early  education  at  Charlestown,  Alas- 
sachusetts,  and  was  early  employed  in  Boston  in 
an  art  establishment,  where  he  earned  his  first 
dollar.  He  received  his  musical  education  in 
Boston,  and  in  1865  came  West  to  Chicago,  where 
he  spent  a  number  of  years  as  a  teacher  of  music. 
In  1882  he  removed  to  St.  Paul,  and  has  been 
successfully  engaged  as  a  teacher  of  the  piano  in 
that  city  ever  since.  He  numbers  among  his 
pupils  a  large  number  of  musicians  of  talent, 
among  them  teachers  who  have  achieved  success 
with  his  methods.  He  w'as  the  organist  at  the 
House  of  Hope   Presbyterian    Church    for    ten 


years,  but  is  at  present  filling  the  position  of  or- 
ganist at  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  St.  Paul. 
Mr.  Titcomb  has  an  honorable  record  as  a  soldier, 
having  enlisted  in  the  Forty-seventh  ]\Iassacliu- 
setts  regiment  as  private  and  serving  under  Gen- 
eral Banks  in  the  Department  of  the  Gulf,  from 
which  service  he  was  honorably  discharged  after 
the  fall  of  \'icksburg. 


ROBERT    BRUCE    LANGDON. 

From  1848,  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,. 
July  24,  1895,  Mr.  Langdon  was  engaged  in  the 
construction  of  railroads,  and  a  full  account  of 
his  life  would  almost  comprise  a  history  of 
railroad  building  in  the  United  States  during 
that  period.  Air.  Langdon  was  bom  on  a  farm 
in  New  Haven,  \'erniont,  November  24,  1826. 
On  both  his  father's  and  mother's  side  his 
ancestry  was  English.  His  father,  Seth  Lang- 
don, was  an  agriculturist,  and  was  also  born  at 
New  Haven.  His  paternal  grandfather  was  a 
captain  of  a  Massachusetts  regiment  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War.  At  its  close  he  settled  in  Con- 
necticut, but  later  removed  to  Vermont,  and  was 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  that  state.  The  mother 
of  R.  I).  Langdon  was  of  an  English  family  by 
the  name  of  Squires.  Robert  Bruce  Langdon 
grew  up  to  manhood  in  his  native  towm,  receiv- 
ing his  early  education  in  the  district  schools, 
which  was  supplemented  by  a  brief  academical 
course.  He  began  his  business  career  in  1848 
as  the  foreman  of  a  construction  company 
engaged  in  building  the  Rutland  &  Burlington 
Railroad  in  \'ermont.  A  short  time  later  he  left 
his  native  state  in  the  employment  of  Mr.  Selah 
Chamberlain,  coming  West,  and  for  several 
years  was  engaged  in  railroad  construction  work 
under  his  employer  in  Ohio  and  Wisconsin. 
The  first  contract  Mr.  LangtUm  received  on  his 
own  account  was  for  fencing  the  Chicago  & 
Northwestern  Railroad  from  h'ond  du  I^ac  to 
^linnesota  Junctinn.  In  1853  he  had  charge 
of  the  construction  of  a  section  of  seventy-five 
miles  of  the  Illinois  Central  road  from  Kanka- 
kee, Illinois,  to  Urbana,  (  iliin,  and  later  was 
engaged  on  contracts  for  the  .Milwaukee  &  La 
Crosse  and  the  Milwaukee  &  Prairie  du  Chien 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


425 


railroads.  'J'hc  tirsl  gruuiul  Inukcn  for  a  rail- 
road in  Minnesota  was  done  under  tlic  direction 
of  Mr.  Langdon  in  1858.  At  tin-  oullireak  ol 
the  Civil  War  he  was  compelled  to  abandijn  the 
construction  of  the  .Moliile  iS:  (  )hio  Railroad,  on 
which  he  had  been  engaged  two  years.  During 
his  business  career  as  a  railroad  contractor,  in 
association  with  I).  M.  Carfjcntcr,  D.  C. 
Sliepard,  A.  H.  Linton  and  other  gentlemen  Mr. 
Langdon  constructed  more  than  seven  thousand 
miles  of  railroad  in  the  states  of  N'erniont,  <  'hio, 
Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Mimiesota,  Ten- 
nessee, Mississippi,  Iowa,  the  Dakotas,  Montana 
and  the  Northwest  Territory.  But  in  addition 
to  being  one  of  the  foremost  railroad  contractors 
in  the  Ignited  States,  !ie  was  connectect  with  the 
management  of  some  of  the  most  important 
lines  in  the  Northwest  as  a  stockholder  and 
director.  He  was  vice  president  and  a  director 
of  the  Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis  Railroad,  and 
f(jr  several  years  a  vice  president  of  the  .Minne- 
apolis, Sault  Ste.  Marie  &  Atlantic  Railroad. 
Mr.  Langdon  also  turned  his  energies  in  other 
directions  aside  from  that  of  railroad  building, 
and  was  connected  with  numerous  other  enter- 
prises in  the  Northwest.  He  was  held  in  great 
esteem  for  his  ability  as  a  financier  and  his 
indomitable  business  energy,  and  his  advice  was 
sought  as  to  a  great  many  public,  as  well  as 
private,  enterprises.  He  Iniilt  the  canal  of  the 
Minneapolis  ]\Iilling  Company  in  1866;  was 
president  of  the  company  which  built  the  Syn- 
dicate Block  and  the  Masonic  Temple  in  Minne- 
apolis; was  a  director  of  the  Twin  City  Stock 
Yards  of  New  B)righton,  and  of  the  City  r>ank 
of  Minneapolis:  a  jjartner  in  the  wholesale  gro- 
cery firm  of  George  R.  Newell  &  Co.,  and  was 
interested  in  the  Terminal  Elevator  Company 
and  the  I'elt  Railway,  connecting  the  stock  yards 
at  New  I'righton  with  the  interurban  .systems  of 
railroad.  Not  oidy  was  he  active  in  all  enter- 
rises  tending  to  the  upbuilding  of  his  city  and 
state,  but  Mr.  Langdon  also  took  an  active  part 
as  a  legislator,  and  was  distinguished  for  his 
close  attention  to  the  interests  of  the  community 
which  he  represented  and  for  his  sound  and 
practical  ideas.  He  was  connected  with  the 
Repiililican   part\-  all   his  life.     In    1872   he  was 


elected  to  the  upper  house  of  the  state  legisla- 
ture, and  his  services  were  so  satisfactory  in  that 
body  that  he  was  successively  re-elected,  ser\'ing 
continuously  until  1878.  In  1880  he  was  again 
elected  to  the  senate  and  served  until  1885.  He 
was  the  choice  of  his  party  for  the  same  ofifice 
in  1888,  but  was  beaten  bv  his  Democratic 
oijponent  b\-  only  a  few  votes,  this  defeat  being 
due  to  the  Farmers'  Alliance  landslide  of  that 
year.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  state  senate 
at  the  extra  session  called  by  Governor  Pillsbury 
to  act  upon  the  adjustment  of  the  state  railroad 
bonds,  and  was  an  earnest  supporter  of  all  efiforts 
made  toward  securing  adequate  legislation  for 
the  final  settlement  of  this  vexatious  question. 
It  is  noteworthy  of  Mr.  Langdon's  popularity 
that  he  ne\-er  had  a  competitor  in  a  convention, 
receiving  his  nomination  by  acclamation.  He 
often  represented  his  party  in  state  conventions, 
and  was  a  delegate  from  Minnesota  to  three 
national  con\entions:  at  Cincinnati  in  1876,  and 
Chicago  in  1884  and  1888.  To  his  influence  to  a 
consideral)le  extent  is  due  the  fact  that  Minne- 
apolis secured  the  national  convention  in  1892. 
He  had  a  large  ac(|uaintance  among  men  of 
national  reputation  in  this  country,  and  his  influ- 
ence   was    widespread   and    potent,    iK^t   only   in 


426 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


molding  the  business  and  political  destinies  of 
his  city  and  state,  but  in  the  councils  and  the 
national  conventions  of  his  jjarty.  He  was  a 
man  of  large,  robust  physique,  a:id  possessed  a 
personality  that  was  both  magnetic  and  impres- 
sive. His  numerous  bvisiness  enterprises  did  not 
deter  him  from  studious  habits  formed  in  youth, 
and  few  men  w'ere  his  conversational  equals  on 
such  a  diversity  of  topics.  The  sterling  qualities 
of  his  character  were  such  as  to  endear  him  to 
men  in  all  walks  of  life,  and  his  death  is  mourned 
by  a  large  circle  of  sincere  and  devoted  friends. 
His  name  has  been  honored  by  having  two 
towns  named  for  him,  viz.:  Langdon,  in  North 
Dakota,  and  Langdon,  in  Minnesota.  Mr. 
Langdon  was  for  some  time  president  of  the 
Minneapolis  Club.  In  his  religious  faith  he  was 
an  Episcopalian,  and  up  to  the  time  of  his  death 
was  a  vestryman  of  St.  Mark's  Church.  He  was 
married  in  1850  to  Miss  Sarah  Smith,  a  daughter 
of  Dr.  Horatio  A.  Smith,  of  New  Haven,  \"er- 
mont.  In  1866  he  brought  his  family  to  Minne- 
apolis, where  they  have  ever  since  resided.  The 
family  consists  of  three  children,  Cavour  S. 
Langdon,  Airs.  H.  C.  Truesdale  and  Mrs.  W.  l~. 
Brooks,  all  three  of  whom  are  married  and  live 
in  Minneapolis. 


JOHN    B.    SANBORN. 

Of  the  many  gallant  soldiers  whom  Minnesota 
gave  to  the  armies  of  the  North  during  the  war 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Lnion,  General  John 
B.  Sanborn,  of  St.  Paul,  is  one  of  the  most 
eminent,  and  to  the  glories  of  a  military  career 
he  has  added  those  of  an  ec|ually  brilliant  civil 
career.  As  a  lawyer  and  statesman  he  has  occu- 
pied a  conspicuous  j^lace  in  the  life  of  Minnesota 
for  more  than  a  generation.  He  was  born  in 
Epsom,  .Merriniac  Countv,  New  llanipshire, 
Deceml)er  5,  1826,  on  the  homestead  which  has 
been  in  jjossession  of  the  Sanborn  faniilv  for 
seven  successive  generations,  and  ahhonL;h  now 
beyond  "three  score  years  and  ten."  i'-  in  roni])letc 
possession  of  all  liis  ])owcrs  of  mind  and  l)odv. 
On  both  sides  he  is  descended  from  Xew  l''ng- 
land  families,  and  his  grandfathers  were  revolu- 
tionary soldiers.     I  lis  boyhood  years  were  passed 


on  the  farm,  and  he  acquired  his  early  knowletlge 
of  books  at  a  country  school.  President  Franklin 
Pierce  advised  him  to  study  law,  and  so  he 
entered  the  office  of  Judge  Asa  Fowler,  in  Con- 
cord, in  1851,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
that  town  in  1854,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven. 
It  was  in  this  year  that  he  removed  to  Minnesota, 
locating  at  St.  Paul,  where  he  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  and  has  since  resided.  'I'heo- 
dore  I'Vench  was  his  first  partner  in  the  law,  and 
subseipiently  the  firm  became  Sanborn,  I'Yench 
&  Lund.  In  1859  he  served  as  a  member  of  the 
lower  house  of  the  legislature,  and  in  i860  was 
elected  to  the  state  senate.  When  the  civil  war 
began,  in  the  spring  of  1861,  Governor  Alexander 
Ramsey  appointetl  him  adjutant  general  of  the 
state,  and  after  organizing  and  e<|nipping  the 
First,  Second,  Third,  Fourth  and  Fifih  Regiments 
of  \ Klunteer  Infantry,  and  two  batteries  and  one 
battalion  of  cavalry,  he  enlisted  in  the  Fourth 
Regiment,  in  December,  1861,  and  was  made  its 
colonel.  From  this  time  on  to  the  close  of  the 
war  he  was  constantly  in  the  service.  In  the 
spring  of  1862  the  Fourth  Regiment  was  ordered 
.South,  and  joined  General  Halleck's  army  in 
front  of  Corinth.  After  an  eventful  spring  and 
sunnner,  Sanborn,  on  .September  ly,  1862,  being 
then  in  command  of  the  First  Brigade  of  the 
Third  Division,  Army  of  the  Mississippi,  took 
part  in  the  fiercely  contested  battle  of  luka.  His 
brigade  was  in  the  hottest  part  of  the  fight,  losing 
six  hundred  men  in  killed  and  wounded,  but  not 
without  some  compensation,  for  to  it  belonged 
the  credit  of  saving  the  day.  (General  Rosecrans 
took  occasion,  in  his  orders,  to  give  .'^anborn  the 
most  flattering  mention  for  his  skill  antl  gallantry. 
'  )n  (  )ctober  3  and  4,  he  connnanded  a  Iirigade 
at  the  battle  of  Corinth,  and  sustained  the 
reputati(in  previousK-  made  at  Tuka.  From  this 
time  on  he  was  in  all  of  Grant's  campaigns  in 
the  Mississippi  X'alley.  including  tlu'  campaign 
against  \'icksl)urg.  l-'rom  .\]iril  15  to  May 
2,  1863,  (jeneral  .^anboni  connnanded  the 
Seventh  Division  of  the  !-^e\(.-nteenth  .Army 
Corps.  Resuming  connnand  of  his  brigade,  he 
was  in  engagements  ;it  Raymond.  Mississijipi, 
May  12:  at  Jackson.  May  14:  at  Champion 
TTills.  Ma\'   16.  rnid  in  the  ;issanlt   on  \'icksbm-sr. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


427 


May  22,  un  wliiih  last  named  ilay  lie  was  again 
in  coniniaiid  of  llic  Seventh  Division.  Cjenerai 
Grant  elected  Sanborn's  brigade  to  lead  tin- 
advance  into  N'icksbnrg,  on  Jnly  4,  after  tin- 
snrrcnder.  In  1X62,  shortly  aftei-  luka  and 
Corinth,  i'resident  Lincoln  pronK)ted  Sanborn  to 
the  i)osition  of  brigadier  general  of  volnnteers. 
btit  the  appointment  lapsed  owing  to  the  adjonrn- 
ment  of  congress,  March  4,  1863,  before  his  name 
was  reached  for  confirmation,  lie  <h(l  not  receive 
his  commission  nntil  Angnst  4,  11^63.  or  after 
the  events  referred  to  in  the  [)receding  paragraph 
of  this  article.  In  ( )ctober,  1863,  he  took  com- 
mand of  the  Southwest  Missouri  district,  where 
he  remained  until  the  close  of  the  war,  sup- 
pressing the  guerrillas  who  infested  that  country, 
and  in  various  other  ways  assisting  in  the  restora- 
tion of  order.  It  was  in  the  fall  of  1864,  while  in 
this  station,  that  he  resisted  the  attempt  of  the 
Confederate  forces  inider  (ieneral  Sterling  Price 
to  invade  I\lissoin'i,  having  under  his  conunand 
during  the  invasion  period  nearly  all  of  the 
Federal  cavalry  forces  west  of  the  .Mississippi, 
some  ten  thousand  men.  In  all  of  his  engage- 
ments with  Price,  and  tlie\-  were  numerous, 
he  was  victorious,  capturing  a  numl)er  of  guns, 
taking  several  thousand  prisoners,  and  so  crip- 
pling Price  that  he  was  of  little  further  service  to 
tlie  Confederacy.  In  June,  1863,  General  Sanborn 
went  to  P'ort  Riley,  Kansas,  from  which  head- 
quarters he  directed  the  opening  up  of  a  line  of 
travel  to  Colorado  and  New  Mexico,  and  sup- 
pressed an  Indian  uiirising,  all  in  the  short  period 
of  ninety  days.  In  June,  1866,  he  was  mustered 
out  of  the  service,  and  returned  to  St.  Paul, 
resuming  the  iiractice  of  law,  the  tirm  name  now 
being  Sanliorn  &  King.  In  1868  this  ijartnership 
was  dissolved,  and  General  Sanborn  in  1871  had 
associated  himself  with  his  ne])hew,  Walter  H. 
Sanborn.  In  1880  Edward  P.  Sanborn,  another 
nephew  entered  the  firm.  In  1867  General  San- 
l)orn  was  named,  with  Generals  .Sherman  and 
Terry,  Senator  lohn  P>.  Hciulerson  of  Missouri, 
and  Colonel  Samuel  Tap])an,  as  peace  conmiis- 
sioners  to  treat  with  a  number  of  hostile  Indian 
tribes,  including  the  Sioux,  Arrapahoes.  Kiowas 
and  Comanches.  In  1872,  and  again  in  1882,  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Alinnesota  legislature.     His 


I 


£S»€ 


"% 


last  service  in  that  body  was  as  state  senator  from 
1 8' JO  to  1894.  Ill  i860  he  was  a  candidate  for 
the  L/nited  States  senate  and  was  defeated  by 
.Morton  .s.  Wilkinson  by  two  votes.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  restoring  the  credit  of  the  state  at 
the  time  of  the  recognition  and  settlement  of  the 
railrc  ad  Ijond  debt.  General  Sanborn  has  been 
honored  in  various  ways  in  addition  to  those 
mentioned.  He  was  the  first  commander  of  the 
Alinnesota  Commanden-  of  the  Loyal  Legion 
and  of  the  Grand  .Army  of  the  Rci)ublic  in  Min- 
nesota, bor  several  years  he  was  president  of 
the  .St.  Paul  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He  has 
been  a  trustee  of  the  State  Historical  Societv, 
vice  president  of  the  National  (jerman-American 
Rank,  and  director  or  officer  of  a  number  of 
other  prominent  societies  and  institutions.  In 
March,  1857,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Catharine 
Hall,  of  Newton,  New  Jersey,  who  died  in  i860. 
In  November,  1865.  he  married  .Miss  .Anna  Nixon, 
of  Bridgeton,  New  Jersey,  a  sister  of  the  Hon. 
John  T.  Nixon,  of  the  Federal  Court  of  New 
Jersey.  She  died  in  June.  1878.  .April  15.  1880, 
General  .Sanborn  married  Miss  Rachel  Rice. 
daughter  of  Hon.  Edmund  Rice,  of  St.  Paul,  who 
has  borne  him  four  children. 


428 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


FRANK  U.  EDDY. 

Frank  M.  Eddy,  of  Glenwood,  Pope  County, 
member  of  congress  from  the  Seventh  District,  is 
a  striking  example  of  a  self-made  man.  Any- 
where else  but  in  a  republic  the  door  of  opportun- 
ity never  would  have  swung  open  before  him,  and 
his  talents  never  would  have  been  recognized.  He 
would  have  lived  and  died  in  the  humble  station 
in  which  he  was  born,  and  in  no  large  sense  would 
the  world  have  profited  bv  his  being  in  it,  or  even 
been  ready  to  give  him  a  hearing.  Mr.  Eddy 
comes  from  the  sturdy  I'uritan  stock  of  Xew 
England,  and  away  back  in  the  twilight  days  of 
the  colonies  his  ancestors  played  no  mean  part  in 
the  successive  stages  of  the  political  drama  whose 
great  climax  was  American  independence.  Early 
in  the  centurv  one  liranch  of  this  faniih'  settled  in 
the  then  unknown  West,  and  to  this  branch  Con- 
gressman Eddy  belongs.  He  is  a  Minnesotan  by 
birth,  and  bears  the  unic|ue  distinction  of  being 
the  first  of  her  native  sons  to  be  called  to  either 
branch  of  the  federal  congress.  .April  t.  1856,  he 
was  born  at  Pleasant  Grove,  ( )lmste<l  County, 
Minnesota,  and  when  four  vears  old  followed  his 
parents  to  Towa.     In   186^  the  family  returncfl  to 


Elmira,  Olmsted  County,  where  young  Eddy  re- 
mained until  1867,  when  he  settled  in  Pope 
CovnUy.  In  1874  we  find  him  again  in  Olmsted 
County  going  to  school  in  the  winter  and  during 
vacation  season  working  in  a  brick  yard  in  order 
to  earn  money  with  which  to  pursue  his  studies. 
In  1878  liis  schooling  was  at  an  entl,  and  he  be- 
came a  country  school  teacher.  He  taught  one 
term  in  Filmore  County  and  one  in  Renville 
CoiuUy,  and  in  the  winter  of  1879-80  he  returned 
to  Pope  County,  where  he  continued  to  teach  for 
three  years  longer.  In  1883  .Mr.  Eddy  was 
"cruiser"  or  land  examiner  for  the  Northern 
Pacific  railroad  company,  a  very  humble  position, 
but  one  which  seemed  to  promise  more  in  the 
wa}'  of  opportunities  than  the  schoolroom.  The 
change  was  for  the  better,  for  in  1884  Mr.  Eddy 
went  into  politics  and  became  the  Republican 
candidate  for  clerk  of  the  district  court  of  Pope 
County.  He  was  elected  and  held  this  position 
for  ten  years,  or  until  he  was  elected  to  congress 
for  the  first  time,  in  181J4.  He  is  also  an  expert 
stenographer,  and  was  court  reporter  of  the  Six- 
teenth Judicial  District  for  several  years.  To  his 
education  in  English  he  has  added  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  Scandinavian  language,  and  his 
studies  in  this  direction  have  repaid  him  many 
fold  in  smoothing  the  difficulties  of  a  political 
canvass  in  an  agricultural  district  among  con- 
stituents, a  large  portion  of  whom  speak  one  or 
the  other  of  those  languages.  Mr.  Eddy  was 
elected  to  congress  in  1894  by  a  plurality  of  about 
eight  hundred  votes  over  the  sitting'  member,  H. 
E.  Poen.  The  district  was  considered  as  being 
safely  in  the  possession  of  the  new  Populist  party, 
and  his  success  was  something  of  a  surprise  to 
those  wild  (lid  not  know  the  man  and  his  almost 
limitless  resources  in  politics.  In  1896  he  was 
elected  a  second  time,  his  plurality  being  upwards 
of  two  thousand  and  two  hundred.  This  last  was 
a  personal  victory,  for  every  Republican  candidate 
for  presidential  elector  and  every  Republican 
candidate  on  the  state  ticket  went  out  of  the  Sev- 
enth District  with  a  lu'a\\  margin  of  votes 
against  him.  Mr.  Eddy  is  one  of  the  best  cam- 
paigners in  Minnesota  politics,  and  his  powers  of 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


+29 


ciulurancc  arc  ruiiiarkahlc.  In  c(ini;rL'ss  he  has 
fultillcil  every  pledge  and  cniiie  up  to  every  ex- 
pectatit)!!.  lie  is  a  close  observer,  an  intelli.nent 
and  jxUient  investigator,  a  thorough  student  ol 
men  and  events,  and  one  of  the  best  posted  men 
on  the  political  issues  of  the  day  of  whom  the 
stale  can  Ijoast  at  this  time,  ilis  growth  to  the 
full  stature  of  jjublic  manhood  has  been  very 
rapid.  He  pmmises  to  be  an  im])ortant  factor  in 
the  life  of  this  state  for  vears  to  come. 


ALEXANDER  M.  HARRISON. 

Alexander  M.  Harrison  is  a  lawyer,  practicing 
his  profession  in  .Minneapolis.  He  is  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  was  born  in  \'enango  County, 
the  fifth  of  November,  1847.  His  father,  Charles 
Harrison,  was  descended  from  English  stock. 
He  was  born  at  Orange,  New  Jersey  (where  his 
family  has  lived  ever  since),  and  followed  the 
occupation  of  an  agriculturist  in  \'enango  County, 
P'ennsylvania.  With  the  industrious  and  frugal 
habits  of  the  New  Englander,  he  had  attained 
comfortable  financial  circumstances.  His  wife's 
maiden  name  was  Catharine  E.  DeWitt,  who  was 
of  Dutch  descent.  Alexander  was  given  by  his 
parents  considerabl)-  better  educational  advan- 
tages than  those  usually  accorded  to  farmers" 
boys,  especially  of  that  period.  His  elementary 
education  was  received  in  the  district  school  in 
Perry,  in  \'enango  County,  and  later  in  an 
academy  in  the  same  town.  When  thirteen  years 
old  he  left  home  and  attended  an  academy  at 
Pleasantville,  in  the  same  state.  He  remained 
here  until  he  was  eighteen,  then  entered  the 
Fredonia  .\cademy,  at  Fredonia,  in  Chautau(|ua 
County,  New  York,  from  which  institution  he 
graduated  three  years  later.  Having  made  up 
his  mind  to  make  law  his  profession  in  life,  Alex- 
ander had  begun  studying  law  during  liis  leisure 
hours  in  the  Fredonia  x\cademv.  After  leaving 
there,  he  worked  for  a  while  in  the  oil  fields  ot 
his  native  state,  rimning  a  stationary  engine  for 
drilling  and  pumping  oil  wells,  with  which  to 
earn  money  to  complete  his  law  studies,  and  in 
this   wav    he   earned     his    first    dollar.       Having 


secured  sufficient  funds  to  pay  his  expenses  at 
Ann  Arbor,  he  entered  the  law  de])artment  of  the 
University  of  ^lichigan,  and  graduated  in  x\pril, 
1870.  He  came  West  and  located  at  Charles  City, 
Iowa,  where  he  "hung  out  his  shingle"  and  began 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  he  has 
been  actively  engaged  ever  since.  Until  August, 
1873.  Air.  Harrison  continued  his  practice  alone, 
but  at  this  time  he  became  associated  with  Samuel 
B.  Starr  and  John  G.  Patterson,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Starr,  Patterson  &  Harrison.  This  part- 
nership continued  until  October,  1878,  when  it 
was  dissolved  by  the  death  of  .Mr.  Patterson.  The 
partnership  was  continued,  however,  by  Messrs. 
Starr  and  Harrison  until  December  i,  1886.  when 
the  latter  gentleman  came  to  Minnesota.  He 
located  in  Minneapolis,  where  he  has  succeeded  in 
building  up  a  lucrative  legal  business.  Mr.  Har- 
rison's political  affiliations  have  ahvays  been  with 
the  Republican  party,  of  which  he  is  an  ardent 
supporter  and  an  active  campaigner.  On  August 
13,  1873,  he  was  married  to  Lizzie  O.  Chapin.  at 
Silver  Creek.  New  York.  Air.  and  Mrs.  Harrison 
have  three  children:  Aferton  E.,  aged  twenty, 
now  a  sophomore  in  the  state  university;  Ruth 
Harrison,  aged  ten,  and  FTelen,  aged  six. 


430 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


WILLIAM  LDWIX  HASKLLL. 

W.  E.  Haskell,  the  head  of  The  Times  News- 
paper Company,  of  Minneapolis,  was  born  on 
June  i8,  1862,  on  Bunker  Hill,  Charlestown,  Mas- 
sachusetts. His  newspaper  talent  may  be  said  to 
have  been  inherited,  for  his  father,  Edwin  B.  Has- 
kell, of  Boston,  has  been  a  life-long  newspaper 
man.  Mr.  Haskell,  senior,  learned  the  printer's 
trade  as  a  boy  and  later  became  a  reporter  on  the 
Boston  Journal.  He  advanced  to  an  editorial 
position  and  afterwards  became  associate  editor  of 
the  Boston  Herald.  With  R.  M.  Pulsifer,  C.  A. 
Andrews  and  others  he  ])urchased  the  Herald  not 
long  after  the  war,  and  was  identified  with  the 
wonderful  growth  of  that  great  newspaper  proja- 
erty  during  succeeding  years.  Mr.  Haskell  has 
now  retired  from  active  newspaper  life  and  is 
devoting  himself  to  the  care  of  his  estate,  to 
travel  and  study,  and  to  the  work  incident  to  his 
position  as  head  of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Com- 
mission of  Boston.  The  Haskell  family  is  of 
French  origin.  A  Norman  knight  of  the  family 
of  D'Ascelles  who  married  a  daughter  of  the  royal 
house  of  France  and  uIid  accompanied  William 
the  Conqueror  to  I'jigland,  is  the  earliest  known 
progenitor  of  the  family.  He  was  the  forefather 
of  the  present  Earl  of  Dudley,  of  England.      In 


1645  tliree  brothers  of  the  family  came  to  Glou- 
cester, Massachusetts,  from  England.  A  branch 
of  this  stock  founded  New  Salem,  Maine,  and 
later  moved  to  East  Livermore  in  the  same  state, 
where  Mr.  Edwin  Haskell  was  born  in  1836.  He 
married  Miss  Ann  Celia  Hill,  who  was  of  Hugue- 
not e.xtraction.  The  early  education  of  their  son, 
William,  was  had  in  the  private  schools  of 
Charlestown,  Chelsea  and  Newton,  Massachusetts. 
He  then  entered  Allen's  English  and  Classical 
school  at  West  Newton,  to  prepare  for  college, 
but  before  commencing  his  college  course  spent 
two  years  in  study  in  Europe,  most  of  the  time 
at  Leipsic.  Entering  Harvard  college  in  1881, 
he  graduated  in  the  class  of  1884  with  the  degree 
of  A.  B.  His  education  w-as  planned  along  such 
lines  as  to  fit  him  for  his  intended  profession — 
that  of  newspaper  work.  Mr.  Haskell  came  to 
.Minneapolis  on  November  10,  1884,  and  became 
editor  and  half  owner  of  the  Minneapolis  Tribune. 
This  connection  continued  until  ^.Iay,  1889,  and 
from  1885  he  was  at  the  same  time  part  owner 
and  president  of  the  Journal  Printing  Company. 
From  i88g  to  1894  he  was  engaged  in  the  real 
estate  and  investment  business.  L'pon  the  pur- 
chase of  the  Minneapolis  Times  by  the  Journal 
Company  on  July  i,  1894,  Mr.  Haskell,  who  was 
then  vice  president  of  the  Journal  Printing  Com- 
|)any,  became  editorial  manager  of  the  Times. 
.Six  months  later,  in  January,  1S05,  he  became 
general  manager  of  the  Times,  and  on  January  i. 
i8(;7.  he  ]nirchased  the  Times  from  the  Journal 
Companv  and  relinquisheil  his  interest  in  the 
latter  company.  He  is  now  editorial  and  business 
head  of  the  Times.  During  his  three  years  of 
connection  with  the  Times  Mr.  Haskell  has  been 
the  moving  force  of  the  paper:  its  inunediate  suc- 
cess is  to  be  attributed  to  his  energy  and  good 
management.  His  i)olic\'  has  been  to  always  fol- 
low the  line  of  absolute  independence.  Dmnng  all 
his  newspaper  life  Mr.  Haskell  has  been  much 
interested  in  tlu-  ilcvrloimient  of  iiliolographic 
illustration  for  the  il;iil\  |)ri-ss,  and  has  clont'  nuich 
for  the  ;ii1.  As  in  his  ne\\s]>a|H-r  life,  Mr.  Has- 
kell is,  personallv.  inde|ien(lent  in  politics.  He 
has  held  no  political  offices,  but  has  served  as 
aid-de-camp  witli  the  rank  of  major  on  the  staff 
of  Ciovernor  .'\.  I\.  McGill,  ;md  was  aid-de-camp 


PKOGRIiSSlVH  MEN  OK  MINNIvSOTA. 


431 


with  the  rank  of  colonel  on  the  staff  of  Governor 
W.  R.  Aferriani  during  both  his  terms  of  office. 
He  belongs  to  no  societies  and  only  to  social 
clubs.  Mr.  Haskell  was  married  on  .November 
I,  1884,  to  Miss  Annie  E.  Mason,  who  died  on 
February  18,1886.  (  )n  hebruary  22,  1887,  he  was 
married  t(_i  Miss  (  )lga  von  Waedelstadt,  of  St. 
Paul.  Thev  have  four  children;  C'elia  Elizabeth, 
William  ^^■aedelstadt,  ( ieorge  Childs  and  Edwin 
Dudley.  The  family  residence  is  at  1710  Third 
avenue  S,  Minneapolis. 


ALLEX  I'RANlv  EERRIS. 

A.  F.  l^'erris,  president  of  the  l'"irst  National 
Bank  of  Brainerd,  Minnesota,  is  a  native  of  i\ew 
York.  His  father,  William  l-'erris,  was  born  in 
Otto,  New  York,  August  i,  1827,  and  secured 
work  in  a  store  at  Gowanda,  New  York,  when 
only  fifteen  years  old.  While  living  at  Gowanda 
he  was  married  to  Miss  LSuelah  A.  Allen,  a  native 
of  that  place,  and  daughter  of  Judge  Daniel 
Allen,  of  the  district  court.  Judge  Allen  was  a 
prominent  man  in  his  state,  and  was  once  nomi- 
nated for  the  governorship,  but  declined  to  run. 
He  was  a  native  of  JMassachusetts  and  his  wife 
was  Esther  Manley,  daughter  of  Capt.  John 
Manley,  of  Connecticut.  William  I'\nTis  was 
for  fifteen  years  agent  of  the  Erie  railroad  at 
Perrysburgh,  New  York,  and  it  was  at  that  place 
that  his  son  Allen  was  born  on  July  22,  1865. 
In  1872  ]Mr.  Ferris  moved  to  Minnesota  and 
established  himself  at  Brainerd  as  agent  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  railroad  and  of  the  United 
States  Express  Company.  In  1881  he  organized 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Brainerd  and  was 
president  of  the  bank  at  the  time  of  his  death 
in  1882.  Young  Allen  was  only  seven  years  old 
when  his  parents  removed  to  Minnesota.  He  at- 
tended the  common  schools  at  Brainerd  and 
took  two  years  at  Carleton  College  at  North - 
field.  In  1885,  when  twenty  years  of  age,  he 
entered  the  First  National  Bank  as  teller  and 
during  the  following  year  was  elected  cashier. 
In  1892  he  was  made  president  and  still  occu- 
pies that  position.  I\Tr.  Ferris  has  taken  a 
prominent  part  in  the  public  affairs  of  his  city. 


He  was  elected  an  alderman  in  1891  and  was 
made  vice  president  of  the  city  council.  In  1892 
and  1893  he  was  re-elected.  In  1894  he  was 
elected  as  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the 
state  legislature.  He  took  a  very  active  part  in 
the  legislation  of  the  ensuing  legislative  term, 
and  as  chairman  of  the  railroad  committee  of  the 
house  of  representatives  was  influential  in  shap- 
ing important  legislation.  He  was  the  author 
of  the  important  seed  bill  which  formulated  a 
plan  for  aiding  the  farmers  who  lost  everything 
by  the  forest  fires  of  1894  and  needed  seeds  for 
sowing  in  the  spring  of  1895  ''i  order  that  they 
might  get  a  fresh  start.  The  work  of  Mr.  Ferris 
in  the  house  was  rewarded  by  a  re-election  in  1896. 
Governor  Merriam  appointed  Mr.  Ferris  to  the 
Game  and  Fish  Commission  in  1891.  and  for  five 
years  he  was  secretary  of  that  body.  Mr.  Ferris 
is  president  of  the  Chenquatana  Club  of  Brainerd, 
vice-president  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  captain  of 
the  Brainerd  Division,  No.  7,  U.  R.  K.  P.,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  body,  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  of  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men. 
On  Tune  8,  1888,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Annie 
M.  Stegee.  They  ha\c  one  child.  Frank  W. 
Ferris,  who  is  now  six  \ears  old. 


432 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


LUCIAX  SWIFT. 

Lucian    Swift,    manager    of    The    .Minneapolis 
Journal,  is  a  native  of  Akron,  Ohio,  where  he  was 
bom  July   14,   1848.     His  father,   Lucian   Swift, 
moved  from  Connecticut  to  the  Western  Reserve 
when  a  young  man  and  settled  there  for  the  prac- 
tice of  law.    He  served  some  time  as  clerk  of  the 
courts  of  Sunnnit  County,  and  also  represented 
the  people  of  that  locality  in  the  state  senate.    The 
genealogical  line  of  the  Swift  family  is  traced  back 
to  1635,  when  the  first  member  of  the  family  in 
this  country  came  from  England  among  the  earl\- 
colonists.     Judge  Zephaniah  Swift,  Chief  Justice 
of  Connecticut  for  nearly  twenty  years,  was  the 
great  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
His  father  moved  to  Cleveland  when  Lucian  was 
a  mere  lad.    Here  the  boy  had  the  adx-antages  of 
c.Kcellent   schools  and   was   graduated   from   the 
high  schools  in  1865.     He  then  entered  the  Cni- 
versitv  of  Michigan,  took  a  special  course  in  min- 
ing engineering  and  was  graduated  with  the  de- 
gree of  M .  !•"..   While  in  college  he  was  a  meiuber  of 
the  Delta  Ka'ijpa  Epsilon  fraternity.     Returning  t( . 
Cleveland,  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business 
for  about  two  years,  but  not  finding  it  congenial 
to  his  tastes  he  adopted  the  course  pursued  by  so 
many   of  the  enterprising  and   ambiticnis  young 
men  of  the  Eastern  and  Middlr  slates,  and  in  the 


spring  of   187 1   came  West  for  the  purpose  of 
settling  at  Duluth,  but  obtained  a  situation  with 
George  B.  Wright,  of  Minneapolis.    Mr.  Wright 
was  a  surveyor  of  government  land.     Soon  after- 
wards he  became  land  agent  for  the  Xordiern 
Pacific    Railroad    Company,   and    for   five    years 
.Mr.  Swift  was  employed  by  him  in  making  plats 
of  land  grants,  rights  of  way,  and  other  work  of 
that  kind.     This  work  sent  him  still  further  onto 
the  frontier.     He  camped  at  one  time  in  a  tent 
on  the  site  of  the  city  of  Fargo,  and  attended  an 
editorial  l)anc|uet  at  Georgetown,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Red  river,  where  he  listened  to  that  gifted 
traveler,  llayard  Taylor.    In  1876  he  resigned  his 
position  with  Mr.  Wright  and  paid  a  brief  visit 
to  his  home.      (  )n  his  return  to  the  Northwest, 
he  secured  a  position  as  bookkeeper  in  a  mercan- 
tile house,  but  soon  found  a  better  situation  as 
cashier    of    the    Minneapolis    Tribune.      He    re- 
mained  with   the   Tribune   through   various   ad- 
ministrations of  its  property  and  policies,  accpiir- 
ing  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  publishing  busi- 
ness.    In  November,  1S85,  in  company  with  .\.  J. 
Blethen,  \\\  E.  Haskell  and  H.  W.  Hawley.  he 
bought  The  Evening  Journal  and  became  mana- 
ger, secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  comjiany,  the 
position   which   he   still    holds.      The   Journal   at 
that  time  had  a  circulation  of  aljout  ten  thousand 
copies.     Under  his  administration  it  has  been  re- 
markably  successful,   and   has   increased   in   pat- 
ronage and  circulation  in  a  manner  which   sub- 
stantially demonstrates  the  wisdom  and  skill  with 
which  it  has  been  conducted.     It  has  now  a  cir- 
culation of  forty  thousand  copies,  occupies  a  fine 
building  C)f  its  own  on   I'ourth  street,  and  is  one 
of  the  best  ec|uip]5ed  newspaper  establishments  in 
the  \\'est.     r>ut,  while  giving  attention  closely  to 
his  own  responsible  position,  Mr.  Swift  has  been 
in  demand  as  a  prdUKitcr  n\   pul)lic   enterprises, 
as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  the  Business 
I'nion,  the  Exposition  Association,  of  which  he 
was  director  and  Ireasiu'er.  and  has  been  identified 
activeb'  with  many  of  the  most  important  public 
enter|)rises  and  undertakings  in  Minneajiolis  dur- 
ing llu-p;ist  ten  \  ears,  in  which  his  excellent  judg- 
ment and  Inisiness  sagacity  have  been  nnich  relied 
upon.     Mr.  Swift  was  married  in   1877  to   Miss 
Minnie  E.   b'uller.  daughter  cif  Rev.  George  W. 
Fuller,  now  a  resident  of  Lake  Cit\',  Minnesota. 
Thev  have  one  daughter.  Grace  F. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


433 


GEURGI':  WASlliXGTuX    i;ATCilELI)J::R. 

George  W.  liatchelder,  of  l'"aribault,  Aliniie- 
sota,  was  one  of  tlie  pioneers  of  thai  city,  and 
duriiis;'  his  long  residence  has  become  one  of  the 
best-known  members  of  the  legal  profession  in 
Stnithern  Minnesota.  In  addition  to  his  emi- 
nence in  the  practice  of  law,  .\lr.  I'.atchekler  has 
been  consi)icuous  in  politics;  always  identified 
with  the  democratic  party,  he  has  been  its  can- 
didate at  various  times  for  Congress,  for  justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  for  state  senator,  and  for 
mayor  of  the  city  of  l'~aribault.  Mr.  Batchelder 
traces  his  ancestry  back  for  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  thrtiugh  a  long  line  of  New  England- 
ers  to  Rev.  Stephen  liatchelder,  who  migrated 
from  .Surrey,  England,  about  1730,  and  settltd 
in  Hampton,  Massachusetts.  He  was  a  Congre- 
gational clergyman.  Among  his  descendants 
were  Daniel  Webster  and  |iihn  G.  W'hittier.  The 
grandfather  of  G.  W.  llatchekter  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier.  He  lived  at  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire,  and  moved  with  his  family  to  \  er- 
mont  about  1 706.  Here  his  son,  John  liatchel- 
der. married  Alice  Kittridge,  who  was  a  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Harriet  Ivittridge.  The  Kittridge 
family  also  came  from  Massachusetts,  and  emi- 
grated to  \'ermont  in  1800.  ]\Ir.  liatchelder  at- 
tended the  pulilic  schools  near  his  home,  and 
fitted  himself  for  college  at  Phillip's  Academy, 
in  Danville:  entered  the  Cniversity  of  \'erniont 
in  1847  ''"'1  graduated  in  1851.  receiving  the  de- 
gree of  A.  B.,  and  afterwards  that  of  A.  M.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Sigma  Phi  Society,  and 
also  of  the  Phi  lieta  Kappa.  To  sustain  himself 
during  his  college  course  Mr.  liatchelder  taught 
school  during  his  vacations,  and  upon  graduat- 
ing, took  charge  of  the  graded  schools  of  \\'in<l- 
sor,  \'ermont.  After  one  year  at  Windsor  he 
went  south  and  taught  for  another  year  in  the 
Academy  at  Tazewell,  East  Tennessee.  Another 
}-ear  was  spent  in  teaching  at  Rogersville.  East 
Tennessee.  During  all  this  time  Air.  Batchelder 
was  reading  law,  and  in  1854  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  The  following  year  he  came  to  Min- 
nesota, then  a  territory,  and  in  A  fay.  1855,  set- 
tled at  I'aribault.  He  has  since  resided  at  Fari- 
bault, and  has  been  in  cdntinunus  ])ractice  of  the 


law.  His  first  law  partner  was  Hon.  John  M. 
I  Jerry,  late  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Min- 
nesota. When  Air.  Berry  went  upon  the  bench 
Mr.  Batchelder  became  a  partner  of  Hon.  Thomas 
S.  Buckham,  now  judge  of  the  fifth  judicial  dis- 
trict of  Alinncsota.  He  now  has  associated  w'ith 
him  his  son,  Charles,  under  the  firm  name  of 
r.atchelder  &  Batchelder.  Air.  Batchelder  has 
been  fre(|uently  honored  by  his  fellow  citizens 
with  nomination  and  election  to  public  office, 
though  as  a  Democrat  in  a  Republican  state, 
county  and  district,  the  more  important  nomina- 
tion was  frequently  not  equivalent  to  election. 
He  was  a  candidate  for  Congress  in  1868  for 
the  Southern  District  of  the  state.     In  1871  and 


1872  he  served  as  state  senator,  and  in  1888  was 
nominated  by  his  party  for  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  During  the  years  1880  and  1881  he  was 
mayor  of  Faribault,  and  for  fifteen  years,  end- 
ing in  i8ij2.  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  lioard 
of  Education.  Afr.  Batchelder  \vas  married  on 
July  12.  T858,  to  Aliss  Kate  E.  Davis,  daughter 
of  Cornelius  Davis,  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Wisconsin. 
They  have  three  children ;  a  daughter.  Georgia 
L.  Batchelder.  and  two  sons.  Chas.  S.  and  John 
D.  Batchelder.  both  of  whom  are  in  the  legal 
iiractice. 


434 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


HOMER  C.  ELLER. 

Homer  C.  Eller  was  for  over  twenty  years  a 
prominent  member  of  the  St.  Paul  bar.  He 
died  November  3.  i8y6.  .Mr.  Eller  was  a  native 
of  the  Hoosier  state,  where  he  was  born  July  9, 
1845,  ^t  Mishawaka,  in  ."^t.  Joseph  County.  His 
father,  ]\Ioses  Eller,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania. 
In  1817.  when  but  nineteen  years  of  age.  he  mi- 
grated with  his  father  to  Montgomery  County, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  reared  on  a  farm  until  he 
was  nearly  twenty-one,  when  he  learned  the  trade 
of  cabinet  maker.  His  wife,  Elizabeth  Weeks, 
was  a  native  of  ( )hio,  her  parents  at  an  early  date 
coming  from  South  Carolina  to  Alontgomery 
County.  Her  death  occurred  in  1853,  and  a  year 
or  two  later  the  family  was  broken  up.  Homer, 
then  lint  twelve  years  of  age,  was  working  on  a 
farm  in  .Stnithern  Michigan  for  board  and  clothes 
and  attending  a  winter  school.  A  little  later  he 
traveled  on  foot  thnmgh  ])ortions  of  Southern 
Michigan  selling  books  and  charts.  When  about 
thirteen  the  lad  went  to  South  Rend,  Ttidiana, 
where,  until  August,  1861,  he  made  his  home 
with  E.  R.  Farnam.  Early  in  1861  lu-  entered 
the  postoffice  at  South  IJend  as  a  clerk.  In 
August  he  enlisted  as  a  nuisician  in  Company  F, 


Twenty-nmth  Indiana.  In  December,  1863.  he 
re-enlisted,  and  remained  in  the  service,  bemg  a 
portion  of  the  time  in  detached  service,  until 
December  2,  1865,  when  the  regiment  was  mus- 
tered out.  He  was  present  at  the  battles  of 
Shiloh,  siege  of  Corinth,  Triune,  Stone  River,. 
Liberty  Gap,  Chickamauga,  and  in  several  minor 
engagements.  The  early  education  obtained  by 
Mr.  Eller  was  such  as  the  common  and  grammar 
schools  of  Southern  Michigan  and  Northern  In- 
diana afforded.  This  he  supplemented  by  a 
course  of  self  instruction  in  the  higher  mathe- 
matics, ptirstied  while  he  was  in  the  army  with 
such  books  as  he  could  carry  in  a  knapsack,  and 
by  a  short  period  spent  in  the  Northern  Indiana 
College  and  Academic  School  after  his  discharge. 
In  1866  Mr.  Eller  entered  the  law  office  of  Hon. 
W.  G.  George,  of  South  Bend,  Indiana,  as  a  stu- 
dent, and  subseqtiently  attended  the  law  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Michigan,  graduating 
with  the  law  class  of  1868.  For  nearly  a  year 
after  graduation  he  worked  as  chief  clerk  in  the 
postoffice  at  South  Bend.  He  had  decided  to 
come  west  in  order  to  enjo_\'  better  opportunities, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1869  he  located  in  St.  Paul,  and 
entered  the  law  office  of  Messrs.  Bigelow  &  Clark,, 
afterwards  Bigelow,  Flandrau  &  Clark.  He  re- 
mained connected  with  this  firm  until  August  i, 
1874,  when  he  formed  a  partnership  with  John  D. 
(J'Brien  under  the  firm  name  of  O'Brien  &  Eller. 
T.  D.  O'Brien  was  later  admitted  to  the  firm,  and 
it  was  known  as  O'Brien,  Eller  &  ( )'Brien.  In 
( )ctober,  1885,  Mr.  Eller  severed  his  connection 
with  the  firm  and  formed  a  new  partnership  with 
Messrs.  Greenleaf  Clark  and  Jared  How,  the  firm 
being  known  as  Clark,  Eller  &  How.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1888,  Judge  Clark  retired  from  active  prac- 
tice, from  which  time  the  firm  was  Eller  &  How. 
Air.  Eller  enjoyed  an  extensive  practice  and  had' 
the  esteem  of  all  the  members  of  the  St.  Paul  bar, 
and  his  death  was  deeply  regretted  not  finly  by 
the  members  of  his  profession  but  b\-  a  large 
circle  of  friends  and  ac(|uaintances.  In  ( )ctober, 
7876.  Mr.  Eller  l)ecame  the  editor  of  the  .Syllabi, 
a  small  Ugal  publication  of  eight  pages,  then 
commenced  and  published  weekly  bv  John  B. 
West  &  Co.  After  six  months'  a]3])earance  this 
publication     was     changed  to  the  Northwesterir 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


435 


Reporter,  which  was  llie  he.^iiniiiiL;  ni  the  iia- 
tiimal  reporting-  system  and  extensive  puhlishiny 
business  now  eonfUietec!  h\'  tiie  West  rublishin<^ 
Coni])an\'.  Mr.  I^iler  continued  as  ecHtor  of  liie 
Kt)rthwestern  Reporter  until  May.  nSSj.  Mur- 
ing this  ])eri()tl  lie  i>repared  a  digest  of  volumes 
one  to  twenty-five  of  the  Minnesota  rejiorts, 
which  were  published  by  the  West  I'ublishin.t;' 
Company  in  1S82.  When  the  St.  Paul  nuniicipal 
•court  was  organized  Mr.  J'lUer  was  aiJjJoiiUed  the 
first  special  judge,  and  served  until  his  successor 
was  elected.  He  also  served  one  term  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  park  conuiiissioners.  in  his 
politics,  Mr.  ICller  was  a  [■iepublicin,  but  he  never 
took  a  very  active  part  in  the  campaign.  In 
June,  1877,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  S. 
Creek,  who  died  in  August  of  the  same  _\ear. 
August  28,  1871J,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ada 
Farnam.  Four  children  resulted  from  this  union: 
Clark,  Harriet,  Kenneth  and  Louise. 


CLAYTON    R.    COULEY. 

J\lr.  Cooley's  father,  Warren  Cooley,  was  by 
trade  a  mechanic,  and  worked  at  this  occupation 
during  his  life-time,  attaining  a  moderate  compe- 
tence, iiis  native  state  was  Massachusetts:  he 
was  born  at  I'alma,  in  1820,  and  died  in  .Minne- 
apolis, in  1887.  His  wife,  the  mother  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  survives  him.  Her  maiden 
name  was  Eleanor  F.  Morris:  she  was  born  in 
Alton.  Illinois,  in  1833.  Their  son  Clayton  was 
horn  in  Houston  County,  Minnesota,  Octoljer  16, 
1859,  and  shortlv  after  his  birth  they  migrated 
from  this  state  to  Iowa,  first  locating  at  Dubuc|ue, 
afterwards  at  (fedar  Falls  and  Eldora,  in  the  same 
state,  the  boy  receiving  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  the  latter  town.  The  first 
dollar  Clayton  ever  earned  was  as  a  lad,  working 
in  Burt's  novelty  factory  in  East  Dubuf|ue.  The 
first  permanent  business  engagement  he  secured 
after  leaving  school  was  in  a  drug  store  at  Eldora. 
He  (|uit  this  liusiness,  however,  after  a  short  time 
and  took  a  position  in  an  abstract  and  loan  office 
in  the  same  city.  Fie  held  this  position  until 
February,  1884.  at  which  time  he  located  in 
Minneapolis.     He  first  secured  emplovmcnt  with 


Geo.  \V.  Chowan  &  Co.,  but  subsequently  entered 
the  ofilice  of  Merrill  &  Albee,  an  aljstract  firm. 
In  September,  i88fi,  -Mr.  Cooley  acquired  Air. 
Merriirs  interest  in  the  firm,  and  the  business 
has  since  that  time  been  conducted  under  the 
name  of  .Albee  &  Cooley.  In  politics  Mr.  Cooley 
is  a  Republican,  his  first  vote  having  been  cast  for 
James  A.  Garfield.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
local  politics,  and  was  rewarded  for  his  .services 
in  1892  by  being  nominated  for  the  office  of 
courity  auditor  of  Hennepin  County,  and  was 
elected.  He  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office  in 
1894.  his  term  expiring  January  I,  1897.  Mr. 
Cooley  has  been  one  of  the  most  capable  men 
that  has  ever  occupied  this  office,  and  he  is  held 
in  high  esteem  by  all  who  know-  him.  Though 
he  took  a  course  in  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  Minnesota,  graduating  in  1893.  it 
was  not  with  the  intention  of  devoting  himself  to 
the  practice  of  law.  but  rather  as  an  aid  to  him 
in  his  private  business,  to  which  he  is  now 
devoting  all  his  time,  having  been  relea.sed  from 
public  duties  by  expiration  of  his  .second  term 
as  auditor.  He  is  a  prominent  Mason,  a  member 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Roval  Arcanum, 
and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  \\'orkmen: 
also  of  the  Minneapolis  Commercial  Club. 


436 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


FRANK  W.  SXEED. 

Frank  W.  Sneed  is  the  pastur  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian church  in  Alinneapohs,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing churches  of  that  denomination  in  the  state. 
He  is  tliirty-four  years  of  age  and  has  been  in 
the  niinistr)-  for  nine  years,  and  was  honored  by 
his  ahiia  mater  in  1896  with  the  degree  of  cluctor 
of  divinity,  l.)eing  the  youngest  ahnnnus  upon 
whom  his  college  has  conferred  this  degree. 
After  a  residence  of  two  years  in  this  city  he  finds 
himself  one  of  its  most  jxiindar  and  influential 
ministers,  with  a  rapidly  widening  circle  of 
friends  and  influence.  On  his  father's  side  JMr, 
.Sneed  is  descended  from  English  stock,  and  on 
his  mother's  side  his  ancestors  were  Scotch-Irish. 
His  paternal  ancestors  were  attached  to  the  estab- 
lisheil  church.  llis  great-great-grandfather  im 
his  father's  side  came  to  America  in  an  early  day 
and  settled  in  .-Mbemarle  County,  Mrginia.  He 
was  Thomas  Jefiferson's  first  school  teacher,  and 
his  son  became  Jefferson's  i)rivate  secretary.  .Xt 
the  commencement  of  the  revohmtionary  war  this 
son  enlisted  in  the  continental  armv,  serving  for 
the  most  part  under  deneral  Green,  fie  was 
present  at  the  batik-  of  Monmouth,  and  could 
speak  with  the  autlmritN-  of  an  e\-e  witness  of  the 


historic  interview^  between  Washington  and  Lee 
on  that  memorable  day.  He  had  two  sons,  John 
and  .\le-xander,  of  whom  the  latter,  with  his 
lather,  settled  near  Danville,  Kentucky,  where  the 
father  died  at  the  ripe  age  of  one  hundred  and 
one  years.  Alexander  Sneed  was  a  farmer  and 
left  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  of  whom 
are  now  dead,  save  John  Al.  Sneed,  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  and  Sallie  Campbell  Sneed,. 
who  is  better  known  as  Mrs.  \'est,  wife  of  United 
States  Senator  \'est  from  Missouri.  John  M. 
Sneed  is  a  prosperous  farmer  in  Pettis  County,. 
Missouri.  He  was  the  captain  of  a  company  of 
state  troops  during  the  civil  war,  and  the  owner 
of  a  large  number  of  slaves.  After  the  war  had 
ended  he  gave  homes  to  those  of  his  former 
slaves  who  had  not  deserted  him  at  the  time  of 
emancipation.  Frank  W.  Sneed  was  born  on  this 
Pettis  County  farm,  near  the  city  of  Sedalia,  in 
1862.  Through  his  Grandmother  Sneed,  Mr. 
Sneed  is  descended  from  Colonel  Robert  Camp- 
bell, who  commanded  a  regiment  at  Kings" 
Mountain  under  his  uncle,  William  Campbell, 
whose  wife  was  a  sister  of  Patrick  Henry.  It  was 
before  Robert  Campbell's  lines  that  General  I*'er- 
guson  fell  mortally  woimded.  Until  he  was 
fifteen  years  of  age  JMr.  Sneed  attended 
the  country  jiublic  school;  after  this  a 
private  academy  in  .'^edalia,  where  he  re- 
mained until  he  was  nineteen.  In  1881  he  entered 
Westminster  College  at  Fulton,  Missouri,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  June,  1885,  going  in 
the  fall  of  the  same  year  to  McCormick  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  at  Chicago.  To  the  deep  re- 
ligious influence  of  Westminster  College  Mr. 
.Sneed  attriljutcs  in  large  part  his  conversion,  and 
choice  of  a  profession.  His  first  pastorate  was  at 
Riverside,  Illinois,  from  Alay,  1888.  to  February, 
1892.  FTe  then  went  to  Columbia.  .Missouri, 
where  he  remained  until  January,  181)5,  when  he 
came  to  .Minneapolis.  He  had  been  invited  to 
act'cpt  this  last  charge  in  Xovember  preceding,, 
and  ,'U  tlie  time  the  invitation  was  extended  he 
had  never  been  in  .Minnea])olis,  nor  had  he  ever 
been  seen  by  any  member  of  the  First  church. 
Mr.  .Sneed  is  a  vigorous  writer  .-unl  a  graceful 
and  polished  sjieaker.  .\t  cnllege  lu'  won  the 
William   II.  Mari|uess  prize  for  oratorv,  ;ind  sub- 


PROC.klvSSIVU  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


437 


sec^ucnt  years  have  aiiiplx  fultilK'<l  the  prnniise  of 
that  college  trium))h.  (  )n  .\la\  icS,  1X1^3.  Mr. 
Sneed  was  married  to  Eulalie  Hcjckaday,  daughter 
of  T.  (_).  Ilockadav,  of  Colunihia,  Missouri,  ancl 
grand  daughter  of  Majnr  James  S.  Rollins,  who, 
from  1861  to  i<%5.  was  a  nunil)er  of  congress 
from  Missouri. 


WILI.IA.M  .MI'IXlllCLL. 

William  .Mitchell,  associate  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  .Minin'sota,  resides  at  Winona, 
where  he  settled  in  the  spring  of  1857.  lie  is 
the  son  of  John  and  Alary  (Henderson)  Mitchell 
and  is  of  Scotch  ancestry,  hoth  parents  having 
been  born  in  Scotland.  1 1  c  w  as  born  November 
19,  1832,  at  Stamford,  Untaricj.  He  prepared  for 
college  at  a  private  school  in  his  native  country 
and  entered  Jefferson  College,  at  Canonsburg, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1848,  where  he  graduated  in 
1853.  He  taught  two  years  in  an  academy  ai 
Morgantown,  West  N'irginia,  after  which  he  read 
law  with  Edgar  C.  Wilson  (father  of  the  late 
Eugene  Wilson  of  Minneapolis)  of  the  same  place, 
and  was  there  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  spring 
of  1857.  Almost  immediately  thereafter  he  left 
\'irginia  for  the  West  and  settled  in  Winona, 
wdiere  he  began  the  practice  of  law.  He  was  in 
constant  and  successful  practice  until  he  was 
elected  judge  of  the  third  judicial  district  of  this 
state,  and  took  his  seat  in  January,  1874.  He  had 
held  other  offices,  however,  prior  to  that  date, 
having  been  elected  to  the  legislature  for  the  ses- 
sions of  1859  and  i860,  and  subsequently  was 
county  attorney  for  one  term.  He  was  re-elected 
to  the  district  bench  in  1880.  but  resigned  to 
accept  a  seat  on  the  supreme  bench  to  which  he 
was  appointed  by  Governor  Pillsbury  in  1881, 
when  the  number  of  justices  was  increased  from 
three  to  five.  He  has  thrice  been  elected  to  the 
supreme  court  without  opposition,  and  has  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  that  honorable  and  responsi- 
ble position  with  such  a1)ility  and  integrity  as  to 
add  each  year  to  the  esteem  and  respect  in  which 
he  is  held  by  the  people  of  the  state.  He  is  a 
gentleman  of  thorough  literary  culture,  as  well 
as  profound  legal  learning,  a  man  of  broad  com- 


mon sense  and  high  character,  possessing  in  a 
remarkable  degree  the  qualities  of  mind  which  are 
essential  to  judicial  eminence.  His  judicial  opin- 
ions cover  a  wide  range  of  subjects,  and  are 
studied  with  respect  and  approval  in  many  of  the 
courts  and  law  schools  of  the  country.  It  is  said 
of  Judge  Mitchell,  that  no  attorney  appears  before 
him  without  feeling  that  his  arguments  are  being 
listened  to  with  most  patient  attention  to  the  end. 
Judge  Mitchell  has  been  interested  in  local 
enterprises  in  Winona  County  and  contributed 
much  to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  that  city. 
He  has  held  the  position  of  president  of  the 
Winona  and  Southwestern  Railway,  and  also  pres- 
ident of  the  \Mnona  ."savings  Bank.  He  was 
originally  Republican,  but  becoming  dissatisfied 
with  some  of  the  reconstruction  measures  of  the 
partv  during  the  administration  of  President 
Tohnsoiii  he  has  since  acted  chiefly,  though  not 
in  a  partisan  sense,  with  the  Deiuocratic  party. 
He  has  been  married  twice.  In  .September,  1857, 
to  E.  Tane  Ilanwav.  of  Morgantown,  Virginia. 
She  died  ten  years  later.  In  July.  1872.  he  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Francis  X.  Smith,  of  Chicago.  He  has 
iiad  six  children.  He  was  reared  in  the  Presby- 
terian church  and  is  an  attendant  of  that  church. 
thouyli  not  a  meiulier. 


43S 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JAKOB  FJELDE. 

Jakob  Henrik  Gerhard  Fjekle  was  a  sculp- 
tor, of  whose  artistic  productions  the  city  of 
Minneapolis  has  reason  to  be  proud.  The  name 
Fjelde  is  taken  from  a  place  on  the  western  coast 
of  Norwav,  and  translated  into  English  it  means 
"mountains."  So  far  as  known,  the  first  person 
to  bear  that  name  was  Gullik  Fjelde.  a  theologi- 
cal student,  who  married,  in  1750.  r)artha  .\liche- 
let,  of  a  well-known  military  family,  who  had  im- 
mis^rated  from  France,  being  Huguenots.  I'aul 
( ierhard  I'jelde.  father  of  Jakob,  descended  in  di- 
rect line  from  (iullik,  was  a  cabinet  maker  and 
wood  carver  in  .-Valesund,  Norway,  a  man  of  fine 
artistic  tastes,  who  early  discovered  the  talent  of 
his  son  and  ])rovided  for  his  educatinn  in  art. 
His  wife,  Claudine  Thomane  liolctte,  nee  Hin- 
chen,  was  of  (ierman  descent,  belonging  to  a  fam- 
ilv  of  meridiants  and  sea  cajitains,  whu  came  tn 
Xorwav  from  Germany.  Tlu-  subject  of  tliis 
skctcli  was  born  in  Aalc>und,  .\'orwa_\'.  .\|)ril 
10,  1855.  As  a  bov  he  showed  considerable 
talent  in  an  artistic  way,  and  at  the  age  of  ten 
years  his  father  began  to  encourage  him  in  the 
work  of  wood  carving,  .\flcr  having  worked  lor 
some  time  in  that  line,  in  tlu'  sjjring  of   1S77  he 


was  sent  to  study  sculpture  under  1!.  Bergslien, 
in  Christiana,  who  was  at  that  time  the  most  emi- 
nent sculptor  of  Norway.  After  studying  a  year 
and  a  half  with  Bergslien  Jakob  went,  on  his 
teacher's  advice,  to  Copenhagen,  where  he  stud- 
ied and  worked  for  three  years  in  the  Royal  Art 
Academy.  During  this  time  he  modeled  in  Prof. 
Bissen"s  studio,  and  here  made  his  first  work 
from  his  own  conception,  a  piece  entitled  "The 
Boy  and  the  Cats,"  which  made  him  known  as  aa 
artist  in  Denmark  and  Norway.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-tw(  1  he  went  to  Rome  with  orders  to  be 
executed  in  marble  at  that  place.  In  Rome  he 
made  marble  busts  entitled  "A  Sabine  Ciirl"  and 
a  life-sized  female  figure  named  "Primavera" 
(Spring),  which  was  highlv  spoken  of  by  the 
Roman  ijress  when  exhiljited  there  in  1883.  This 
figure  now  belongs  to  the  art  gallery  in  I'lergen, 
Norway,  .'\fter  two  years  in  Rome,  young 
Fjelde  returned  to  Copenhagen,  where,  in  1883, 
he  attended  the  artists'  convention.  From  Copen- 
hagen he  went  to  liergen,  where  orders  were 
awaiting  him,  and  during  his  three  gears'  stay 
there  made  several  marble  and  bronze  busts.  In 
1887  Air.  J'^jelde  came  to  America  and  located  in 
Minneapolis,  where  he  lived  till  his  death,  'Slay  5, 
\Si)6.  Here  he  made  a  number  of  portrait  busts  in 
plaster,  marble  and  bronze,  among  them  being 
Hon.  Albert  Scheffer,  of  St.  Paul;  Airs.  S.  P. 
Snider,  of  Alinneapolis;  Prof.  Oftedal.  of  .Min- 
neapolis; Prof.  Sverdrup,  of  Alinneapolis;  Judge 
R.  R.  Nelson,  of  St.  Paul;  Senator  Knute  Nelson. 
of  Alexandria;  Jutlges  \'anderburgh,  of  the  su- 
[iieme  bench,  and  Lochren,  Young  and  Hooker, 
of  the  Hennepin  district  court.  The  heroic  figure 
entitled  'History."  which  adorns  the  front  of  the 
lilirarv  of  ?dinneapolis,  is  from  his  hands.  jMr. 
Fjelde  also  executed  the  monument  for  the  First 
Minnesota  regiment  on  the  battlefield  at  Gettys- 
burg, and  the  grou])  of  "Hiawatha  and  .Minne- 
haha," which  were  displayed  in  the  Minnesota 
World's  b'air  building,  and  afterwards  in  the  inib- 
lic  librar\-  in  Minnea])olis.  lie  also  made  twenty- 
four  spandrel  figures  for  the  I'niversity  library 
to  reiiresent  different  branches  of  science  and  art. 
.\lr.  i'jelde  eoni]iletcd  just  before  his  death  the 
(  )le   Bull  nioiuunenl,  whicli  is  now   erected  in  the 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


439 


city  of  Minneapolis.  lie  was  a  s^cntKinaii  nl  very 
modest  pretensions,  l)iit  was  recoi^nized  as  an  art- 
ist of  great  merit  and  held  in  high  esteem  by  all 
who  enjoyed  his  personal  ac(iuaintance. 


AXAK  ALEXANDER  HARRIS. 

A.  A.  Harris,  of  I  )iilulli,  cnmes  of  an  uld 
southern  family  which  traces  its  line  back  to  the 
Revolutionary  War.  Mr.  Harris'  great  grand- 
father came  from  England  and  settled  in  North 
Carolina  long  before  the  colonies  declared  war. 
He  was  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  and  was  with 
Washington  at  Yorktown,  when  the  surrender  of 
Lord  Cornwallis  terminated  that  conflict.  His 
son,  Mr.  Harris'  grandfather,  was  a  soldier  in  the 
War  of  1812.  Henrv  Washington  Harris,  Mr. 
Harris'  father,  was  born  in  Kentucky  in  181 2. 
He  was  always  a  fariuer,  and  although  of  limited 
education,  was  a  man  of  nnich  conmion  sense  and 
always  a  leader  in  the  conmumity  where  he  lived. 
He  died  in  Texas  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven.  His 
wife  was  Miss  Maria  Dawson,  the  daughter  of  a 
distinguished  Democratic  politician  of  Kentucky 
of  the  earlv  times.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Mexican 
war,  and  achieved  distinction.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Harris  were  married  in  1836.  Their  son  was 
born  on  January  16,  1838,  and  Mrs.  Harris  died 
when  he  was  two  years  nld.  The  educati(.)n  ob- 
tained by  the  young  scion  of  this  old  family  was 
obtained  froiu  the  old-fashioned  conuuon  schools 
of  Simpson,  Franklin  County,  Kentucky,  where 
he  was  "born  and  raised,"  to  use  the  phrase  of 
the  people.  As  he  grew  to  luanhood  he  de- 
termined to  be  a  lawyer  and  entered  a  law  office 
in  Ixentuckv.  Hut  befi)re  he  was  ready  to  prac- 
tice the  W'ar  of  the  Rebellion  broke  out,  and 
young  Harris  enlisted  as  a  Confederate  soldier 
early  in  1861.  He  was  in  the  first  battle  of  Bull 
Run  and  many  other  notable  engagements,  and 
in  one  battle  was  seriously  wounded.  As  has 
been  the  experience  of  manv  other  ex-Confed- 
erates he  has  found,  since  the  close  of  the  war, 
that  many  of  his  best  friends  were  L^nion  soldiers. 
In  1865  INIr.  Harris  commenced  the  practice  of 
his  profession.  In  1871  he  moved  to  Fort  Scott, 
Kansas,  and  on  July  22.  1803  he  became  a  citizen 
of  Dnluth.  This  move  was  made  because  after 
mature  consideration  he  came  to  the  conclusion 


that  Dnluth  was  the  most  promising  young  city 
in  the  United  States.  Upon  establishing  himself 
in  Dnluth  Mr.  Harris  at  once  secured  a  large 
practice.  Nearly  thirty  years  of  law  practice  had 
given  him  a  wide  experience.  He  had  been 
connected  w  ith  many  important  cases,  both  civil 
and  criminal.  He  was  retained,  and  was  leading 
counsel,  in  the  great  case  of  Alerritt  vs.  Rocke- 
feller, growing  out  of  the  transactions  of  the 
parties  to  the  suit  in  mining  and  railroad 
pniperties.  Mr.  Harris  was  for  the  plaintiff', 
wlici,  in  June,  1895,  obtained  a  judgment 
against  the  defendant  for  nine  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  dollars.  The  argument  made  by 
Mr.  Harris  in  this  case  was,  perhaps,  the  best 
work  of  this  kind  which  he  has  done.  He  has 
received  nnich  praise  and  congratulation  on  the 
success  of  the  snit  and  the  excellence  of  his  con- 
duct of  the  case  and  his  argument.  Mr. 
Harris  has  been,  from  earl\-  manhood,  a  Dem- 
ocrat, but  has  never  held  office.  He  is  a 
meiuber  of  the  Inde])endent  (  Vder  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, and  of  the  Methodist  church.  On  May 
29,  1 866,  he  was  married  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee, 
to  Miss  Tsaliella  S.  Evans.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren, Henry  Evans  Harris,  who  is  now  his 
father's  law  partner,  and  Laurenz  R.  Harris,  an 
electrician. 


-t-iO 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN'   OF   MINNESOTA. 


WJilMmX/: 


DA\  11)  REYXULUS. 


David  Reynolds,  better  known  as  General 
David  Reynolds,  was  born  Christmas  Day,  1814, 
in  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  dietl  in 
.\linnea]xjlis.  hebruary  5,  1896.  On  his  fatherV 
side  his  ancestors  were  English  and  Welsh,  and  on 
his  mother's.  Huguenots.  When  he  was  eight 
years  of  age  the  family  renujved  to  Monroe 
Countv,  ( )hio,  and  nine  \  ears  later  to  Henry 
Count}',  Iniliana.  With  Init  limited  educational 
advantages,  such  as  the  common  schools  of  the 
time  afforded,  he  entered  a  general  store  as  clerk, 
and  was  there  employed  fur  three  years.  His  aiu- 
liition,  however,  was  to  obtain  a  better  education, 
and  he  became  a  student  at  Asbury  Cniversity, 
at  Greencastle.  Indiana.  He  had  as  his  associates 
in  that  school  men  who  afterwards  became  dis- 
tinguished, as  .Senator  X'oorhees,  .Senator  Mc- 
Donald, Senator  llaiian  and  ( iovcrnor  i 'orter. 
l'])on  coni]5leting  his  course  at  the  university  he 
entered  t!ie  law  office  of  Fletcher,  Butler  &• 
Yandes,  at  lndiana]>olis,  and  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  all  the  courts  of  the  state.  Soon  after  this 
the  Mexican  war  broke  out  and  he  was  api)ninted 
by  Governor  Whitiomb  ailjutant  general  of  the 
state  of  Indiana,     .\rting  in  th;il  c;i|)acit\-  he  oi- 


ganized,  equipped  and  sent  forward  all  the  troops 
enlisted  from  that  state.  Although  this  proved  a 
very  laborious  task,  he  discharged  it  personally 
without  either  an  assistant  or  clerk,  and  as  com- 
pensation received  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars 
a  year.  Subsequently  he  was  conmiissioned  to  go 
to  Washington  to  make  a  settlement  for  moneys 
advanced  by  the  state,  but  his  services  were  so 
highly  apjireciated  that  at  tliis  time  he  was  jjaid  a 
reasonalile  compensation  for  his  work.  His 
brotlier.  Major  L.  .S.  Reynolds,  was  inventor  and 
patentee  of  important  improvements  in  flour  mill- 
ing, which  were  the  Iseginning  of  modern  methods 
of  flour  manufacture.  David  was  engaged  to  go 
to  Eastern  cities  and  finally  to  England  and 
France  to  introduce  these  new  appliances.  Gen- 
eral Reynolds,  in  1865,  together  with  his  brother, 
Major  L.  S.,  and  his  brother.  Dr.  T.  L.  Revnolds, 
removed  to  Minneapolis.  He  foresaw  the  future 
growth  of  this  cit\-  and  made  investments  on 
Xinth  and  Tenth  streets  and  I""irst  and  .Second 
avenues  South,  which  have  come  to  be  of  great 
value.  Although  he  did  not  engage  actively  in 
business  pursuits,  he  contributed  in  many  wavs  to 
the  general  advancement  and  ])rosperity  of  the 
city.  In  politics.  General  Re}noUls  was  always  an 
ardent  Democrat.  His  last  public  appearance  was 
as  president  of  a  large  ratification  meeting  held  in 
Minneapolis  on  the  occasion  of  President  Cleve- 
land's first  election.  His  church  connections  were 
with  the  Methodist  denomination,  and  in  1874 
he  organized  what  was  called  the  "Little  Giant" 
r.ible  class.  It  began  with  a  single  menilier.  but 
afterwards  grew  to  number  three  hundred  and 
fifty-two.  On  its  list  of  members  may  be  found 
the  names  of  inan\-  of  our  most  prominent  pro- 
fessional and  business  men,  and  during  its  exist- 
ence it  gained  a  wide  fame  over  the  whole  coun- 
trv,  and  its  leader  represented  it  at  one  time  in  a 
convention  at  Chautauqua.  General  Reynolds 
was  married  in  Tndianai>olis,  .\pril  2,  1863,  to 
Miss  Jennie  Mc(  )uat.  who  was  of  Scotch  lineage. 
She  died  a  year  and  one  month  later  at  Rochester, 
New  York,  leaving  a  daughter  named  Jennie,  at 
present  a  resident  of  Minneapolis  and  widow  of 
the  late  George  L.  Hilt,  tieneral  Rexnolds  left 
an  honorable  name  and  the  record  of  \';dnab!e  ;ind 
long  continued  usefulness  in  the  connnunit\.  and 
liis  uK'niorv  is  honored  1i\   all  who  knew  him. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


441 


HENRY  HASTINGS  SllilJ'.Y. 

llcnry  H.  Sil)k'y  was  one  of  the  most  proiii- 
iiu-iit  figures  in  the  early  life  of  this  state.  While 
a  delegate  in  eoiigress  from  the  then  territory  of 
Wisconsin  he  was  instnmientai  in  bringing  about 
the  organization  nf  the  territory  of  Minnesota. 
The  new  territory  was  officially  proclaimed  !)>■ 
Governor  Alexander  Kamsey,  June  I,  1849,  and 
in  August  of  that  year  Mr.  .Sibley  was  unan- 
imously returned  to  congress  as  its  re]iresentativc. 
He  was  re-electeil  in  1851,  and  could  have  had  a 
third  term  l)Ut  declined  it.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  constitutional  convention  in  1857.  and  in 
October  of  that  year  was  elected  Governor,  the 
first  and  onlv  democrat  to  fill  that  position.  He 
distinguished  himself  as  a  soldier  during  the  In- 
dian wars  of  the  early  sixties,  and  from  the  end 
of  his  militar}-  career  to  the  time  of  his  death  in 
1891,  was  one  of  the  most  influential  and  best 
known  citizens  of  the  state.  For  more  than  a 
score  of  years  following  1849  t'^^  history  of  his 
life  was  in  a  large  sense  the  history  of  Minnesota, 
and  among  the  glorious  compariv  of  her  pioneers 
and  founders  there  is  none  to  whom  she  owes 
more  than  to  him.  .Mr.  .Sibley's  parents  were 
among  the  early  settlers  of  .Michigan.  His  father. 
Solomon  Sibley,  was  Imrn  in  Massachusetts,  m 
1760,  and  was  a  lawyer.  He  removed  to  Ohio  in 
1795  and  to  Michigan  in  1797,  locating  at  Detroit. 
He  was  the  first  delegate  elected  to  the  first  ter- 
ritorial legislature  of  the  Northwest  territory.  In 
1820  he  was  a  member  of  congress:  in  1824  was 
appointed  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  ter- 
ritory, which  oiTice  he  held  until  18,^7.  I-"rom 
1827  to  1837  he  was  chief  justice.  He  held 
numerous  other  oflices  of  importance,  and  died 
at  Detroit  in  1846,  one  (if  Michigan's  most  pnjm- 
inent  and  puljlic  sjiirited  citizens.  His  wife  was 
Miss  Sarali  Whip])le,  cinl\-  daughter  of  Colonel 
Ebenezer  Sproat,  a  gallant  revolutionar}-  officer. 
She  was  born  in  Rb.ode  Island  in  17S2,  and  when 
seven  years  of  age  went  with  her  ])arents  to  '  'hio. 
She  was  a  woman  of  vigorous  anil  cultivated  mind 
and  great  force  and  strength  of  character.  .She 
died  at  Detroit  in  185 1.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley, 
the  fourth  child,  and  second  son  of  these  parents, 
who,  by  the  way,  traced  their  ancestry  in  England 
back  to  the  time  of  the  Norman  conquest,  was 


born  at  Detroit,  .Michigan,  February  20,  1811. 
He  was  educated  at  the  public  schools  of  that 
city,  and  studied  the  classics  for  two  years  under 
a  private  tutor.  His  father  had  intended  him  for 
the  law,  but  after  reading  Blackstone  for  a  year 
he  confessed  that  the  law  did  not  suit  him.  After 
much  debate,  his  parents  concluded  to  allow  him 
to  follow  his  own  inclinations,  and  so,  in  June, 
1828,  in  his  eighteenth  year,  he  turned  his  face 
towards  the  great  Northwest.  His  first  eniploy- 
luent  was  as  clerk  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  in  the  store 
of  a  sutler,  who  supplied  the  wants  of  four  com- 
panies of  United  States  troops  stationed  in  that 
vicinity.  After  a  few  months  he  became  agent 
for  Mrs.  Johnson,  whose  husband  had  been  an 
Indian  trader  of  large  business,  and  who  kept 
the  business  going  after  her  husband's  death.  In 
this  employment  young  Sibley  got  an  insight  into 
Indian  afTairs  which  he  turned  to  good  use  later 
in  life.  Early  in  1829  he  was  a  clerk  in  the  emplov 
of  the  American  Fur  Company,  of  which  John 
Jacob  Astor  was  the  head.  His  headquarters 
were  at  Mackinac,  whither  Sibley  went  to  report 
for  duty.  This  position  he  held  for  five  years, 
during  part  of  which  time  he  was  purchasing 
agent  for  the  company.  It  was  in  Mackinac  that 
he  made  his  first  entrance  into  official  life.  Al- 
though not  yet  of  age,  he  was  made  justice  of  the 


442 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN   OF  MINNESOTA. 


peace  for  Mackinac  County  in  183 1.  Three  years 
later  lie  became  a  partner  in  the  Fur  Company, 
and  was  placed  in  control  of  all  the  CDuntry  above 
Lake  Pepin  to  the  headwaters  of  the  streams 
flowing  into  the  Missouri,  his  headquarters  being 
at  what  was  afterwards  known  as  Mendota.  He 
inspected  the  Fur  Company's  posts,  supervised  its 
business  and  dictated  its  policy  as  to  trafific  with 
the  Indians.  In  1836  he  built  two  st(.)ne  houses 
at  Mendota,  one  for  a  residence  and  the  other 
for  a  store,  and  these  houses  are  still  standing. 
Thev  were  the  first  stone  houses  built  in  the  state. 
He  was  living  at  Mendota  at  the  time  of  his  mar- 
riage, in  1843.  Mr.  Sibley  continued  in  the  F'ur 
trade  until  1853.  at  which  time  he  withdrew  from 
active  business  and  devoted  himself  to  the  man- 
agement of  his  property  interests,  which  by  this 
time  had  become  very  large.  It  was  in  1848  that 
he  was  chosen  delegate  to  the  Thirteenth  congress 
from  Wisconsin  territory,  and  during  this  term 
he  was  largely  instrumental  in  securing  the  organ- 
ization of  Minnesota  territory.  The  contest  to 
bring  about  the  organization,  which  was  very  bit- 
ter, began  in  the  senate  in  December,  1848,  and 
ended  in  the  house  March  3,  1849.  I"  August. 
1849,  Mr.  Sibley  was  sent  to  congress  from  the 
new  territory,  and  again  in  185 1,  and  in  1853  he 
declined  the  third  nomination.  In  1855  he  was  a 
member  of  the  territorial  legislature  from  Dakota 
County,  and  in  1857  he  was  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention which  drafted  the  constitution  which  is 
still  the  supreme  law  of  the  state.  It  was  through 
the  action  of  this  convention  that  the  territory  was 
prepared  for  statehood  and  admitted  to  the  union. 
At  the  first  election  in  the  new  state,  held  October 
13,  1857,  at  which  time  tin-  new  constitution  v,'as 
also  adopted,  Mr.  Sibley  was  elected  Governor, 
defeating  Hon.  Alexander  Ramsey.  He  refused 
to  be  a  candidate  for  second  term,  and  once  more 
retired  to  private  life.  In  August,  i860,  he  was 
a  delegate  to  the  National  democratic  convention, 
which  met  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  to  nom- 
inate a  ])ro-slavery  candidate  for  thr  presi- 
dency. When  the  war  began  he  prompt- 
ly announced  himself  as  a  union  ni.-m, 
and  during  the  four  years  whicli  followed 
did  all  in  his  ])ower  to  strengthen  the 
general  govcrinncnl  in  the  .Vorthwest.     He  was 


a  candidate  for  office  the  last  time  in  1880,  when 
the  democrats  of  what  was  then  the  third  con- 
gressional district  tried  to  elect  him  to  congress, 
but  failed.  When  the  Sioux  outbreak  and  mas- 
sacre occurred  in  1862,  Governor  Ramsey  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Sibley  to  the  command  of  the  mili- 
tary forces  sent  against  the  savages,  and  after  a 
vigorous  campaign  of  three  months  the  Siotix 
were  conquered  and  driven  to  their  reservation. 
Over  two  thousand  were  made  prisoners, 
and  three  hundred  and  three  were  condemned  to 
death,  of  which  number,  however,  President  Lin- 
coln saved  all  but  thirty-eight.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1862,  the  president  conmiissioned  Colonel 
Sibley  as  Brigadier  general,  with  headquarters  at 
St.  Paul,  and  during  1863,  1864  and  1865  he  was 
engaged  in  campaigns  in  defense  of  the  frontier 
against  various  hostile  Indian  tribes.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1865,  he  was  breveted  major  general,  and  in 
August,  1866,  was  relieved  of  his  command  and 
made  a  member  of  a  mixed  civil  and  military 
commission  to  negotiate  treaties  with  the  hostile 
Sioux.  This  work  was  performed  at  F'ort  Sully, 
and  the  treaties  were  ratified  by  the  senate.  Gen- 
eral Sibley  again  retired  to  private  life  after  com- 
pleting the  work  assigned  to  him  as  a  member 
of  the  Indian  conmiission.  In  1867  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  St.  Paul  Gas  Light  Company,  a 
post  which  he  held  until  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  also  served  as  president  of  two  banks,  the 
Cii}-  liank  and  the  Minnesota  Savings  Bank,  aft- 
erwards merged  into  the  First  National  Bank. 
Ft)r  a  number  of  years  he  was  a  director  of  the 
Sioux  City  railway.  He  aided  in  organizing  the 
St.  Paul  chamber  of  commerce,  and  was  its  pres- 
ident in  1871  and  1872.  He  was  a  director  of  the 
First  National  Bank  from  1873  to  1891.  In  1888 
he  was  commander  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  Min- 
nesota, and  from  1885  to  the  time  of  his  death 
was  president  of  the  Minnesota  club.  He  be- 
longed to  Acker  post,  G.  A.  R.,  from  1885.  Gen- 
eral Sibley  was  a  regular  attendant  at  St.  Paul's 
Episcopal  church.  St.  Paul.  hiU  did  not  become 
a  member  of  it  until  a  fi'w  months  before  his 
di'ath.  As  already  stated,  he  was  married  in  1843. 
The  bride  was  Sarah  J.  Steele,  daughter  of  Gen- 
enil  I.  Steele,  of  Baltimore,  Maryland.  She  bore 
him  nine  children  and  died  JMay  21,  1869.  Four  of 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


4-43 


llie  children  ai\'  living,  Augusta  (Mrs.  Douglas 
Pope),  Sarah  Jane  (.Mrs.  lilbeit  A.  Young), 
Charles  Frederirk,  and  Alfred  ISrush,  all  of 
vvhoni  reside  in  St.  I'aul.  (ieneral  Sibley  was  a 
charter  nienilier  (if  the  Minnesota  Historical  Soci- 
et)-  (1849)  and  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Association  of' 
Minnesota  (183H),  and  was  greatly  interested  in 
the  work  which  hoth  are  doing.  In  1868  he  was 
named  a  regent  of  the  state  university,  which 
position  he  continued  to  fill  with  honor  until  his 
death.  In  1888  the  college  of  New  Jersey,  at 
Princeton,  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  T.L.  D. 
February  18,  1 891,  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty  years, 
he  died. 


LEVI  H.  McKL'SlCK. 

L.  H.  McKusick  is  county  attorney  of  Pine 
County,  Minnesota,  which  office  he  has  held 
since  1878.  He  is  of  Scotch  ancestry  on  his 
father's  side  and  English  on  his  mother's.  His 
father,  Levi  E.  McKusick,  was  a  farmer  in  mod- 
erate circumstances  in  Maine,  and  during  his  life 
time  took  an  active  part  in  local  politics,  at  one 
time  serving  as  a  member  of  the  legislature  of 
that  state.  The  maiden  name  of  the  mother  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  Fannie  A.  Mar- 
shall. Levi  H.  was  born  at  r^)aring,  Maine, 
March  31,  1854.  His  early  education  was  re- 
ceived in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town, 
and  in  the  academy  at  St.  Stephens,  New  llruns- 
wick,  which  he  attended  three  terms.  Later  he 
took  a  course  in  the  state  normal  school  at  Cas- 
tine,  Maine.  In  order  to  obtain  sufficient  funds, 
however,  with  which  to  pursue  his  studies,  he 
had  commenced  teaching  school,  for  a  few 
months  each  year,  when  but  seventeen  years  of 
age.  This  plan  was  pursued  by  'Sir.  [McKusick 
for  about  six  years.  Having  a  desire,  however, 
to  make  law  his  profession  in  life,  during  his 
leisure  hours  he  took  up  its  study  in  his  brother's 
ofifice.  As  soon  as  he  had  completed  his  law 
studies,  decichng  that  the  \\'est  would  afford  him 
better  opportunities  in  his  chosen  profession, 
Mr.  McKusick  came  to  Minnesota,  locating  at 


Pine  City  in  August,  1877.  Inuring  that  fall  and 
the  following  winter  he  taught  school  at  this 
place,  at  the  same  time  devoting  his  spare  time  to 
the  further  study  of  law.  The  following  spring 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  innnediately  hung 
out  his  shingle  in  Pine  City.  The  fall  of  the 
same  year  he  was  nominated  for  the  office  of 
county  attorney  of  Pine  County  and  elected 
His  re-election  to  the  same  ofifice  every  term 
since  that  time  is  an  indication  of  the  esteem  in 
wdiich  he  is  held  by  the  community  in  which  he 
lives.  He  has  also  built  up  an  extensive  law- 
practice.  Mr.  McKusick's  political  affiliations 
have  always  been  with  the  Repulilican  part\-,  and 
he  has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  local  affairs. 
He  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature  in  1883. 
and  re-elected  twice  to  the  same  ofiice.  in  1885 
and  1889.  He  served  on  the  judiciary  commit- 
tee and  was  an  earnest  supporter  of  the  bill  for 
the  taxation  of  unused  railroad  lands  in  the  ses- 
sion of  1889,  which  bill,  however,  did  not  pass 
at  that  session.  He  is  an  attendant  of  the  Meth- 
odist church.  He  is  married  and  has  a  family 
consisting  of  wife  and  five  children,  Clinton  L., 
Fred  P,  Alice  H.,  \\'iniam  John  and  Marion 
Helen. 


444 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINXESOTA. 


DAXIEL  I'.L'CK. 

Jonathan  Buck,  father  of  Judge  Daniel  Buck, 
of  the  Minnesota  Supreme  Court,  was  born  at 
Boonville,  Oneida  County,  New  York,  in  1804, 
and  died  in  1883.  He  was  a  farmer  in  comfort- 
able circumstances,  and  spent  all  his  years  on  the 
farm  where  he  was  ])<nn.  Judge  Buck's  mother 
was  Roxana  Wheelock,  who  was  born  at  Clarc- 
mont.  New  Hampshire,  m  1799,  and  died  in  1842. 
She  was  a  sister  of  Charles  Wheelock,  colonel  of 
the  Ninety-seventh  New  Ytjrk  \'olunteers  in  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion,  afterwards  brevetted  briga- 
dier general.  The  father  of  Jonathan  ]]uck  was 
Daniel  Buck,  who  settled  in  Boonville  about  the 
year  1800.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  enlisted  first  in  1778  or  1779  in  Captain 
Benjamin  Bonney's  company,  under  Colonel 
Porter,  and  re-enlisted  in  1780  in  Captain  John 
H.  Smith's  company,  William  Richards,  colonel. 
He  was  1)orn  in  1762  at  Ihidgewater,  Massachu- 
setts, and  his  residence  at  the  date  of  his  enlist- 
ment was  Chesterfield.  Massachusetts.  He  died 
about  the  year  1843.  The  first  American  ancestor 
of  the  Buck  family  was  one  Isaac  Ihuk,  who,  in 
October,  1635.  with  several  other  persons,  was 
transported  frf)m  England  to  Boston  in  the  ship 
Amelia,  Captain  Ceorge  Downs,  for  refusing  to 
take  the  r)ath  of  conformit\'.     He  was  at  th.'it  time 


thirty-four  years  of  age.  His  wife,  who  was 
Erances  Marsh,  and  whom  he  married  before 
leaving  England,  followed  him  to  America  in 
December,  1635.  Isaac  Buck  went  to  Scituate^ 
Alassachusetts,  where  he  bought  land.  In  the  his- 
tory of  that  town  he  is  described  as  follows: 
"Lieutenant  Isaac  Buck  was  a  brother  of  John 
Buck,  and  was  in  Scituate  before  1647.  *  *  * 
In  1660  he  built  a  house  near  the  harbour,  on  the 
Duckfield,  so-called  even  now.  *  *  *  He 
was  a  very  useful  man,  often  engaged  in  public 
business,  and  the  clerk  of  the  town  for  many 
years.  He  was  a  lieutenant  in  King  Phillips' 
war,  and  repulsed  the  Indians  with  great  loss  from 
Scituate  in  Alarch,  1676.  He  died  in  1695." 
Thomas  Buck  was  the  eldest  son  of  Isaac  Buck, 
and  he  settled  in  Bridgewater,  Massac'nusetts,  be- 
fore 17 1 2.  Mathew  Buck  was  a  son  of  Thomas. 
Buck,  and  he  also  lived  in  Bridgewater.  He  was 
the  father  of  Daniel  Buck,  of  Revolutionary  fame, 
already  referred  to,  who  was  born  in  1762.  Judge 
Daniel  Buck,  of  whom  this  sketch  treats,  was 
1)orn  in  Boonville,  New  York,  September  8, 
1829.  He  received  the  rudiments  of  an  education 
m  the  common  schools  and  finished  at  Rome 
.\cademy,  Oneida  County,,and  Lowville  Academy, 
Lewis  County,  New  York.  He  came  to  Minne- 
sota ;\lay  13,  1857.  and  pre-empted  land  at  Ma- 
delia.  In  that  year  he  settled  in  P.lue  Earth 
County.  After  leaving  school  he  studied  law, 
and  when  he  came  to  Minnesota  he  was  actively 
engaged  in  its  practice.  He  was  elected  to  the 
legislature  in  1858,  but  the  legislature  did  not 
meet  in  that  }ear.  and  so  he  could  not  serve.  In 
1865,  while  a  member  of  the  house  of  represent- 
atives, he  secured  the  passage  of  a  law  providing 
for  the  location  of  a  normal  school  at  Mankato. 
I'or  four  years  he  was  county  attorney  of  Blue 
Earth  County,  and  in  1878  he  was  elected  to  the- 
state  senate  for  the  full  term  of  four  years.  For 
five  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Mankato 
school  board,  and  for  five  years  more  he  was  a 
member  of  the  state  normal  school  board,  and 
while  serving  in  this  last  named  ca]incitv  he  as- 
sisted in  tile  selection  (if  sites  for  the  mirmal 
schools  at  Winona,  Mankato  and  St.  Cluuil.  He 
had  principal  charge  of  the  eonstructiim  (if  the 
^Tankato  ndrmal  schofil  buildings.  IK'  was  ;is- 
sr)ciate  counsel  for  the  st;Uc  at  the  time  of  the  trial 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


445 


of  the  five  iiiillimi  loan  hill,  and  v\as  allunie}'  for 
the  claimaiilh  in  the  suit  for  the  reward  offered 
for  the  capture  of  the  Younger  jjrothers.  In  iS.^8 
he  was  a  candidate  for  lieutenant  governor,  but 
was  defeated  with  ihe  nniaindt'r  of  the  Uenio- 
cratic  ticket.  He  was  elected  judge  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  in  I<S(;2,  for  the  term  of  six  years, 
commencing  the  tirst  .\l0nda3'  in  January,  1894, 
and  was  cippointcd  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court 
October  2,  1893,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
resignation  of  judge  Dickinson.  He  has  aKvays 
been  a  Democrat,  and  as  long  ago  as  1859  was 
that  party's  candidate  for  secretary  of  state  in 
Minnesota.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  national 
I^emocratic  convention  in  .St.  Louis  in  1876,  and 
voted  for  W.  J.  Bryan  for  ])resident  in  181  ;6.  In 
the  legislature  of  1879  he  introduced  a  bill  for 
the  insolvent  law  of  the  state.  Tt  was  passed,  but 
the  governor  interposed  a  veto.  In  1881  he  intro- 
duced it  again,  and  this  time  it  became  a  law. 
Judge  Ruck  was  a  member  of  the  court  of  im- 
peachment on  the  trial  of  K.  .St.  julien  Cox.  He 
is  not  a  church  member,  but  sympathizes  with  the 
Quakers,  his  mother  having  been  a  member  of 
that  society.  October  25,  1858,  at  Elgin,  Illinois, 
he  was  married  to  Lovisa  A.  Wood,  and  three 
children  have  been  born  to  them,  Charles  Delos 
Buck,  February  24,  1864,  died  November  27, 
1882,  while  a  student  at  the  state  university; 
Alfred  A.  Buck,  April  16,  1872;  and  Laura  \L 
Buck,  June  15.  1874.  The  latter  is  now  Mrs. 
William  L.  Abbott. 


ALEXIS  JOSEPH  FOURNIER. 

Alexis  Joseph  Fournier  is  a  young  man 
whose  genius  as  an  artist  is  recognized  and  ad- 
mired by  the  people  of  Mnineapolis  and  the 
juries  of  all  the  principal  exhibitions  of  Amer- 
ica, and  one  whose  struggle  for  success  in  his 
art  has  enlisted  the  sympathy  of  his  fellow  citi- 
zens in  a  high  degree.  He  was  born  Juh'  4,  1865, 
in  the  first  frame  building  built  in  St.  Paul.  His 
father,  Isaial  Fournier,  was  a  mill-wright,  and 
now  resides  in  Minneapolis.  He  was  born  in 
Montreal,  Canada,  of  French  parentage,  and  was 
a  pioneer  in  Minnesota,  having  come  to  St.  Paul 
in  i860.  When  Alexis  was  a  babe  he  was  stolen 
out  of  his  cradle  in  a  log  cabin  near  what  is  now 


West  St.  Paul,  by  an  Indian  sc|uavv,  who,  it  was 
believed,  took  him  in  order  to  secure  the  blanket 
in  which  he  was  wrapped.  He  was,  however,  soon 
afterwards  recovered.  The  family  subsequently 
removed  to  Fond  du  Lac,  Wisconsin.  At  the  age 
of  twelve  years  he  was  sent  to  Milwaukee  to  an 
academy  conducted  by  priests,  where  he  was  in 
school  for  three  years  and  where  he  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  the  German  language.  His  tastes 
were  first  formed  in  this  school,  and  he  was  en- 
couraged to  carve  wooden  images  and  crucifixes 
for  the  decoration  of  the  church  altar.  After  leav- 
ing school  he  was  compelled  to  support  himself, 
which  he  did  by  selling  newspapers  and  work- 
ing as  office  boy.  his  lodging  place  at  that 
time  being  for  a  time  in  the  hull  of  an 
old  vessel  frozen  fast  in  the  river  at  Milwaukee. 
About  this  time  he  became  interested  in  the  work 
of  an  old  scene  jiainter,  and  from  him  took  his 
first  lessons  in  the  use  of  color.  His  familv  had 
removed  to  Winona,  and  he  returned  there,  re- 
maining at  home  only  one  summer.  In  1879 
he  came  to  Minneapolis  and  was  employed  at 
sign  writing  and  decorative  painting,  in  the  mean- 
time devoting  his  siiarc  time  to  sketching  from 
nature  and  cop\ing  old  pictures.  Tt  was  his 
fortune  to  be  employed  in  the  decoration  of  Pot- 
ter Palmer's  residence,  in  Chicago,  under  A.  F. 


446 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


Jacassy,  celebrated  for  his  designing  and  illus- 
trations. One  morning  while  finishing  a  sketch 
he  was  surprised  to  find  Mrs.  Palmer  watching  his 
efforts  with  apparent  interest  and  gratified  to  re- 
ceive her  approval  for  the  excellence  of  his  work. 
He  returned  again  to  Minneapolis  and  devoted 
most  of  his  time  to  scene  painting  and  executing 
orders  for  pictures  of  local  interest  for  friends 
and  admirers.  He  opened  a  studio  and  devoted 
his  time  to  landscape  painting.  auKjng  his  patrons 
being  ^Vlr.  J.  J.  Hill,  of  St.  Paul,  who  purchased  a 
large  painting  of  St.  Anthony  Falls  and  the  mill- 
ing district.  He  executed  a  number  of  orders 
for  pictures  of  local  landscapes  and  old  home- 
steads for  the  State  Historical  Society  and  did 
considerable  designing  and  sketching  for  the 
newspapers  and  magazines.  In  the  spring  of  i8yo 
he  built  a  modest  home  at  Washburn  Park 
and  devoted  his  summer  months  during  the  next 
two  or  three  years  to  sketching  and  studying 
from  nature  in  the  picturescjue  country  surround- 
ing his  home.  In  the  winter  of  1891-92  he  was 
attached  to  an  exploring  party  as  artist  in  the 
San  Juan  country  of  Colorado,  Arizona,  Utah  and 
New  Mexico,  and  upon  return  of  the  party  his 
drawings  were  elaborated  in  colors  for  the  cliff 
dwellers'  exhil)it  at  the  Columbian  Exposition. 
Upon  his  return  from  Chicago  he  was  engaged 
to  arrange  and  superintend  the  art  department 
of  the  Minneapolis  Exposition,  the  feature  of  this 
gallery  being  the  prominence  given  to  local  artists 
and  architects,  and  in  this  undertaking 
he  was  highly  successful.  In  1893  Mr.  Fournier 
sailed  for  Paris  in  order  to  continue  his  art  studies 
in  the  Julien  Academy,  and  remained  abroad 
nearly  two  years,  working  under  such  masters  as 
Jean  Paul,  Laurens,  Benjamin  Constant,  Joseph 
P)lanc.  ancl  others.  The  first  winter  was  devoted 
largely  to  the  completion  of  a  sketch  taken  of 
Minnehaha  Creek,  near  his  home,  which,  when 
completed,  he  called  "A  Spring  Morning."  To 
his  intense  delight  and  encouragement  it  was 
accepted  for  the  Salon.  On  varnishing  day  in 
the  Salon  dc  Champs-Elysees  (1894)  he  was  met 
by  his  master,  Benjamin  Constant,  who  remarked: 
"Ah,  yon  are  here  todav.     Well,  that  means  vou 


have  something  here,"  and  upon  the  picture  being 
pointed  out  to  him,  Mr.  Constant  said: 
"Yes,  you  have  a  good  composition  and  good 
lines  in  that.  Yes,  indeed,  it  is  a  spring  morning, 
and  I  see  that  you  already  understand  nature. 
Well  done.  Keep  right  on,  my  friend."  It  was 
a  happy  day  for  the  struggling  young  artist,  and 
his  joy  was  still  greater  when  his  picture  was 
again  commended  by  Alexander  Harrison,  who 
saw  it  at  the  American  i\rt  Association  rooms  in 
Paris,  and  remarked  to  a  friend:  "That's  a  good 
thing.  That  fellow  is  on  the  right  road.  We  will 
hear  from  him  some  day  soon."  Air.  Fournier 
spent  his  winters  at  work  in  the  academy  and 
his  summers  in  company  with  other  artists, 
chiefly  Gaylord  S.  Truesdale,  the  animal  painter, 
in  the  provinces  and  in  Italy,  where  he  obtained 
material  for  many  pictures.  In  1895  li^  ^'^'^s  again 
represented  in  the  salon  with  a  picture,  "Le 
Repos,"  representing  some  cows  and  sheep  at 
rest  in  a  pasture.  This  was  hung  next  to  one  by 
the  famotts  Jerome,  and  was  the  subject  of  favor- 
able connnent  from  the  h'rench  journalists.  He 
visited  the  famous  galleries  on  the  continent  and 
in  England,  and  exhibited  while  abroad  in  such 
galleries  as  the  Salon,  Societie  des  Artistes,  Crys- 
tal Palace.  London,  the  American  Art  Association, 
in  Paris,  the  Xational  Academy,  in  Xew  York,  and 
the  St.  Louis  Exposition.  He  returned  in  the  lat- 
ter jjart  of  1805,  bringing  with  him  a  large  amount 
(.f  completed  work  which  he  has  exliibited  at 
Minneaiiolis  and  in  other  cities.  Mr.  Fournier 
was  married  in  1886  to  Aliss  Enmia  F'rick.  of 
Fine  Island,  Alinnesota.  They  ha\-e  two  children, 
Crace  and  Paul.  Although  now  onlv  thirt\-onc 
years  of  age,  Mr.  Fournier  has  given  promise  of 
great  success  in  his  profession,  and  his  career  will 
be  followed  with  interest  and  great  expectations. 


WILLIAM    RICHARD    M(  )RRIS. 

The  Afro-American  race  aiifords  not  a  few 
examples  of  the  ability  of  that  peoiile  to  arise 
aliove  race  ])rejudice  and  the  disadvant;iges  of 
birth  to  ]iositions  of  standing  and  influence  in 
tile  ciinmumity.      ( )ne  such  example  is  fmmd  in 


PROGRESSIVK  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


447 


the  subject  of  tliis  sketch.  Wihiain  Riilianl 
Morris  was  lioni  near  Fleniingsbur^'-,  Kentucky, 
February  22,  1859,  the  son  of  Hezckiah  Morris, 
a  slave.  His  mother's  maiden  name  was  FJiza- 
beth  Hopkins.  His  father  havint;'  died  wht'U  he 
was  only  two  years  of  age,  his  mother  moved,  after 
the  war,  to  Ohio,  wlierc  Wilham  attended  the 
puhHc  schiKils  of  New  Rielnnond  and  Cincin- 
nati, and  hiter  a  pay  scliool  in  Chicago,  llhnois. 
He  entered  I'isk  University  at  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see, when  seventeen  years  of  age,  graduat- 
ing with  high  honors  from  the  classical 
deiiartnient  in  the  class  of  1884.  He  was 
a]Jt  and  studious,  and  recognized  as  a 
bright  scholar,  a  logical  debater,  a  good 
essavist  and  an  eloquent  and  forcible  speak- 
er. He  was  termed  a  "typical  Fiskitc"  by 
leason  of  his  fine  scholarship,  devotion  to  his 
race  and  strict  adherence  to  the  principles  of 
rectitude.  He  was  made  a  member  of  the  faculty 
after  graduating,  and  was  for  more  than  four 
years  the  only  Afro-American  member  of  that 
bodv  of  twenty-five  professors  and  teach- 
ers. He  taught  classes  in  mathematics,  lan- 
guages and  the  sciences  at  Fisk  University  for 
five  years,  giving  complete  satisfaction.  While 
a  student  he  taught  public  schools  in  Mississippi 
and  Arkansas  during  vacation.  He  represented 
the  Afro-Ariiericans  of  the  South  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  A.  M.  A.,  at  Madison,  Wisconsin, 
in  1885,  delivering  an  address  entitled  "The 
Negro  at  Present,"  which  won  im-  him  a  wide 
reputation.  In  1886  he  was  employed  by  the 
State  superintendent  of  education  of  Tennessee, 
to  hold  institutes  for  Afro-American  teachers  of 
that  state.  He  has  lectured  at  diiiferent  times 
and  written  articles  for  the  press  which  have  been 
highly  commended.  In  1887  he  received  the  de- 
gree of  M.  A.  from  his  Alma  Mater,  and  in  the 
same  year  was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  supreme 
court  of  Illinois,  in  a  class  of  twenty-seven,  being 
one  out  of  three  to  receive  the  same  and  highest 
mark.  He  was  also  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the 
supreme  court  of  Tennessee,  and  practiced  some 
at  both  Chicago.  Illinois,  and  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see. He  resigned  his  position  at  Fisk  University 
in  June.  1880,  and  came  to  IMinneapolis,  and  has 
practiced  in  that  citv  ever  since,  having  been  the 


first  Afro-American  lawyer  to  appear  before  the 
courts  of  Hennepin  County.  He  has  handled  a 
number  of  important  cases  and  won  for  himself 
an  enviable  reputation  as  a  lawyer,  both  in  civil 
and  criminal  practice.  One  of  his  most  im- 
portant cases  was  the  defense  of  "Yorky,"'  or 
Thomas  Lyons,  in  the  famous  Harris  murder  trial, 
who  was  discharged.  He  is  a  Republican  in  pol- 
itics and  a  member  of  the  Fifth  District  Con- 
gressional connnittee.  He  has  taken  the  lead  in 
Minneapolis  in  everything  pertaining  to  the  up- 
building of  his  race,  and  has  never  wavered  in 
the  struggle  for  their  rights.  He  was  elected 
president  of  the  Afro-American  State  League  in 
1891.  He  is  also  a  thirty-third  degree  Mason, 
a  member  of  the  Supreme  Council.  Sheik  of  Fez- 
zan  Temple  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  High  Priest 
and  Prophet  in  the  Imperial  Council,  Scribe  of 
the  Chapter,  Deputy  Supreme  Chancellor  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias.  Brigadier  General  of  the 
Uniform  Rank,  a  trustee  of  the  .Supreme  Lodge, 
Generalissimo  of  the  Commanderv  K.  T.,  and  an 
N.  F.  of  the  (  )dd  I'ellows.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Plymouth  Congregational  church  of  Minne- 
apolis. July  14,  1806,  he  married  Miss  Anna  M. 
La  Force  of  Pullman.  Illinois,  a  most  estimable 
voung  woman  of  acknowledsred  literare  abilitv. 


4-4-8 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


GEORGE  U.  NEWELL. 

Minneapolis  wuuld  never  liave  become  the  me- 
tropolis she  has  if  it  had  not  been  that  she  num- 
bered amoni:;'  her  early  residents  many  who,  as 
enterprising'  liusiness  men.  realized  the  impor- 
tance of  her  location  and  the  futnrc  in  store  for 
her.and  devoted  their  best  efforts  to  the  upbnildin,ef 
of  the  city.  Among  that  list  of  public-sph-ited 
men  the  name  of  George  R.  Newell  stands  prom- 
inent. Mr.  Xewell  is  senior  partner  of  the  firm 
of  George  R.  Xewell  &  Co.,  one  of  the  largest 
wholesale  grocery  honses  in  the  Northwest.  This 
firm  has  bnilt  up  a  trade  which  extends  through- 
out the  whole  Northwest,  and  has  a  business  that 
amounts  to  several  million  dollars  yearly.  Mr. 
Newell  has  achieved  success  in  life  entirely  im- 
aided  by  fortune.  He  is  a  native  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  and  was  l)orn  in  Tonawanda,  July  31, 
1844,  the  son  of  Hiram  Newell  and  riioebc  New- 
ell. Tliiani  Newell  was  actively  engaged  in  the 
dry  goods  trade  during  his  career,  liut  has  now  re- 
tired from  1)usincss,  and  is  residing  at  Saratoga 
Springs.  New  York.  The  Newell  famih-  comes 
from  good  old  New  England  stock.  George  at- 
tended  the  public   schools  of  his  native  village 


until  he  was  twelve  years  of  age,  and  then 
launched  out  into  active  business.  He  worked  at 
all  sorts  of  jobs,  but  mostly  clerking  in  stores. 
In  1866  he  came  West  to  enjoy  the  advantages 
which  the  new  region  afforded,  and  for  some  time 
worked  on  a  .Mississippi  steamboat.  In  1867  he 
secured  a  position  as  a  clerk  in  Minneapolis  and 
worked  at  this  occupation  for  three  years.  In 
1870.  in  partnershii.)  with  Messrs.  Stevens  & 
-Morse,  he  opened  a  grocery  store,  the  firm  being 
known  as  .Stevens,  Morse  &  Newell.  The  part- 
nership was  dissolved  in  1873,  ^ml  Mr.  Newell 
continued  the  business  alone  for  a  year.  He  then 
entered  into  partnership  with  Mr.  H.  G.  Harri- 
son, the  firm  being  called  Newell  &  Harrison. 
As  such  it  continued  for  ten  years,  at  which  time 
the  present  firm  of  George  R.  Newell  &  Co.  w'as 
organized.  Mr.  Cavour  S.  Langdon  being  taken 
into  partnership  with  'Sir.  Newell.  Through  its 
several  changes  of  partnership  and  location,  the 
firm  constantly  increased  its  trade.  l*"or  a  long 
time  they  occui)ied  a  large  building  at  the  corner 
of  Mrst  and  Washington  avenues  North,  but  the 
constant  accession  to  their  trade  compelled  a  re- 
moval, and  the  splendid  storehouse  at  the  corner 
of  h'irst  avenue  and  Third  street  was  erected.  This 
l)uilding  is  of  pressed  brick,  five  stories  high,  with 
high  basement,  and  covers  aliout  a  quarter  of  a 
block,  being  especiall\-  planned  for  the  wholesale 
grocery  trade.  The  business  affairs  of  this  firm 
have  been  conducted  by  Mr.  Newell  with  a 
sagacity  and  prudence  that  has  established  for  it 
a  high  reputation  in  the  conunercial  world.  Mr. 
Newell  has  always  been  a  leader  in  any  movement 
lending  to  further  the  interests  of  Minneapolis, 
giving  his  support  to  every  projected  enterprise 
that  gave  pronnse  of  help  in  building  up  the  city, 
and  has  been  an  active  spirit  in  the  Jobbers'  Asso- 
ciation, the  Pioard  of  Trade  and  other  commercial 
organizations.  He  is  one  of  the  most  approach- 
able of  men.  accessible  at  all  times,  and  is  as 
pnpular  ami  held  in  .as  higli  esteem  by  his  em- 
ploves  as  he  is  bv  his  liusiness  associates,  who 
recognize  his  integrity  and  worth  as  a  business 
man.  Mr.  Newell's  ])olitical  affiliations  have 
alwavs  Ix'en  with  the  Republican  party,  though  he 
has  never  taken  any  active  part  in  ])olitics.     He 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  0[^  MINNESOTA. 


449 


is  a  Mason  and  a  nu'nihci'  nl  the  Minnrapi  ilis  anil 
Commercial  Clnhs.  lie  was  maniecl  in  1X70  to 
Mrs.  Alida  l'"erris,  of  Wyoming,  \e\v  York. 


n.\Rrrs  f.  .morg.vx. 

In  February,  i<S54,  Darius  F".  .Morgan  was  born 
in  Jackson  County,  Iowa.  His  paternal  ancestors 
were  New  England  farmers,  who,  emigrating 
from  Wales  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century,  |;>layed  a  cons])icuous  i)art  in  the  revolu- 
tionary struggle  for  liberty.  I'>\-  his  mother,  Ruth 
Du])rey,  of  .\leadville,  I'ennsylvania,  he  is  de- 
scended from  a  I'rench  Huguenot  family,  which  in 
early  Colonial  times  fled  from  religitnis  ])ersecu- 
tion  at  home  to  the  hos]iitable  shores  of  the  new 
world.  His  father,  Harley  Morgan,  was  a  native 
of  \'ergennes.  \  ermont,  but  in  1S4J  Ijrought  his 
family  West  to  the  Mississippi  valley,  settling  tirst 
in  Jackson  County,  and  fourteen  years  later  in 
\\^inneshiek  County,  Iowa,  in  which  latter  county 
young  ]Morgan  spent  his  boyhood  antl  youth,  and 
laid  tiie  foundation  of  a  substantial  education  in 
the  common  schools.  In  1876,  until  which  time 
he  had  lived  with  his  father,  working  on  the  farm 
in  summer  and  going  to  school  in  the  winter,  he 
began  to  studv  law,  and  in  the  fall  of  1877  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  at  Austin,  .Minnesota,  which 
city  had  now  been  his  home  for  almost  a  year,  and 
where  he  had  supported  himself  as  a  student,  as 
a  reporter  in  Judge  Page's  court.  A  year  after 
admission  to  the  bar  he  went  to  Albert  Lea,  where 
he  formed  a  professional  partnership  with  John 
A.  Lovely,  which  lasted  for  ten  years.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1888,  Mr.  ?\lorgan  was  elected  to  represent 
Freeborn  County  in  the  lower  house  of  the  legis- 
lature, and  in  the  session  of  i88<)  he  was  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  approjiriations.  In  1890 
he  removed  to  Minneapolis,  where  he  formed  a 
partnership  in  the  law  with  W.  H.  Eustis,  which 
lasted  until  Air.  Eustis'  election  as  niavor  of  Min- 
neapolis in  Xovemlicr,  iS()j.  Ma\-  I,  i8()3.  the 
firm  of  Hale,  Morgan  &  Mrmtgomerv  was  organ- 
ized, and  it  became  in  a  short  time  one  of  the 
strongest  at  the  Hennepin  bar.  In  i8<)4  Mr. 
Morgan  was  sent  to  the  state  senate  from  the 
Thirty-second  District,  comprising  the  Alinneap- 


oiis  I'ifth  and  .sixth  wards,  for  a  term  uf  four 
years,  in  the  sessions  of  1895  ^"^1  1897  '^^  served 
with  distinction  as  a  member  of  the  judiciary 
committee  of  the  senate.  In  1895,  he  was,  in  addi- 
tion, the  chairman  of  the  finance  committee.  In 
1897  he  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  cor- 
porations and  a  member  of  the  committee  on 
ta.xes  and  ta.x  laws.  These  are  among  the  most 
important  committees  of  the  senate.  Mr.  Morgan 
early  became  attached  to  the  Republican  party. 
His  eloquence  made  him  a  power  on  the  stump, 
and  his  good  judgment  and  conservatism  made 
him  useful  in  i;art\-  counsel.  For  almost  eighteen 
years  he  was  a  member  of  county  and  state  cen- 
tral conmiittees.  F'or  two  sessions  of  the  legis- 
lature he  has  been  on^  of  the  leading  members 
of  the  senate,  and  few  men  in  the  state  are  more 
widely  or  more  favorably  known.  In  1876  Mr. 
.Morgan  was  married  to  Ella  .M.  Hayward,  of 
\\  aukon.  Iowa,  and  a  son  and  two  daughters 
were  born  of  the  union.  In  March,  1893,  ^'•'S- 
Morgan  died,  and  after  almost  three  vears  had 
passed  by,  Mr.  Morgan  married  again.  The  pres- 
ent Mrs.  Morgan  was  Mrs.  Lizette  F.  Davis,  of 
.\uburn.  Xew  York.  Senator  Morgan  belongs  to 
but  one  secret  societv,  the  Elks.  He  attends 
Gethsemane  Episcojial  church  with  his  fann'lv. 


450 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JAMES  ALBERTUS  TAWNEY. 

The  representative  in  congress  from  tlie  First 
Jilinnesota  District  is  a  self-made  man  in  all  that 
the  term  implies.  James  Albertus  Tawney  was 
born  near  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  Mount 
Pleasant  township,  January  3,  1855.  Tawney 
pere  was  a  farmer  and  blacksmith,  in  very  modest 
circumstances,  and  when  fifteen  years  of  age  the 
son  began  to  learn  the  blacksmith's  trade  in  his 
father's  shop.  After  graduating  from  the  bellows 
and  forge,  young  Tawney  learned  the  trade  of  a 
machinist,  and  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  going  to 
work  at  this  trade  that  he  came  to  Winona,  Min- 
nesota, August  I,  1877.  ( )n  January  i,  1881,  he 
began  to  read  law  in  the  office  of  llentley  & 
Vance,  in  Winona,  having  read  at  his  home  for 
two  long  years  i)rior  to  this  time,  a  little  while 
each  morning  before  going  to  the  sho]),  and  in  the 
evening  after  the  day's  work  was  done.  It  thus 
]iap]jened  that  when  he  entered  the  ofificc  of  Bent- 
ley  &  Vance  and  began  to  devote  all  of  liis  time  to 
the  work  he  made  rapid  progress.  In  1882,  July 
10,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  Then  it  was  that 
he  became  a  student  in  the  law  deiiartnu-nt  of  the 
University  of  ^^1sconsin.  tin-  onlv  school  lie  had 


attended  since  he  was  fourteen  years  old.  After 
finishing  the  course,  Mr.  Tawney  returned  to 
Winona,  which  city  has  ever  since  been  his  home. 
In  iSyo  he  was  sent  to  the  state  senate  from 
Winona  County.  He  was  a  delegate  in  the  Re- 
publican state  nominating  convention  of  1892,  and 
made  an  eloquent  speech  nominating  Knute  Nel- 
son for  governor.  He  served  with  great  honor 
in  the  legislature  in  i8gi  and  1893,  and  was 
elected  to  congress  as  a  Republican  in  November, 

1892,  before  his  term  as  state  senator  had  expired. 
In  1894  he  was  returned  to  congress  for  a  second 
term,  and  in  1896  for  a  third  term.  Mr.  Tawney's 
congressional  record  has  been  a  bright  one.  He 
made  his  maiden  speech  in  congress  (-)ctober  6, 

1893,  in  opposition  to  the  bill  of  H.  St.  G.  Tucker, 
of  \'irginia,  providing  for  the  repeal  of  the  federal 
election  laws.  This  speech  was  regarded  as  one  of 
the  strongest  that  was  made  against  the  bill.  Jan- 
uary 19,  1894,  he  made  the  famous  speech  which 
gave  him  the  sobriquet  "Barley  Jim.'"  It  was 
against  the  proposition  to  reduce  the  tariff  on  bar- 
ley, and  showed  conclusively  that  if  the  tariff  were 
reduced  Canadian  barley  would  come  into  the 
American  market,  and  to  a  large  extent  drive  out 
the  home  grain.  The  speech  appealed  with  great 
force  to  every  member  of  the  house,  any  part  of 
whose  constituency  was  interested  in  raising  this 
cereal.  January  24  1894,  he  made  a  speech  in 
favor  of  the  maintenance  of  the  McKinley  tariff 
on  iron  ore,  and  the  day  following  spoke  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  effort  of  Mr.  Wilson  and  his  friends 
on  the  floor  to  repeal  the  reciprocity  clauses  of  the 
McKinley  bill.  All  (if  these  speeches  added  to  his 
reputation  as  a  forceful  and  logical  debater.  His 
congressional  record  in  connection  with  pension 
legislatiiin  is  good,  and  the  old  soldiers  of  the 
First  District  are  his  friends  to  a  man.  The  main 
sections  of  his  bill  providing  for  the  settlement  of 
disputes  between  labor  and  capital  In-  arbitration 
w'erc  incoi-porated  in  the  Olney  bill,  which  passed. 
Mr.  Tawney  was  a  memlier  of  the  wavs  and  means 
committee  of  the  b'ifty-fourth  and  l'ift\-fifth  cun- 
gresses.  and  took  a  leading  part  in  constructing 
the  tariff  bill  j^resented  at  the  extra  session 
in  181)7.  ,\s  an  attorney  he  stands  in  the 
front      rank,     and     his     ])ractice     has     included 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


451 


sonic  (_)f  tliL'  mi.ist  iiii|)<  iriaul  cases  ever 
tried  in  the  state.  In  1H83,  December  19,  Mr. 
Tawney  was  married  to  Miss  Ennna  r>.  Xewall, 
at  Winona.    Thev  have  five  children. 


ANSEL  OPPENHI'.iM. 

Ansel  ( )])pcnlieini,  of  the  tnni  of  (.)ppen- 
heim  &  Kalnian,  was  born  in  New  York  City, 
on  January  5,  1847.  His  father,  Isaac  Oppen- 
heini,  was  a  merchant  of  New  York.  He  gave 
his  son  an  academic  education,  and  fitted  him 
for  his  profession.  Ansel  studied  law  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  Minnesota  in  1878.  Seeing 
in  the  Northwest  a  promising  future,  the  young 
lawyer  conmienced  the  practice  of  his  profession 
at  St.  Paul,  forming  a  co-partnership  with  Hon. 
John  B.  P>risbin.  He  was  well  fitted  for  success 
in  the  law,  but  the  remarkable  chances  offered 
for  the  dealing  in  real  property  letl  him  to 
abandon  an  extensive  practice  and  to  engage  in 
the  real  estate  business.  His  judgment  in  this 
matter  proved  to  be  most  excellent,  as  in  the  suc- 
ceeding ten  or  fifteen  years  Mr.  Oppenheim  was 
successful,  and  through  his  extensive  influence 
has  been  enabled  to  do  a  great  deal  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  interests  of  his  city.  It  was 
to  his  firm  and  its  associates  that  the  city  of  Si. 
Paul  is  largely  indebted  for  the  Union  Stock 
Yards  in  South  St.  Paul,  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
House  and  several  other  large  enterprises.  Mr. 
Oppenheim  was  one  oi  the  leading  promoters  of 
what  is  now  the  Chicago  (Ireat  Western  Rail- 
road, which  was  the  first  railroad  to  enter  St. 
Paul  from  the  west  side  of  the  river.  He  is  now 
vice  president  of  the  company.  During  the  con- 
struction of  the  I'nion  Stock  Yards  he  was 
president  of  the  company,  btu  now  retains  offi- 
cial connection  with  the  concern  as  vice  presi- 
dent. Mr.  Oppenheim  is  also  a  director  of  the 
Bank  of  Minnesota,  and  is  and  has  1)een  identified 
with  many  leading  financial  and  commer- 
cial enterprises  in  his  city.  In  1880  Mr. 
Oppenheim  was  appointed  by  (^i)veni(^r  Hub- 
bard as  a  member  of  the  State  Dward  of  Equali- 
zation. For  one  term  he  ser\'ed  as  asseiu- 
blyman  in  St.  Paul,  and  was  conspicuous  in  this 
capacitv  as  an  active  protuoter  of  the  city's  wel- 


fare. He  has  a  large  and  valuable  acquaintance 
with  foreign  and  eastern  capitalists,  which  has 
been  exceedingly  useful  to  him  in  his  great  en- 
terprises. Mr.  (Jppenheim  was  married  in  1869 
to  Miss  Josie  Greve,  daughter  of  Herman  Greve, 
one  of  St.  Paul's  prominent  citizens.  Mr.  Greve 
was  a  native  of  the  province  of  Westphalia,  Ger- 
many. He  came  to  St.  Paul  in  1855,  and  invested 
largely  in  real  estate.  Much  of  his  life  was  spent 
in  farnfing  in  X'ernon  County,  Wisconsin.  In 
1880  he  moved  tn  ."^t.  F'aul  and  engaged  actively 
in  business,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  one 
of  the  largest  holders  of  real  estate  in  that  city. 
Mrs.  Oppenheim  is  pronunent  in  St.  Paul  society 
and  is  a  writer  of  no  mean  ability.  She  was 
educatetl  in  a  convent  and  added  to  this  the  cul- 
ture obtained  by  extensive  travel.  For  years  she 
was  the  companion  of  her  father,  Mr.  Greve.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  ( )ppenheim  have  three  sons.  The  oldest, 
Herman,  is  at  the  present  time  Assistant  Corpo- 
ration Attorney  of  St.  Paul.  The  second  son, 
Lucius,  is  the  traveling  freight  agent  of  the  Chi- 
cago Great  Western  Railroad.  The  third  son. 
Greve,  now  ten  years  of  age,  is  attending  school. 
Mr.  Oppenheim  is  a  member  of  the  Minnesota 
Club,  of  St.  Paul,  and  is  a  Mason  in  good  stand- 
ing.   In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 


452 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON  SOAIERMLLE. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the 
legal  profession  in  Southern  Minnesota  is  George 
Washington  Somerville,  of  Sleepy  Eye,  Brown 
County,  Minnesota.  Mr.  Somerville  was  born  in 
Ripley  County.  Indiana,  June  3,  1855;  son  of 
William  and  Rachel  (Cunningham)  Somerville. 
On  his  father's  side  he  is  of  Irish  descent,  his 
grandfather  having  been  born  in  the  north  of 
Ireland,  emigrating  to  this  country  when  but 
nineteen  years  of  age.  William  Somerville  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  but  lived  in  Indiana  from 
boyhood  until  his  removal  to  this  state  in  i860. 
when  George  W.  was  but  five  years  of  age.  He 
settled  on  a  farm  in  Mola  township,  ( )lmsted 
County,  wdiere  he  still  resides,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  pros])erons  agriculturists  in  that  fertile  sec- 
tion of  the  North  Star  state.  He  is  also  promi- 
nent as  a  horticulturist,  liaving  early  begun  to 
ornament  his  farm  with  evergreens,  to  which  he 
added  the  useful  fruit  varieties.  He  now  has  one 
of  the  best  orchards  in  the  state  of  Minnesota. 
He  has  been  a  prominent  member  of  horticultural 
societies,  and  \vas  for  several  years  a  lecturer  on 
horticulture  with  the  State  Farmers'  Institute, 
l)eing  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  conii)eteiit 


authorities  on  the  subject  in  this  state.  He  was 
also  honored  by  the  people  of  his  neighborhood 
by  being  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  legis- 
lature in  1872;  he  has  also  held  several  town 
offices.  George  Washington  Somer\'ille  received 
his  elementary  education  in  the  district  school  of 
his  neighborhood,  which  he  attended  only  three 
months  out  of  the  year,  the  balance  of  the  time 
working  on  his  father's  farm.  In  his  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  years  he  attended  the  village 
school  at  Eyota,  in  the  same  county.  In  1872  his 
family  moved  to  Rochester,  this  state,  where 
George  entered  the  high  school,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1876.  Then,  having  a  predilection 
for  the  profession  of  law,  he  pursued  its  studies 
during  the  following  year  in  the  office  of  H.  C. 
Butler,  of  that  city.  In  1878  he  entered  the  law 
department  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  gradu- 
ating the  year  following.  Innnediatelv  after  his 
graduation  he  returned  to  Minnesota  and  located 
at  Sleepy  Eye,  where  he  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  He  has  remained  at  this  place  ever 
since  and  built  up  an  extensive  practice.  His 
popularity  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  he  was  re- 
nominated three  times  to  the  office  of  county 
attorney  of  Brown  Countv,  declining  a  fourth 
nomination,  serving  in  this  office  from  1882  to 
1888.  He  has  also  been  citv  attorney  of  Sleepy 
Eye  fiir  a  number  of  years  and  still  holds  that 
position.  In  politics  he  has  always  been  a  Repub- 
lican, and  is  a  leader  in  the  counsels  of  his  party. 
He  has  attended  a  number  of  state  Republican 
conventions  as  a  delegate,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  e.xecutive  committee  of  the  Re]niblican  .State 
League.  He  is  a  Mason  and  a  Knights  Templar, 
a  member  of  Zuhrah  Temple,  Mystic  .Shrine,  and 
is  also  an  (  idd  Fellow.  November  21,  1 88 1, 
he  was  married  to  Mary  Fuller,  of  Rochester, 
Minnesota.  ^1r.  and  ]\frs.  .Somerville  have  four 
children.  Madge.  Saxe,  Caroline  an<l  \\\  Wavne. 


TIFNRV  ADONIR.AM  SWIFT. 

Henry  .-\.  .'>\vift,  the  third  governor  of  Minne- 
sota, was  descended  from  revolutionary  sires. 
\\illiani  Swift,  the  first  .American  of  the  family, 
ga\'e  up  his  lionu'  in   Countv  Suffolk,   Fngland. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


453 


ill  lO^o,  ami  cnissini;'  the  Atlantic,  Iccatcd  in  J  Jos- 
tun.  Ill  1O34  lir  went  to  Watcrtown,  Massachu- 
setts, which  was  lonj?  the  family  lionir.  His  son, 
also  William  Swift,  lived  in  .'^amlwicli,  and  was  a 
representative  in  the  legislature  in  the  years  1664- 
67.  Dr.  Isaac  Swift,  grandfather  <>i  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  (1753-1802),  sat  in  the  Connecticut 
legislature  in  1772  and  17<>9-  J  'i-'  was  also  a  Rev- 
olutionary soldier.  After  the  battle  of  Concord 
and  Lexington,  with  ;i  number  of  neighbors,  he 
proceeded  to  Jioston  and  enlisted  in  the  patriot 
army.  The  regiment  went  into  the  field  in  the 
spring  of  1777  at  Camp  Peekskill,  Xew  York,  and 
in  September  was  ordered,  under  (ieneral  .Mc- 
Dougal,  to  jtiin  Washington's  army  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. It  fought  at  (iennantown,  October  4, 
1777,  and  wintered  at  N'alley  Forge,  1777-78.  Dr. 
Swift  was  assigned  the  post  of  surgeon,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  His 
son,  Lsaac  Swift,  Jr.,  was  born  at  Ceirnwall.  Con- 
necticut, in  i7yo,  and  was  graduated  from  Cohmi- 
bia  Medical  College,  Xew  York  city.  He  at  once 
started  on  a  Western  tour,  but  was  detained  at 
Ravenna,  Ohio,  on  account  of  an  accident  to  his 
horse.  Piefore  the  animal  had  recovered  from  the 
effects  of  the  accident,  the  doctor  had  actiuired 
what  promised  to  develop  into  a  lucrative  prac- 
tice, and  so  he  decided  to  remain  in  Ravenna.  In 
1818  he  was  married,  in  that  place,  to  Eliza 
Thompson.  The  old  ."-^wift  homestead,  where  Dr. 
Swift  took  his  liride,  is  still  the  home  of  his 
daughter.  Airs.  E.  R.  Waite.  There  had  been  no 
cluirch  organization  in  Ravenna  when  Dr.  Swift 
arrived,  but  soon  after  his  coming  the  young  men 
of  the  town — none  of  them  church  members — in- 
stituted religious  meetings.  Dr.  .Swift  read  the 
sermons  and  led  the  singing.  These  meetings 
were  not  discontinued  until  a  church  was  organ- 
ized. Eliza  Thompson,  Governor  Swift's  mother, 
was  the  daughter  of  Isaac  Thomps(jn  and  Pa- 
tience Cam])bell  Th<;)m]ison,  of  Stockbridge,  Mas- 
sachusetts. She  was  born  in  Pittsfield.  Massachu- 
setts, in  1800,  and  was  fourteen  years  of  age  when 
the  family  moved  to  Ravenna,  ( )hio.  ( )ther  an- 
cestors of  Governor  .'-^wift  were  Governor  Thomas 
]\Iayhew,  of  Martha's  \'ineyard,  proprietor  of  the 
\  ineyard,  and  preacher  for  thirtv-three  years,  and 


riionias  Tup])er.  one  of  the  original  grantees  of 
Cape  Cod,  deputy  for  nineteen  years,  and  who 
besides,  spent  much  time  in  "gosijelizing  tlie  In- 
dians." Governor  .'-■wift  was  born  in  Ravenna, 
(  )hio,  in  the  homestead  already  referred  to,  .March 
-'3,  1823.  His  ])arents  were  educated  and  refined 
])eople,  and  his  home  influences  were  the  best. 
He  was  graduated  from  Western  Reserve  College, 
Hudson.  (  )hio,  and  went  at  once  to  Alississippi, 
w  here  he  taught  school  for  a  year.  The  condition 
of  the  South  did  not  please  him,  and  he  returned 
to  Ohio  as  soon  as  his  contract  as  a  teacher  was 
terminated.  He  studied  law,  and  in  1845  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  at  Ravenna.  During  the  winters 
of  1847-48  and  i848-4()  he  was  chief  clerk  of  the 
(  )hio  house  of  representatives.  In  1833  he  located 
in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  where  he  opened  a  law  and 
insurance  office.  Joining  the  company  that  plat- 
ted the  town  of  St.  Peter,  he  removed  to  that  place 
in  1856,  becoming  register  of  the  United  States 
land  office.  In  1857  he  was  nominated  for  con- 
gress by  the  Republicans,  Init  was  defeated  with 
the  remainder  of  the  ticket.  In  the  fall  of  i86ihe 
was  elected  president  pro  tem  of  the  state  senate, 
and  succeeded  Ignatius  Donnellv.  who  had  re- 
signed the  office  of  lieutenant  governor  to  begin 
his  work  in  congress.  The  same  session  of  the  leg- 


454 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


islature  elected  Governor  Alexander  Ramsey  to  the 
office  of  United  States  senator,  and  Mr.  Swift,  who 
was  ex-officio  lieutenant  governor,  became  gov- 
ernor. It  was  near  the  end  of  the  term,  and 
although  he  was  urged  to  Ijecome  a  candidate  for 
the  nomination,  he  steadily  declined,  and  per- 
mitted the  hi.mor  to  go  to  Stephen  Miller,  who 
was  sulisequently  elected.  It  is  said  that  he 
might  have  gone  to  the  United  States  senate  had 
he  so  desired.  The  legislature  of  1864-65  stooil 
readv  to  elect  him  to  that  high  position,  but  he 
did  not  care  for  the  office,  and  it  was  given  to  D.  S. 
Xortcin.  .Mr.  Swift  was  a  student,  and  his  tastes 
were  thoroughly  domestic.  He  was  ready  to 
give  up  public  position  in  order  to  be  with  hi^ 
familv.  While  always  conscious  of  the  duties 
devolving  ui-ion  him  as  a  citizen,  and  standing 
readv  to  discharge  them,  he  frankly  confessed  that 
his  ambition  did  not  lie  in  the  direction  of  hold- 
ing office.  A  thorough  distaste  for  the  methods 
of  the  politician  perhaps  encouraged  him  in  his 
determination  to  forego  a  public  life,  but  none  of 
the  considerations  referred  to  were  strong  enough 
to  prevent  him  from  bearing  his  full  share  of  the 
public  burden  in  times  of  emergency.  T.ut  for  the 
fact  that  his  presence  seemed  to  l>e  of  more  im- 
portance in  the  legislature,  he  would  have  enlisted 
in  the  Union  army  at  the  beginning  of  the  civil 
war.  In  1862.  at  the  time  of  the  Sioux  uprising, 
he  was  among  the  first  to  go  to  New  Ulm  to 
assist  in  its  defense  against  the  savages.  He  was 
accompanied  by  William  G.  Hayden,  then  cotmty 
auditor  of  Nicollet  County.  When  they  arrived 
in  New  Ulm  the  people  were  without  protection 
and  utterlv  helpless.  Fortunately  some  men  from 
Nicollet  and  Swan  Lake  had  arrived,  making  in 
all  a  ])artv  of  eighteen.  They  at  once  organized 
themselves  into  a  company  and  advanced  on  the 
Indians,  holding  them  in  check  until  help  came. 
But  for  this  timely  aid  there  is  no  doubt  that  New 
Ulm  would  have  been  in  ashes  in  four  or  five 
hours,  for  the  Indians  had  already  set  fire  to  five 
large  buildings,  some  of  which  were  not  more 
than  a  block  and  a  half  from  the  Dakota  house, 
and  the  inhabitants  would  have  l)een  nnu-dercd, 
the  Indians  having  sufficient  evidence  of  the  com- 
plete panic  that  prevailed  prir)r  to  the  arrival  of 


the  men.  The  hardships  of  that  campaign  devel- 
oped the  disease  which  brought  Governor  Swift 
to  his  death,  February  25,  1869,  in  St.  Peter.  One 
of  the  leading  newspapers  of  the  state  summed 
up  his  character  in  these  words:  "A  man  of  rare 
and  delicate  mould,  high-hearted,  generous,  ten- 
der, true,  loyal  to  friendship,  self-respecting,  in- 
capable of  meanness;  a  man  to  be  loved  and 
trusted  above  his  fellows:  a  man  .so  happy  in  the 
singular  beaut\-  of  his  private  and  domestic  life 
that  public  honors  souglit  him  out  only  as  un- 
welcome messengers  to  duties  that  could  not  be 
declined.  In  all  the  state  no  man  for  years  has 
filled  a  larger  or  warmer  place  in  the  public  heart 
than  Henry  A.  Swift."  In  1851  Air.  Swift  was 
married  to  Ruth  Livingston,  of  Gettysburg,  Penn- 
sylvania. Her  grandfather,  Stephen  Stevenson, 
served  during  the  whole  of  the  Revolutionary 
W^ar.  His  regiment,  the  Nineteenth  Pennsyl- 
vania, took  a  prominent  part  in  the  battle  of  Stony 
Point,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Richard 
llutler.  Stephen  Stevenson,  from  lieutenant  of 
the  Nineteenth  Pennsylvania,  was  promoted  to 
the  captaincy  of  the  Fourth  Pennsylvania,  in  1781. 
He  was  a  memlier  of  the  Society  of  Cincinnati. 
Mrs.  Swift  died  in  1881.  Df  the  chidren  that  were 
born  of  this  union  two  daughters  survive,  Airs. 
W.  M.  Spackman,  of  New  York  city,  and  Mrs. 
G.  S.  Ives,  of  St.  Peter. 


CHARLES  F.  HENDRYX. 

Charles  F.  Hendryx  is  one  of  the  best  known 
newspaper  men  in  Minnesota.  He  came  to  the 
state  in  1874,  and  was  successively  night  editor 
and  city  editor  of  the  Minneapolis  Trilounc  during 
tile  time  when  it  was  owned  bv  his  father.  In 
1870  he  went  to  .Sauk  Center,  ])urchasing  the 
Weekly  Herald,  whose  editor  and  jiroprietor  he 
has  been  since  that  time.  Mr.  Hendryx  was  born 
at  Cooperstown,  New  York,  .\pril  22,  1847,  and 
was  the  onlv  son  of  James  I.  Hendryx,  who  for 
twentv-five  \ears  was  editor  of  the  ( )tsego  Repub- 
lican, of  Coo])erstown.  He  attended  the  jniblic 
schools  in  Cooperstown,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen 
was  sent  to  the  Deer  Hill  Institute,  at  Dnnbury, 
Connecticut,  an  F.iiiscopal  school  for  bovs.  where 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


455 


he  remained  for  several  years.  The  gold  pin 
which  he  still  wears  he  won  as  a  prize  at  this  in- 
stitute. For  one  year  he  attended  the  Coopers- 
town  seminary,  and  after  that  was  a  student  at 
Hobart  College,  Geneva,  New  York.  He  finished 
his  school  education  at  Cornell  University,  gradu- 
ating from  that  institution  as  a  memlxT  uf  its  first 
senior  class  in  i86(j.  Senator  J.  B.  Foraker,  of 
Ohio ;  Rev.  Dr.  Rhodes,  now  pastor  of  St.  John's 
church,  St.  Paul,  and  Judge  Buckwalter,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, were  Air.  Hendry,x's  classmates  at  Cor- 
nell. In  1873  the  elder  Hendryx  dispensed  of  his 
interests  in  Cooperstown  and  with  his  son, 
Charles  F.,  came  to  Minneapolis,  becoming  pro- 
prietor of  the  Tribune.  The  investment  was  not 
a  profitable  one,  and  in  1879,  father  and  son 
moved  to  Sauk  Center,  where  the  former  died  in 
1883.  Although  he  has  always  been  an  ardent 
Republican,  and  has  taken  an  active  part  in  poli- 
tics since  coming  to  Alinnesota,  IXfr.  Hendryx 
has  held  but  one  public  ofiiice,  and  that  not  a  very 
lucrative  one.  During  President  .\rtliur's  ad- 
ministration he  was  postmaster  at  Sauk  Center. 
In  1896  he  was  one  of  the  delegates-at-large  from 
this  state  to  the  national  Republican  convention 
at  St.  Louis,  and  voted  there  with  the  other  dele- 
gates from  this  .state  for  William  McKinley  as 
the    partv's    noniinee    for    the    presidencv.      T\Tr. 


1  kiidryx  for  years  has  exerted  a  strong  influence 
among  public  men  in  .\liimesota.  As  an  editorial 
writer  he  is  strong,  clear  and  convincing;  as  a 
public  s])caker  (ju  cducaii(jnal  anfl  literary'  subjects 
as  well  as  iiulitical,  he  is  eloquent  and  forceful, 
with  a  command  of  language  that  enables  him  to 
clothe  his  thoughts  attractively  and  elegantly. 
On  September  6,  1876,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
I'anny  Gait  Taylor,  daughter  of  the  late  Colonel 
William  Henry  Harrison  Taylor,  who  for  sixteen 
years  was  state  librarian.  Mrs.  Hcndry.x  is  a  first 
cousin  of  ex-President  Benjamin  Harrison,  and, 
nf  course,  a  grand  daughter  of  e.x-President  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison.  The  union  has  Iieen 
blessed  with  three  children.  The  family  is  prom- 
inent in  Fpiscopal  church  circles  in  northern  Min- 
nesota. 


CHARLES      DICKERMAX      .MATTESON. 

Charles  Dickerman  .Matteson,  of  St.  Paul, 
is  the  treasurer  and  acting  secretary  of  the 
Security  Trust  Company.     Mr.  Matteson  is  the 


son  of  Sumner  W.  .\hitteson  and  Louise  Dicker- 
man  (Matteson).  an<l  was  preceded  in  his  present 
office  bv  his  father.     His  father  carried  on    the 


456 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


banking  and  l^rokerage  business,  at  Decorah, 
Iowa,  for  a  number  of  years  prior  to  1891,  when 
he  moved  to  St.  Paul  to  take  the  position  of 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Security  Trust 
Company.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born 
September  13,  1869,  in  the  picturesque  village  of 
Decorah,  Iowa.  He  spent  his  boyhood  days  in 
that  village  and  graduated  from  the  high  school 
in  the  class  of  1887.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
he  entered  the  l^niversity  of  Minnesota  and  de- 
vntcd  two  years  to  the  work  of  a  scientific 
course.  He  then  decided  to  spend  a  year  in  the 
law  school  at  the  same  institution,  believing  that 
this  would  be  of  advantage  to  him  in  the  way  of 
a  business  education.  While  in  this  department 
he  joined  the  Dillon  chapter  of  the  Phi  Delta 
Phi  Society.  Instead,  however,  of  proceeding 
then  tcj  a  Inisiness  engagement  he  decided  t(i 
e.Ktend  his  studies  in  the  I'niversity  of  Michigan, 
at  Ann  Arbor,  where  he  entered  the  class  of 
1892,  taking  the  literary  course.  While  there  he 
became  a  member  of  Peninsular  Chapter  of  the 
Alpha  Delta  Phi,  a  literary  society.  After  com- 
pleting his  college  work  in  June.  1892,  Mr.  Mat- 
teson  came  to  St.  Paul,  where  his  family  had  re- 
moved from  Decorah.  He  spent  the  following 
fall  and  winter  in  study  and  in  March,  1893,  en- 
tered the  service  of  the  Security  Trust  Company. 
Since  the  death  of  his  father  in  July,  1895,  'le  has 
been  treasurer  and  acting  secretary  of  that 
company.  In  the  sunmier  of  i8i>4  Mr.  Mat- 
teson  was  elected  a  member  of  the  St.  Paul  In- 
vestment &  Savings  Society ,  and  in  January, 
1896,  was  made  a  director  of  the  Duluth  Union 
Land  Company.  He  is  also  director  of  the  Secur- 
ity Trust  Company,  and  in  March,  1896,  upon  the 
incorjxjratiiin  of  his  father's  estate  was  made  sec- 
retary, treasurer  and  director  of  the  S.W.Matteson 
estate.  Having  (jrepared  himself  with  care  for  a 
business  career  and  lia\'ing  alreaiK-  nhtained  no 
small  degree  of  success  in  financial  institutions. 
Mr.  Mattcson  may  be  said  to  have  before  him  a 
bright  future  as  a  financial  njirvatcir. 

PREDF.RICK  \'AXF.SS  I'.Ki  )W\. 

Frederick      \  aness      ISrown      is      of      New 
England    ancestry    on    his    father's    side.        The 
earliest  member  nf  the  faniih-  known  to  tile  fani 
ilv  records  was  |ohn   Ilrown,  who  c;inie  to  .M;is- 


sachusetts  Bay  colony  in  the  ship  Lyon  in  1632. 
His  descendant,  \\'illiam  Pirown,  and  the  great- 
grandfather of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a 
soldier  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Frederick 
y.  is  a  son  of  Orestus  S.  Brown,  who  resides  at 
Shakopee,  Minnesota.  Orestus  came  to  Minne- 
sota from  ^Michigan  in  1869,  and  is  a  farmer  in 
comfortable  circumstances.  His  wife,  Eveyln 
Bortle  (Brown),  mother  of  Frederick  \'aness, 
died  at  Shakopee,  March  8,  1871.  Frederick  V. 
was  born  in  Washtenaw  County,  Michigan, 
.March  8,  1862,  and  was  seven  years  old  when  his 
parents  came  to  Minnesota.  He  commenced  his 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  Shakopee, 
and  f(_)r  une  \  ear  attended  the  preparatory  de- 
])artinent  at  Hamline  Lniversity.  During  his 
boyhood  and  up  to  the  age  of  nineteen  he 
worked  nn  his  father's  farm  ihn-jng  the  summer 
months  and  attended  schoul  cm  the  average  about 
four  niduths  a  year.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he 
went  t(i  St.  Paul,  where  he  was  employed  in  the 
office  of  the  iDCunidtivc  de])artmcnt  of  the  Chi- 
cago, -St.  I\iul,  Miimccipolis  &  (  )maha  road.  He 
remained  there  till  1883,  when  he  returned  to 
Shako])ee  to  commence  the  study  of  l.'iw  with 
-Senator  II.  J.  Peck.  During  the  ne.xt  two  years 
he  read  law  and  taught  in  the  puldic  schools, 
junr  17,  1883,  Mr,  I'.i'iwn  w;is  .ulniitted  to  the 
bar   in   Scott    Cnuntx',   ;md    furuH'd   a   partnership 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


457 


with  Judge  Luther  M,  llrowii,  fur  thi-  ])rac'tice  of 
law  at  Shakopce.  Juflgc  Urown  ilieil  in  1886, 
and  for  the  next  tlirec  years  Mr.  lirown  was  asso- 
ciatetl  professionally  with  Senatcjr  Peck.  In  the 
spring  of  i88y  he  removed  to  St.  Paul,  and 
shortly  afterward  beeanie  the  special  attorney  of 
the  McCorniick  JIarvesting  Machine  Company, 
which  relation  continued  until  1892.  At  that 
time  he  removed  to  .Minneapolis  and  resumed 
the  general  practice  of  law.  In  1894  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  George  W.  BnfSngton,  which 
partnership  still  continues.  Mr.  Brown  has  de- 
voted his  entire  attention  ever  since  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  to  the  practice  of  his  jjrofcssion, 
in  which  he  has  been  highly  successful.  His 
political  affiliations  are  with  the  Democratic 
party,  and  his  first  presidential  vote  was  cast  for 
the  Democratic  electors  in  1884.  He  has  always 
adhered  to  that  party  on  national  affairs,  but  has 
been  independent  in  state  and  local  politics.  He 
has  never  sought  or  obtained  political  preferment 
in  any  form.  Mr.  Brown  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  Order,  his  membership  dating  from 
1887,  when  he  was  made  a  member  of  King 
Solomon's  Lodge,  No.  44,  at  .Shakopee.  He 
is  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Minneapolis  Mounted  Knights  Tem- 
plar Commandery,  No.  23.  He  has  taken 
an  active  |)art  in  the  work  of  various 
Masonic  lodges,  and  has  held  various  offices  in 
the  several  bodies.  Mr.  P.rown  was  married 
November  11,  1886,  to  Esther  A.  Bailey,  of 
Prescott,  Wisconsin.  The\-  have  t^\•o  children, 
Jessica  Marie  and  H^oward  .Sclden. 


OLE  H.   HELLEKSOX. 

O.  H.  Hellekson  is  a  meml)er  of  the  firm  of 
Erickson  &  Hellekson,  dealers  in  hardware, 
lumber  and  machinery  at  Wheaton,  Minnesota. 
His  father,  Hellek  Hellekson,  is  a  farmer  in  Icnva 
County,  Wisconsin,  and  in  fair  financial  circum- 
stances. He  emigrated  from  Noi-way  in  1841, 
coming  to  Wisconsin  and  settling  on  the  farm 
where  he  has  resided  ever  since.  He  served 
throughout  the  Civil  War  and  has  an  honorable 
war  record.  His  wife,  Julia  Loftsgaarden  (Hel- 
lekson"), the  mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 


was  also  born  in  Norway.  CJle  H.  Hellekson 
was  born  on  the  farm  in  Iowa  County,  Wisconsin, 
on  January  13,  1859,  where  he  lived  until  he  was 
twein\-one  \ears  of  age.  He  received  his  earlv 
education  at  the  common  schools  of  his  district, 
attending  them  as  much  of  the  time  as  he  could 
be  spared.  When  of  age  he  borrowed  sufficient 
money  to  enable  him  to  take  one  term  at  college, 
after  which  he  taught  school  for  two  terms, 
returning  to  college  to  take  the  commercial 
course  with  the  money  that  he  had  earned. 
In  1885  he  came  to  Minnesota  and  located  at 
Wheaton,  commencing  work  as  a  clerk  at  the 
salary  of  fifteen  dollars  a  month.  Later 
he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  book- 
keeper, and  finally  became  manager  in  1886. 
He  bought  a  quarter  interest  in  the  busi- 
ness the  following  year,  and  in  the  two 
\ears  following  purchased  enough  more  to  get  a 
one-half  interest  in  the  present  business,  that  of 
dealing  in  hardware,  lumber  and  machinery,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Erickson  &  Hellekson.  Mr. 
Hellekson  owes  his  success  in  business  to  his 
close  attention  to  the  same  and  to  his  strict 
adherence  to  the  principles  which  produce  busi- 
ness success.  His  political  affiliations  are  with 
the  Republican  party,  and  he  takes  an  active 
interest  in  local  affairs,  having  served  as  president 
of  the  village  council  for  three  successive  terms. 


458 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


His  church  connections  are  with  the  Lutheran 
church.  He  was  married  t'ebruary  24,  1887  to 
Lena  Olson  Dokken.  They  have  three  children 
living,  Cora  Francis.  Minnie  Henrietta  and 
Spencer  Howard. 


DORILl'S  :\IORRISOX. 

Of  the  earlv  pioneers  of  Minnesota — the  men 
who  have  seen  it  develop  from  a  vast  wildernes.s 
into  a  state  second  in  commercial  importance  to 
none  in  the  Northwest  and  wht)  contributed   to 
that  result — none  are  more  deserving  of  the  ap- 
pellation of  a  self-made  man  than  Dorilus  Mor- 
rison,     hroni   early  youth   he  was  compelled  to 
relv  upon  his  own  resources  but  by  perseverance 
and  industry,  in  connection  with  his  natural  busi- 
ness sagacity,  he  gradually  climbed  the  ladder  of 
success,  and  can  now  look  back  with  pardonable 
pride  on  a  life  that  has  been  an  eminent  success. 
The  ancestry  of  Mr.  Morrison  is  Scotch.     He  is 
the  son  of  .Samuel   Morrison,  an  early  settler  in 
the  state  of  Maine,  and  a  wheelwright  l)y  trade, 
and  Betsey  Benjamin  (Morrison).     His  birth  oc- 
curred in  the  town  of  Livermore,  (Oxford  County, 
.Maine,     on    the    twenty-seventh    of     December, 
1814.        Dorilus     received     a     coimnon     school 
education,      which     was      sup])lemented      by      a 
three      months'      course      in      an      academy      at 
Redfield,      in      his      native      state.        .\fterwards 
he    taught    for    a    while    in    a    country    district 
school.     While    yet    in    his    eighteenth    year    he 
secured  enii)loyment  with   William   H.    liritan,  a 
merchant,  farmer  and  general  trader,  working  for 
a  salary  of  seven  dollars  a  month  and  board;  the 
second  vear  he  worke<l  for  ten  dollars  a  month, 
and   on  demanding  twelve   dollars  a  month   the 
third  year,  and  being  refused,  he  left  and  sought 
emidoynu'iit    elsewhere.      Within    three    months, 
however,  his  former  employer  offered  him  twent}- 
five  dollars  a  month    if    he    would    return.      He 
accepted  this  offer  and  al  the  end  of  the  year  lie 
came  a  partner  in  the  business.     He  continued  as 
such  for  five  years,  enjoying  good  success,  and 
laying  bv  a  small  fortinu  of  four  llmusand  dollars. 
Tn    i!-!42  he  removed  to  I'.angor  and  eng;igeil   in 


the    mercantile    and    lumbering   business,    which 
business  he  pursued  prosperously  until  1853.    He 
had  at  this  time  saved  up  about  twenty  thousand 
dollars,  and  being  attracted  by  the  opportunities 
Minnesota  afforded  for  carrying  on  the  lumbering 
business,    he    came    to   this    state   the    following 
spring  with  the  purpose  of  locating  pine  lands  for 
himself  and  others.     His  visit  impressed  him  so 
favorably  that  he  returned  to  Maine,  disposed  of 
his  interests  there,  and  returned  in  the  spring  of 
1855  and  located  at  St.  Anthony.     He  secured  a 
contract  to  supply  the  saw  mills,  located  at  that 
time  on  the  east  side  of  the  ^Mississippi,  with  logs 
from  the  pineries,  having  invested  in  a  large  tract 
of  pine  lands  on  the  Rum  river.     This  business 
was  continued  for  many  years.     After  the  com- 
pletion of  the  dam  built  bv  the  Minneapolis  Mill 
Company,  .Mr.  Morrison  built    a    saw    mill    and 
opened  a  lumber  yard,  engaging  extensively  in 
the  lumber  business,  until   1868,  when  accttmti- 
lated  interests  had  become  so  large  that  he  turned 
this  business  over  entirely  to  his  sons.    .Mr.  .Mor- 
rison was  principal  incorporator  of  the  Minneapo- 
lis   Mill    Company,    which    was   incorporated    in 
1856,  acting  as  its  treasurer.    This  compan\-  were 
the  builders  of  the  first  dam  and  canal,  an  under- 
taking which  proved  marvelous  in  its  results — 
making  Minneapolis  what  it  is  to-day.    This  com- 
pany built  saw  mills  and  sold  mill  sites  both  upon 
and  below  the  dam.  The  outlay  was  large,  and  for 
years  the  enterprise  proved  unremunerative.     r)Ut 
Mr.  Morrison  foresaw  the    immense  possibilities 
of  the  future  and  bought  up  the   shares  of  the 
stockholders  who   were   so   severely   pressed   by 
the  demands  made  upon  the  resources  of  the  com- 
pany that  they  gladly  reliiuiuished  their  holdings. 
In  time,  Mr.  Morrison's  faith  in  the  ultimate  suc- 
cess of  the  enterprise  was  justified  f)y  the  result. 
He  remained  a  director,  and  served  several  times 
as  president  of  the  company,  until  the  property 
was  sold   to   an    English    syndicate,   which   now 
ow^ns    it.      This   company   owned    all    the   water 
power  upon   the  west   side  of  the   river,   several 
saw  mills  and  flour  mills,  a  large  elevator  and  the 
North  .Star  \yoo1cn  mill.     Tn  186(1,  when  the  con- 
stniction   of  the  Korthcrn   Pncific    Railroad   was 
commenced,   Wr.   Morrison  associ.ited   with   him 


PKOGRESSIVK   MEN   OF   MINNESOTA. 


459 


Messrs.  Bracket!,  King,  Kastman,  VV'aslibuni  and 
Shepherd,  of  Minneapohs;  Merriani,  of  St.  I'aul; 
I'ayson  and  Cauda,  of  Chicago;  llaUh,  of  New 
Hanip.shire,  and  Rose  and  Robinson  of  ('anada, 
and  secured  the  contract  for  l)uilding  the  first 
section  of  this  road,  fi<iiii  llu'  St.  Louis  river  to 
the  Red  river,  a  distance  of  two  liundred  and 
forty  miles.  The  work  was  jnished  and  the  com- 
pleted road  turned  over  tt)  the  coni])an\-  in  1872. 
j\Jr.  Morrison  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  directors 
of  the  road,  which  position  he  held  uiuil  the  gen- 
eral reorganization  of  the  company,  after  the  fail 
ure  of  its  financial  agents,  jay  Conke  &  Cu. 
Again  in  1873,  in  association  with  ^(ime  of  tlu 
gentlemen  above  nientir^ned,  he  secured  the  con- 
tract for  the  next  section  of  two  hundred  miles  of 
the  road,  from  the  Red  ri\er  to  the  .Missouri. 
There  was  no  money  forthcoming  when  this  con- 
tract was  completed,  and  .\lr.  Morrison  assumed 
the  shares  of  his  associates  and  receivetl  in  pa\- 
ment  a  large  tract  of  the  company's  lands  in 
Northern  Minnesota,  which  contained  pine  tim- 
ber. He  was  also  a  large  stockholder  in  the  [Min- 
neapolis Harvester  Works;  assuming  the  stock 
of  his  associates  when  the  enterprise  almost 
proved  a  failure,  he  made  the  business  a  success. 
Notwithstanding  his  large  business  interests,  Mr. 
Morrison  still  found  time  to  devote  to  the  public 
affairs  of  the  village  which  has  grown  up  to  the 
metropolis  of  to-day.  When  the  Union  Board  of 
Trade  was  organized  in  St.  Anthony  in  1856  Mr. 
Morrison  was  chosen  its  president,  and  was  a  di- 
rector for  several  years.  In  the  several  trade  or- 
ganizations which  followed  this  board  in  the  pio- 
neer days  he  has  always  been  an  active  participator 
and  worker.  In  i864he  was  elected  to  the  state  sen- 
ate, his  colleagues  in  the  legislature  from  Henne- 
pin County  being  such  men  as  John  S.  Pillsbui-y, 
Cyrus  Aldrich  and  Judge  F.  R.  E.  Cornell.  When 
the  city  of  Minneapolis  was  incorporated  in  1867, 
Mr.  Morrison  was  chosen  its  first  mayor,  and  in 
1869  was  again  elected  to  the  same  office.  In 
1871  he  was  elected  to  a  term  of  two  years  on 
the  board  of  education,  and  later,  in  1878.  he  was 
re-elected  to  a  term  of  three  years,  and  was 
chosen  president  of  the  board.  When  the  park 
Tjoard  was  organized  Mr.  Alorrison  was  chosen  a 


commissioner,  and  was  also  re-elected  to  the  same 
office.  He  devoted  much  time  to  the  services 
demanded  of  him  as  a  commissioner,  and  ]\Iinne- 
apolis'  present  beautiful  park  system  owes  much 
to  Mr.  .Morrison's  labor  and  counsel.  He  w-as 
also  interested  in  the  Athenaeum,  the  predecessor 
of  the  present  public  library,  serving  on  the  board 
of  managers,  giving  a  good  deal  of  his  valuable 
time  to  aid  in  building  up  this  institution.  In  his 
politics  .Mr.  Morrison  has  always  been  a  staunch 
Republican.  He  has  been  a  believer  in  the  L'ni- 
versalist  faith  for  a  great  many  \ears,  and  been  a 
liberal  supjjorter  of  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer. 
In  1840  Mr.  Morrison  was  married  at  Liverniore, 
Maine,  to  .Miss  H.  K.  Whittemore,  who  became  the 
mother  of  three  children,  George  H.,  now  dead; 
Clinton  and  Crace,  wife  of  Dr.  H.  H.  Kimball. 
She  died  in  1881,  at  Menna.  Austria,  while  on  a 
European  trip.  His  ]MX'sent  wife  was  -Mrs.  A.  G. 
Clagstone,  who  is  a  lady  of  artistic  taste  and  lib- 
eral culture.  Though  eighty-two  years  old,  Mr. 
Morrison  is  still  enjoying  robust  health,  due  to 
the  active  life  he  has  always  led.  and  always  re- 
invigorated  by  the  frequent  journeys  he  takes  to 
sea  side  resorts. 


460 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES  E.  WALES. 

Air.  Wales  is  president  of  the  Pioneer  Fuel 
Company,  of  Minnesota.  He  is  the  son  of  William 
W.  and  Katharine  (Bundy)  Wales.  The  father 
is  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  and  was  I)orn  in 
Iredell  County,  March  4.  1818.  He  removed  to 
Greensboro,  Indiana,  in  1845,  where  he  engaged 
in  the  drug  business.  It  was  at  this  place,  three 
vears  later,  he  married  the  mother  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  In  185 1  he  migrated  to  the  Xortli 
Star  state,  locating  at  St.  Anthony,  and  engaged 
in  the  book  and  stationery  business.  This  busi- 
ness he  conducted  successfully  until  1884,  since 
which  time  he  has  l:)een  engaged  in  missionary 
work,  nuich  of  his  time  being  devoted  to  mission- 
ary labors  among  the  mountaineers  in  his  native 
state,  this  work  being  in  accordance  with  a  cher- 
ished plan  c)f  his  early  life.  While  a  resident  of 
St.  Anthony  .Mr.  Wales  was  a  member  of  the 
Minnesota  Territorial  Council:  was  city  clerk 
for  several  years,  and  also  served  as  ;i  member  of 
the  school  board  for  a  long  time.  He  was  post- 
master at  .St.  -Xnthony,  now  East  Minneapolis, 
under  President  Lincoln'^  ;i(lniinislration.  and 
was  twice  mayor  of  the  city.  He  was  active  in  re- 
ligious work,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Society 


of  Eriends.  His  son  Charles  is  a  Minnesotian 
by  birth.  His  primary  education  was  received  in 
the  public  schools  of  East  Minneapolis.  The  first 
dollar  he  ever  earned  was  by  selling  newspapers, 
in  this  capacit\'  developing  early  the  habits 
of  economy  and  the  sagacity  which  he  later 
exhibited  in  business  life.  His  first  reg- 
ular employment  was  in  connection  with 
the  first  coal  business  established  in  Min- 
neapolis, and  ever  since  that  time  Mr. 
\\'ales  has  been  actively  engaged  in  the  busi- 
ness then  established.  Being  a  believer  in  spe- 
cialties in  btisiness  as  well  as  in  the  professions, 
and  also  believing  that  the  field  in  the  coal  trade 
was  suiSciently  broad,  he  concentrated  his  entire 
energy  to  that  line  of  business,  and  with  such 
satisfactory  results  that  the  company  which  he 
represents  stands  at  the  front,  not  only  with  the 
people  throughout  the  Northwest,  but  also  with 
the  financial  institutions,  producers  and  carriers 
in  the  East.  The  company  is  successor  to  the 
first  coal  business  established  in  Alinneapolis,  and 
is  very  appropriately  named  the  Pioneer  Fuel 
Company.  Ever  since  its  incorporation  Mr. 
Wales  has  been  its  president.  I'^rom  a  local  busi- 
ness of  a  few  hundred  tons  annually  the  com- 
pany's Ijusiness  has  been  extended  until  now  it 
amounts  to  mam  hundred  thousands  of  tons, 
representing  millions  of  dollars.  The  company 
has  large  shipping  wharfs  at  Duluth,  Minnesota, 
and  Gladstone,  Alichigan,  on  which  the  coal  is 
stocked  during  the  season  of  lake  navigation  for 
distriljution  throughout  the  Northwest.  In  con- 
nection  with  these  wharves  the  company  also  has 
large  storage  yards  in  the  principal  Northwestern 
cities.  The  large  business  of  this  company  has 
demanded  the  outlay  of  a  very  large  capital,  and  a 
complete  organization  in  the  details.  Mr.  Wales 
has  devoted  his  time  so  closelv  to  the  coal  trade, 
and  has  been  so  full\'  occupied  in  this  way  that 
he  has  avi.iided  responsibilities  in  other  directions. 
He  has  been  a  life-long  I'ieiniblican,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  ])rinci|)al  clubs,  business  organizations 
and  Masonic  bodies.  P)y  birth  Mr.  Wales  is  a 
member  of  the  .Societv  of  Friends,  but  he  is  also 
;i  contributor  to  ;md  a  fi-e(HU'nt  atti-ndant  at  other 
churches.  Mr.  W'ales  is  a  widower  and  has  one 
child,  Charles  Ravmond  Wales. 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


46] 


HORACE  AUSTIN. 

Horace  Austin,  the  sixth  governor  of  Minne- 
sota, was  born  October  15,  1831,  at  Canterbury, 
Connecticut,  the  son  of  a  well-to-do  farmer.  After 
finishing  his  education  in  an  academy  at  Litch- 
fit'ld,  Maine,  he  taught  at  IJclgrade  Academy, 
in  the  same  state,  of  w'hich  institution  he  was 
principal  for  a  short  time.  He  studied  law  at 
Augusta,  Maine,  in  the  office  of  Lot  M.  Alorrill, 
afterwards  I'niled  States  senator,  and  in  1856,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-five,  came  to  Minnesota,  locat- 
ingatSt.  Peter.  In  1862  he  enlisted  as  a  lieutenant 
and  was  promoted  to  captain  of  cavalry,  taking  an 
active  part  in  the  Sil)ley  campaign  against  the 
Indians  on  the  Missouri.  The  \ear  following  he 
was  elected  judge  of  the  Sixth  Judicial  District. 
His  advancement  was  rapid  after  this,  and  in  1869 
he  was  elected  governor  by  about  two  thousand 
majority.  A  glance  at  his  inaugural  address  will 
give  some  idea  of  the  man  and  of  the  condition  of 
the  state  in  this  early  day.  He  reviewed  many  of 
the  questions  then  agitating  the  people,  some  of 
which  lived  into  the  next  decade,  while  others  are 
still  pressing  for  solution,  and  his  advice  was 
always  sound  and  timely.  He  advocated  the  re- 
vision of  the  criminal  code,  which  was  so  intricate, 
even  in  that  day,  as  often  to  lead  to  injustice.  He 
advocated  the  improvement  of  the  Duluth  harljor, 
and  saw  very  clearly  the  future  importance  of 
Duluth  as  a  shipping  point  for  the  products  of 
the  Northwest.  He  was  opposed  to  excessive  spe- 
cial legislation,  which  in  those  days  frequently 
crowded  out  more  important  legislation  of  gen- 
eral interest.  He  recommended  that  state  and 
federal  elections  should  come  in  the  same  year. 
In  the  early  seventies  the  people  of  Minnesota 
enjoyed  the  luxury  of  an  election  every  year.  He 
suggested  a  convention  to  prepare  a  new  state 
constitution,  believing  the  original  constitution  to 
be  no  longer  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  people. 
That  old  constitution,  however,  is  still  the  su- 
preme law  of  the  state,  and  the  failure  to  secure  a 
constitutional  convention  in  1R71  vi'as  repeated  in 
1896.  The  internal  improvement  lands  previously 
granted  to  the  state  by  congress  had  not  been  set 
apart  for  public  use  at  the  time  of  Governor  Aus- 


tin's election,  and  the  legislature  of  1871  appor- 
tioned them  among  a  number  of  railroad  corpor- 
ations. Governor  Austin  promptly  vetoed  the 
liill,  which  led  to  an  amendment  to  the  constitu- 
tion [(rohibiting  the  legislature  from  appropriat- 
ing the  proceeds  arising  from  the  sale  of  these 
lands  unless  consent  was  first  given  b\-  the  pecjple 
at  the  polls.  After  serving  for  two  years  with 
honor  to  himself  and  credit  to  the  state,  Governor 
Austin  was  re-elected  in  1871  by  sixteen  thousand 
majority.  In  his  inaugural  message  of  1872  he 
made  a  strong  ajipeal  fur  biennial  sessions  of  the 
legislature,  an  appeal  to  which  the  future  was  not 
slow  to  respond.  Shortly  after  his  second  term  as 
governor  Mr.  Austin  became  third  auditor  of  the 
United  States  treasury,  a  position  which  he  filled 
under  Secretaries  Bristow,  Morrill  and  Sherman. 
Following  this  he  was  for  seven  years  in  the  de- 
partment of  the  interior,  and  subsequently  he  was 
a  member  of  the  ?ifinnesota  railroad  and  ware- 
house commissi! iu.  He  is  at  this  time  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  in  the  city  of  MinneapoHs. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Loyal  Legion.  Mr. 
Austin  was  married  in  March.  1859.  to  ]Miss  Mary 
Lena  Morrill,  of  .Kugusta.  Maine.  Of  six  chil- 
dren, one  son  and  five  daughters,  all  are  living 
save  one  daughter. 


462 


PROGRESSIVE   MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


LOUIS  A.  REED. 

Louis  A.  Reed  is  a  practicing  attorney-at- 
law.  Wr.  Reed  was  a  farmer's  boy,  his  father, 
Adam  Reed,  being  engaged  in  tlie  business  of 
farmer  and  miller  in  Alason  Count}-,  Illinois, 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  Jan- 
uary 23,  1855.  His  father  was  of  German  descent, 
while  his  mother's  ancestry  was  English.  Mr. 
Reed  had  only  the  early  educational  advantages 
which  come  to  the  farmer  boy  of  the  common 
school  during  the  winter,  and  plenty  of  muscle 
training  and  muscle  building  in  the  summer  on 
the  farm.  He  had  a  taste  for  books,  however, 
and  in  a  course  at  Illinois  Normal  University,  at 
Normal,  Illinois,  prepared  himself  for  the  profes- 
sion of  a  teacher.  He  also  took  a  partial  course 
at  the  Illinois  Industrial  University  at  Cham- 
paign, but  left  college  at  tlu'  end  of  his  sopho- 
more year.  He  taught  school  ami  cnntinued  his 
studies  by  hiiuself.  He  was  attracted  toward  the 
profession  of  law  and  began  the  stud\-  of  law  in 
the  ofifice  of  (ieorge  W.  Ellsl)ury,  at  .Mason  City, 
Illinois.  In  casting  about  for  a  more  promising 
field  for  the  practice  of  his  profession  he  de- 
cided upon  Minneapolis  and  came  to  Minnesota 
in   July,    1.S80.      lie   t^ntered    the   office   of      Rca. 


Vv'oolley  &  Kitchel,  and  continued  his  studv 
until  April  i,  1883.  when  he  began  the  practice 
of  law  alone.  After  John  G.  Wnolley  Ijecame 
county  attorney,  he  assisted  him  as  assistant 
county  att(jrney  of  Hennepin  („ount}',  but  without 
compensation  from  the  count}'.  On  December 
I,  1883.  he  formetl  a  partnership  with  Tohn  G. 
Woolley  and  Charles  P.  Uiddle,  under  the  lirni 
name  of  Woolley,  1  Middle  &  Reed.  After  the 
dissolution  of  this  firm  he  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  Robert  D.  Russell,  now  judge  of  the 
district  court,  and  (ieorge  D.  Einerv,  ex-judge  of 
the  numicipal  court,  the  firm's  name  being  Rus- 
sell, Emery  «&  Reed.  This  partnership  was 
formed  Januar}-  i.  1886.  Still  later  he  became 
a  partner  with  William  A.  Kerr,  in  the  firm  of 
Reed  &  Kerr,  which  partnership  was  maintained 
until  .\lr.  Kerr  was  elected  to  the  numicipal 
Ijcnch.  ^Ir.  Reed  is  a  Republican,  but  has  held 
no  public  office.  His  devotion  to  his  partv  and 
his  skill  in  the  management  of  political  affairs 
made  him  chairman  of  the  Re].nil:)lican  county 
committee  of  Hennepin  Count\- in  i8(;o.  In  i8c>4 
he  was  made  chairman  of  the  Republican  judi- 
ciary conmiittee,  and  he  still  holds  that  position. 
His  conduct  of  campaigns  of  which  he  was  the 
directing  spirit,  has  been  distinguished  b}'  ability 
and  success.  Mr.  Reed  is  a  .Mason,  a  member 
of  Khurum  Lodge,  Xo.  112.  is  a  Knight  of 
Pythias  and  a  Modern  Woodman,  and,  also,  a 
meinl)er  of  the  Conunercial  Club,  of  Minneap- 
olis. His  church  relationship  is  v.ith  the  Lowry 
Hill  Congregational  Church,  of  which  he  is  one 
of  the  supporters.  .Mr.  Reed  was  married  July 
8,  1880,  to  Isabelle  Trent.  The\  ha\e  two  boys, 
.Mbert  P.  and  Russell  C.  -Mr.  Reed  has  taken 
a  high  rank  in  the  legal  professitju  of  Minne- 
apolis, and  is  hekl  in  general  esteem  on  account 
of  his  sterling  (|ualities  and  recognized  ability. 

ANDREW  P.  SWAXSTR(  )M. 

Andrew  P.  .Swanstroni  is  a  native  ol 
New  York,  having  been  horn  in  \Villiamsburg, 
in  that  slate,  Siplcmlier  4.  18411.  llis  ])arents  re- 
sided in  Xe\\  ^'ork  and  .Massaclnist'tts  until  i86t, 
when   thcv   set   tluir   f.ices   westwaril   and    located 


PKOC.KIiSSIVIv   MKN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


463 


at  Red  Wing,  Minnesota,  April  21.  Andrew  was 
the  oldest  of  a  family  of  six,  and  his  father  being 
the  victim  of  misfortune  it  iK'canic  necessary  for 
him  to  assist  in  the  family's  support  by  such 
employment  as  he  could  secure,  his  first  venture 
being  witli  a  saw-buck  and  saw,  soliciting  odd 
jobs  of  sawing  wood.  Subsequently  he  obtained 
regular  employment  in  a  printing  office,  that  of 
tlie  Goodhue  Count\  XOlunteer,  where  he  learned 
the  trade  which  he  followed  for  nearly  twent\'- 
one  years.  In  1870  he  went  to  .St.  Paul  and  was 
employed  on  the  St.  Paul  Press,  Dispatch  and 
Pioneer  Press  until  1887.  His  aptness  and  in- 
telligence advanced  him  from  one  position  of 
trust  and  responsibility  to  another  until  he  had 
thorouglily  mastered  the  business.  In  the  winter 
of  1887  he  was  elected  assistant  secretary  of  the 
state  senate  and  held  that  position  for  three  ses- 
sions. His  political  preferences,  it  may  be 
needless  to  say,  are  Republican.  For  five  years 
he  was  employed  in  the  law  office  of  Uri  L. 
Lamprey,  one  of  the  leading  attorneys  of  St.  Paul. 
In  i8q2  he  was  elected  to  the  secretaryship  of 
the  Minnesota  Masonic  Relief  Association,  now 
the  Minnehaha  Afutual  Life  Association,  which 
he  is  managing  with  conspicuous  ability.  Mr. 
Swanstrom  is  a  member  of  the  St.  Paul  Commer- 


cial Club,  ;in  organization  wiiich  is  doing  much  to 
further  tin-  interests  of  that  city.  He  has  been 
an  active  worker  in  Masonic  bodies  for  the  past 
twenty  years,  and  has  been  hon(jred  with  many 
positions  of  distinction  and  trust.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Ancient  Landmark  Lodge,  Xo.  5,  St. 
Paul;  of  Minnesota  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  No.  i, 
St.  Paul;  Council  R.  &  S.  M.,  St.  Paul;  Damas- 
cus Connnandery,  i\o.  i,  St.  Paul;  Osman  Tem- 
ple, A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.,  St.  Paul,  and  is  at  pres- 
ent secretary  of  the  Scottish  Rite  bodies  of  that 
city.  Mr.  Swanstrom  is  a  member  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church  and  an  active  participant  in  its 
work.  He  was  married  in  1875  to  Miss  Anna 
E.  Comer.  They  have  twn  children,  a  son  and 
a  daughter. 


I-  k.\.\K  CECIL  METCALF. 

Fraid<  C.  .\lelcalf,  register  of  deeds  of  Henne- 
pin Count)-,  is  practically  a  "Minneapolis  boy," 
for,  although  he  was  born  at  Dundas,  Minnesota, 
in  1865,  his  parents  moved  to  Miimeapolis  the  fol- 
lowing year,  and  this  city  has  been  his  home  ever 
since.  His  father  was  employed  by  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway  company,  as  a 
locomotive  engineer,  filling  the  post  faithfully  for 
ten  years,  when  exposure  resulted  in  a  severe  at- 
tack of  inflammatory  rheumatism,  from  which  he 
never  recovered  sufficiently  to  resume  work,  and 
w  hich  resulted  in  his  death  in  1882.  When  Frank 
became  old  enough,  he  entered  the  public 
schools,  beginning  at  the  Washington  building, 
which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  courthouse. 
Pressing  steadily  upward  in  his  course,  he  reached 
the  high  school  in  1879.  After  attending  the  high 
school  for  a  short  time  he  left  to  obtain  a  business 
education,  and  was  graduated  from  the  Curtiss 
P>usiness  College  in  1881.  During  the  seven  long 
\ears  of  his  father's  last  illness,  Frank's  mother, 
w  ho  was  a  very  energetic  woman,  nursed  her  hu.s- 
i)and.  sent  Frank  to  school,  and  supported  herself 
and  family  by  keeping  boarders.  His  mother 
died  in  1888.  After  graduating  from  the 
business  college,  Frank  entered  the  employ 
of  the  C.  M.  <<v:  St.  P.  R.  R.  Company 
as     "truckman"     in     their     freisrht     house:     he 


464 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ways  a  self-made  man,  and  the  very  large  measure 
of  success  which  he  already  has  achieved  is  the 
result  of  patient  and  intelligent  effort  added  to  his 
personal  wurk  and  unmistakable  force  of  char- 
acter. 


soon  entered  the  freight  office  as  clerk,  and  by 
his  energy  and  a  steady  application  to  business, 
worked  his  way  up  to  the  position  of  chief  clerk, 
having  served  in  almost  every  intervening  posi- 
tion. During  the  year  of  1889  he  left  the  employ 
of  the  railway  company  to  engage  in  the  real 
estate  business,  and  was  still  so  engaged  when 
elected  register  of  deeds  in  i8y6.  April  10.  1889, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  .^adie  Chase  Elliot. 
daughter  of  W'yman  Elliot,  one  of  the  oldest  and 
best  known  residents  of  Minneapolis,  and  resides 
at  No.  4621  I'remont  avenue  .'^,  where  he  has  a 
very  cosy  little  home  for  his  family,  which  con- 
sists of  his  wife  and  two  boys,  the  elder  nearly 
seven  years  of  age.  and  the  other  i)orn  on  the 
;March  26,  1897.  just  too  late  to  participate 
in  his  father's  "trimiiiihal  entry"  tt)  the  office  of 
register  of  deeds.  Mr.  Metcalf  has  been  active  in 
politics  for  a  nunilxr  ni  \cars.  having  never  held 
an  office,  however,  until  this  year.  Mr.  Metcalf 
belongs  to  the  .A..  1".  and  .\.  M.  Xo.  19:  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  I'^lks  .Vo.  44:  Royal 
Arcanum.  l-"oresters  and  Red  Men  among  the  fra- 
ternal societies.  In  jiolitics  he  is  a  Republican. 
and  it  was  this  jwrty  that  gave  him  the  office  he  is 
now  filling.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Tark  .\vcnue 
Congregational  church.     Mr.  Metcalf  is  in  many 


NILS  ( ).  WERXER. 

Xds  O.  Werner  is  president  of  the  Swedish 
American  Xational  Hank  at  .Minnea])olis  and  one 
of  the  substantial  and  successful  business  men  of 
that  city.  He  is  the  son  of  Ole  X.  \\'erner  a 
Swedish  farmer  in  moderate  circumstances  and 
of  Kjerstin  Swenson  (Werner).  His  ancestors 
were  farmers  in  Sweden  for  several  hundred  years. 
The}-  Ijelonged  to  that  independent  _\-eomanry 
who  have  to  a  large  degree,  since  the  time  of 
Charles  XH.,  controlled  the  political  destiny  of 
that  country  and  wield  the  balance  of  power  there 
today.  Air.  Werner  was  born  in  Kristianstad, 
on  the  nineteenth  dav  of  January,  1848.  He 
was  educated  at  the  common  schools  until  he 
reached  the  age  of  thirteen,  when  he  entered  col- 
lege at  Kristianstad,  and  graduated  at  the  age  of 
twenty,  in  1868.  He  was  amlntious  to  avail  himself 
of  the  superior  advantages  for  business  success 
offered  in  the  L'nited  States,  and  in  1868  he  emi- 
grated ti)  America,  where  his  parents  had  already 
preceded  him.  He  located  at  Princeton,  Illinois, 
in  October,  1868,  and  began  the  study  of  law 
with  James  S.  Eckles,  father  of  the  present  comp- 
troller of  currency,  and  remained  with  him  until 
September.  1870,  when  he  came  to  ^Minnesota  and 
located  in  Red  Wing.  He  continued  his  legal 
studies  there  with  Hon.  W.  W'.  I'hclps  until  1871, 
when  he  was  admitted  t<i  the  liar,  .^ome  idea  of 
his  courageous  self-reliance  may  be  inferred  from 
the  fact  that  when  he  landed  in  Red  Wing  he  had 
l)ut  sevcntv-five  cents  and  did  not  know  a  person 
in  that  p;irt  of  the  wnrld.  .\s  S(»>n  as  he  was  admit- 
teil  to  the  bar  he  ojiened  an  office  by  himself  and 
had  a  good  business  from  the  start.  Three  years 
later,  in  1874.  he  was  elected  judge  of  jirobate 
of  Goodhue  County,  and  held  that  position  for 
ten  vears  without  opposition  from  cither  party. 
During  this  time  he  was  .-i  iiartner  with  Hon,  O. 
M.   ll.ill.   and   rontinued   the  ])ractice  nf  his  )iro- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


465 


fession.  ^l\-.  Werner  was  for  nine  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  education  of  Red  Wing  and 
chairman  of  the  high  school  CDnmiittce.  He  was 
also  for  a  number  of  years  a  member  of  the  city 
covmcil  of  Red  Wing.  In  ]888  he  assisted  in 
tlie  organization  of  the  Swedish-American  Bank 
at  Minneapolis,  becoming  its  cashier  and  man- 
ager. This  brought  him  to  Minneapolis  to  live. 
In  1894  this  institution  was  made  a  national  bank 
and  Mr.  Werner  was  selected  its  president,  which 
office  he  now  holds.  His  political  affiliations 
have  always  been  with  the  Republican  party.  He 
never  held  any  political  office  except  that  of  a 
local  character  already  described,  but  was  gen- 
•erally  a  delegate  to  state  and  congressional  con- 
ventions. He  was  a  member  of  the  state  central 
committee  from  18S6  to  1SS8.  His  church  con- 
nection is  with  the  Lutheran  denrniiination.  He 
was  married  August  17.  1872,  to  Eva  Charlotte 
Anderson.  They  have  tlirce  children,  Carl  Gustaf. 
Anna  Olivia  and  Nils  (  )laf,  aged  respectively, 
twenty-two,  twenty  and  twelve  years.  Mr.  ^^^er- 
ner  has  established  a  rcinit;iti(in  as  a  careful  and 
conserv.itive  business  man,  and  enjovs  the  con- 
fidence of  his  business  associates  and  of  the  busi- 
ness commimitv  in  a  high  degree. 


.\|().Si;.S  DlliliLI-:  Ki'IXYON. 

Moses  l)il)l)le  Kenyon  is  public  examiner  and 
superintendent  of  hanks  m  .Miimesota.  Mr.  Ken- 
yon was  born  August  13,  1843,  at  Granville, 
Washington  County,  New  York,  a  son  of  Almon 
Kenyon,  wlio  suljsequentlv  becaiue  a  prosperous 
farmer  in  central  Wisconsin.  His  wife,  mother 
of  the  sui)ject  of  this  sketch,  was  Lura  Dibble. 
His  early  education  began  in  the  district 
schools  of  Wisconsin,  and  he  finished  the  sopho- 
more year  in  the  Lawrence  University  at  Apple- 
inn.  Wisconsin.  In  October,  1866,  Mr.  Kenyon 
came  to  .Minnesota  and  located  at  Rochester. 
in  January,  1873,  he  was  appointed  clerk 
in  the  state  land  office  and  was  advanced 
subsequently  to  the  position  of  deputy  aud- 
itor, March  i,  1875.  He  held  this  office 
until  March  i,  1888,  when  he  resigned  to  accept 
the  appointiuent  by  Governor  McGill  as  public 
examiner  and  su])erinten(lent  of  banks.  In  Jan- 
uary, i8(jo,  Mr.  Kenyon  was  re-appointed  by 
Governor  Merriam,  and  again,  in  Januarj,  1893, 
re-appointed  by  Governor  Nelson,  and  in  Jan- 
uary, 1895,  I'tceived  his  present  appointment  by 
Governor  Clough.  Air.  Kenyon  holds  a  very 
important  position  in  the  public  service,  and  has 
made  a  useful  and  efficient  officer.  His  public 
career  includes  his  service  as  deputy  state  audi- 
tor for  thirteen  years,  and  previous  to  that  he 
held  a  position  in  the  state  land  office.  While 
clerk  in  the  land  office  he  called  the  attention 
of  the  auditor  to  the  attempt  of  the  St.  Paul  & 
Chicago  Railway  Com])any  to  secure  twice  the 
amount  of  swamp  land  granted  by  the  state. 
The  railroad  project  was  finally  defeated  in  the 
courts,  a  re])ort  of  which  is  contained  in  24  Min- 
nesota, 517.  As  a  result  four  hundred  and  si.xty- 
two  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirtv-six  acres 
of  land  were  saved  to  the  state.  Mr.  Kenyon 
was  the  author  of  the  law  relating  to  banks  of 
discounts  and  dtixjsits,  passed  without  a  dissent- 
ing vote  liy  the  legislature  of  1895,  which  in 
general  contains  provisions  in  regard  to  supervis- 
ion of  state  banks,  siiuilar  to  those  contained  in 
the  national  bank  law  as  applied  to  national 
banks.  He  has  achieved  a  high  renutation  as 
a  public  officer,  and    i«    regarded    as    peculiarly 


466 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


qualified  for  the  duties  wliich  his  position  im- 
poses. He  was  admitted  to  tlie  bar  in  1893,  liav- 
ing  taken  tlie  course  pi  escribed  by  the  University 
of  Minnesota.  Air.  Kenyon  issued  a  pamphlet 
on  national  finance  in  December,  1895,  which 
attracted  wide  attention.  He  was  married  Jan- 
uary 22,  1868,  to  Ida  N'inccnt.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Alice  L.  Air.  Kenyon  resides  in  -St. 
Paul. 


.A.LEX.\NDER  RU.SSEL  ARCHIBALD. 

Among  the  institutions  founded  for  instruc- 
tion in  special  lines  of  eilucation  none  have  at- 
tracted more  students  than  those  established  to 
instruct  yoimg  men  and  women  in  the  rudiments 
and  principles  of  ccMnmcrcial  business.  (  )ne  of 
these  institutions  is  the  Archibald  Ikisiness  Col- 
lege of  Minneapolis,  cf)nducted  by  Alexander 
Russel  Archibald,  a  native  of  Nova  Scotia.  Ills 
father,  Matthew  Archibald,  was  a  farmer  in  mod- 
crate  circumstances  in  Halifax  C'omUy.  His 
mother's  niaidi-n  name  was  Jane  ( Irant,  whose 
father  was  a  native  of  .Scotland.  The  .\i-clnbalds, 
however,  were  of  English  descent.  They  lo- 
cated originally  in  T.ondonderry,  Xew  Hani])- 
shirc,   and   afti-rwards  removed    tn    Xova    Scotia. 


Man)'  of  them  attained  to  honorable  positions  in 
the  gift  of  the  people  of  that  country,  such  as 
the  governorship,  membership  in  the  people's 
parliament,  etc.  A  brother  of  Alexander  was  a 
member  of  the  people's  parliament  for  the  city  of 
Halifax  for  several  terms,  and  has  now  a  life 
position  as  sheriff  in  that  city.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born  July  27,  1847,  in  Musquodo- 
boit,  Halifa.x  County,  Xova  Scotia.  His  early 
education  was  obtained  in  the  common  schools 
where  only  the  ordinary  rudimentary  branches 
were  taught.  Later  he  attended  and  graduated 
at  Kiml)all  Cnion  Academy,  in  Xew  Hampshire. 
He  was  there  honored  with  the  presidency  of 
his  class  and  selected  to  give  the  parting  ad- 
dress. From  the  academy  he  went  to  Dartmouth 
College.  Being  possessed  of  limited  means  he 
was  oldiged  to  teach  school  part  of  the  time  in 
order  to  pay  his  expenses,  and  yet  his  rank  in 
his  class  was  among  the  first  three  all  through 
the  four  years.  He  also  competed  for  and 
gained  the  oratorical  prize.  \\'hile  in  college  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Theta  Delta  Chi  fraternity 


anil  represented  that  societ)-  as  a  delegate  to  its 
national  conveiUion  in  Xew  York  in  1873.  He 
was  graduated  in  iS7.|\\itii  a  degree  of  .\I.A.,  and 
in  Septembei-  nf  tlie  same  year  he  came  to  .\lin- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


467 


ncsota  and  located  al  CjIciicuc,  as  priiu'ipal  of 
Stevens  Seminary.  He  remained  tlurc  through 
the  school  year  of  1876  and  'j-j,  hut  in  the  latter 
year  came  to  Minneapolis  and  founded  the  Archi- 
bald Business  College,  an  institution  whose 
graduates  occupy  many  positions  of  trust  in  the 
Northwest.  Mr.  Archibald  was  married  in  Au- 
gust, 1877,  at  Glencoe,  to  Miss  Sarah  Jane  Apple- 
ton.  They  have  one  child,  (leorge  S.,  now  in 
his  fifteenth  year.  Mr.  /\rcliil)ald  recalls  among 
his  early  experiences  that  lie  earned  his  first 
dollar  while  working  in  a  ha\-  field  on  a  Nova 
Scotia  farm.  Mr.  Archibald  is  a  Republican  in 
politics.  He  has  always  voted  that  ticket  and 
is  a  substantial  supporter  of  the  Republican 
party.  He  has  never  held  any  political  office 
of  his  own,  but  as  a  delegate  to  local  and  gen- 
eral conventions  has  assisted  in  securing  political 
honors  for  bis  friends,  manv  of  whom  have  rea- 
son to  remember  his  action  in  the  premises  with 
gratitude. 


ARTHUR  NEWMAN  DARE. 

Arthur  Newman  Dare,  the  editor  and  pub- 
lisher of  the  Elk  River,  Minnesota,  "Star  News," 
is  a  man  whose  success,  achieved  in  newspaper 
publication,  has  been  due  entirely  to  his  own 
unaided  efforts.  He  was  born  in  Jordan,  ( )non- 
daga  County,  New  York,  Mav  25,  1850.  His 
father,  Alfred  Dare,  was  a  miller  in  moderate 
circumstances.  He  was  a  native  of  Wales  and 
came  to  this  C(juntry  in  1838,  when  l)Ut 
twenty  years  of  age.  He  died  in  1888.  Mary 
Matilda  Allen  (Dare),  the  mother  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  l)iirn  in  \"cr- 
mont,  in  humble  circumstances.  The  sul)- 
ject  of  this  sketch  had  only  the  advan- 
tages of  a  common  school  education,  with  a 
short  attendance  at  the  village  academy  of  his 
native  town.  He  came  to  Minnesota  with  liis 
parents  in  1867,  locating  in  .Minneapolis.  Here 
he  entered  the  ]n-inting  office  of  the  Minneapolis 
Tribune,  learning  the  trade  of  printer.  He 
worked  at  his  trade  for  three  or  four  )'ears  in  the 
Tribune  office  until  a  desire  for  travel  took  hold 
of  him.  He  embarked  as  a  sailor  on  a  whaling 
ship  from  New  Bedford.  ^Massachusetts,  in  1872, 


and  was  gone  two  and  a  half  years.  During  this 
time  he  had  many  exciting  adventures  in  New 
Zealand  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  On  his  way 
home  he  made  a  trip  through  England.  Com- 
ing back  to  Alinnesota  he  settled  at  Elk  River 
and  connnenced  working  at  his  old  trade.  He 
was  made  local  editor  of  the  Elk  River  "Star," 
and  a  year  later  bought  a  half  interest  in  this 
paper.  The  following  year  he  bought  the  "Star" 
outright.  In  1881  he  bought  the  Elk  River 
"?\'ews"  and  consolidated  the  two  papers  as  the 
"Star-News."  This  paper  Mr.  Dare  has  edited 
and  published  since  that  time.  He  has  built  up 
a  paying  circulation,  and  established  for  his  paper 
a  good  reputation,  so  that  locally  it  exerts  a  large 
influence.  .\lr.  Dare  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 
He  has  no  ambition  politically,  though  he  has 
always  taken  active  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
his  party.  He  has  been  Chairman  of  the  County 
Republican  Committee  continuously  for  fifteen 
vears,  and  in  1894  ^^'^s  elected  to  the  State  Legis- 
lature, though  the  nomination  for  this  latter  office 
came  unsought.  He  was  re-elected  in  1896.  He 
has  for  thirteen  \ears  been  a  member  of  Sherburn 
Dodge,  A.  l'.  &  .A.  M.  In  1879  he  was  married 
to  Susan  May  .\lbce.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dare  have 
three  children.  Daphne,  Susan  and  Laurence. 


468 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


JOHX    FIXLEY    GCXJDXOW. 

John  Finley  Goodnow  traces  his  descent 
from  the  Harrison  who  signed  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  He  is  of  English  and  Scotch- 
Irish  ancestry,  the  son  of  James  Goodnuw  and 
Nancy  T.  Lattimore  (Goodnow).  He  was  born 
June  29,  1858,  at  Greensburg,  Indiana.  His 
parents  came  to  Alinneapohs  in  1870,  and  lie 
attended  the  public  schools  of  this  city  until 
1875,  when  he  graduated  from  the  high  school. 
He  then  entered  tl  e  I'niversity  of  Minnesota, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1879.  J\lr.  (jood- 
now  was  the  chemist  in  the  state  board  of  health 
subsequent  to  his  graduation  from  the  univer- 
sity. He  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Hewitt, 
president  of  the  state  board  of  health,  in  Red 
Wing  for  two  years.  He  did  ncit  i)ursue  the 
practice  of  medicine,  however,  but  returned  to 
Minneapolis  and  engaged  in  the  lumber  and 
fuel  business  in  which  he  has  been  interested 
for  fifteen  years.  Mr.  (ioodnow  takes  an  es- 
pecial interest  in  politics  and  has  exerted  a  large 
influence  in  the  Republican  jiarl\  of  this  city  and 
state  during  the  last  ten  years.  He  is  now 
president  of  the  state  Republican  League,  and 
has  held  that  office  ffir  two  terms.     He  has  been 


a  member  for  three  terms  of  the  Republican  state 
central  committee;  has  been  chairman  of  the 
city  Republican  connnittee,  and  has  been  twice 
chairman  of  the  resolutions  committee  of  the 
Xational  Republican  League,  and  is  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  Xational  Protective  Tariff  League. 
He  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  skillful  and 
successful  leaders  of  the  Republican  party  in  this 
state,  and  has  achieved  a  national  reputation 
through  his  connection  with  the  National 
League  of  Clubs,  and  through  his  activity  for  the 
nomination  of  \\'illiani  McKinley.  At  the  na- 
tional convention  of  this  organization  in  1895, 
at  Cleveland,  he  was  urged  to  accept  the  presi- 
dency, but  was  obliged  to  decline  on  account  of 
his  business  interests.  To  his  skill  in  shaping' 
the  deliberations  of  the  platform  connnittee  of 
the  league  at  the  Denver  convention  in  1894  is 
attributed  in  a  large  degree  the  harmonious  and 
satisfactory  outcome  of  that  meeting.  Mr.  Good- 
now has  never  asked  for  any  political  office  for 
himself,  choosing  rather  to  serve  his  party  in 
the  capacity  of  an  adviser  and  in  working  in  its 
interests.  He  is  a  Mason,  a  Knights  Templar 
and  .Shriner,  and  while  a  student  in  the  univer- 
sity he  was  a  member  <jf  the  Chi  Psi  fraternity.  He 
was  also  elected  a  member  of  the  honorary 
society  of  Phi  ISeta  Kappa  in  recognition  of  his 
scholarship  and  attainments  as  a  student,  and  in 
i8()5  was  a  delegate  of  the  university  chapter 
to  the  triennial  conference.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  social  order  of  Hoo  Hoos,  where  his 
geniality  and  good  fellowship  make  him  a  wel- 
come addition.  He  is  an  attendant  of  the  West- 
minster Presbyterian  Church.  Mr.  Goodnow 
was  married  October  5.  1881,  to  Mary  E.  Hamil- 
ton, who  died  June  15,  i8()0.  Their  living  chil- 
dren are  twcT  sons. 


PERCY  DOWXIXG  GODFREY. 

Percy  Downing  CJodfrey,  of  St.  Paul,  is  a 
lawyer,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Otis  &  Godfrey. 
His  father.  Jaccib  T.  Godfrey,  was  a  farmer  and 
also  a  practical  cnginet-r  at  Hampton  I'each, 
New  Hampshire.  When  the  war  broke  out  he 
offered  his  services  to  his  countrv  and  made  an 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


469 


honorable  record  as  a  soldier.  Jacob's  wife  was 
Nettie  H.  (Downing)  Godfrey,  who,  before  her 
marriage,  resided  at  Rye  lieach,  New  Hampshire. 
She  was  a  school  teacher  by  profession,  and 
is  known  to  literature  as  a  writer  of  verse 
and  an  author  of  some  distinction.  The 
Godfrey  family  have  been  citizens  of  Hampton, 
New  Hampshire  and  vicinity  since  the  town  was 
settled  in  1638.  The  complete  genealogy  of  the 
family  is  given  in  the  history  of  Hampton,  and 
several  of  this  sturdy  New  England  family  have 
rendered  efficient  service  in  the  several  wars  on 
behalf  of  their  country,  from  the  Revolutionary 
War  to  the  last  great  conflict.  Percy  Downing 
was  born  at  Hampton,  iMarch  12,  1871.  He  at- 
tended the  public  schools  and  Hampton  Acad- 
emy and  High  School,  graduating  with  honors 
in  1887.  He  was  chosen  1)y  his  class  as  the  class 
poet.  He  came  to  Minnesota  in  1887,  and 
located  in  St.  Paul,  where  he  secured  a  position 
in  the  law  office  of  Judge  A.  C.  Hickman,  and  Ix'- 
gan  there  the  study  of  law.  Later  he  took  the 
law  course  in  the  I'niversity  of  Alinnesota.  grad- 
uating w'ith  the  class  of  1892  with  the  degree  of 
LL.  P).  He  was  admitted  tri  the  bar  on  his 
twentv-first  birthdav.  receiving  his  diploma 
through  the  State  Poard  of  F,xaniincrs  and  .Su- 


preme Gnuri.  (  jn  tlic  same  day,  .March  12, 
1892,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Arthur  G. 
t  Jlis,  of  St.  i'aul,  under  the  style  of  Otis 
<!<:  Godfrey,  succeeding  the  firm  of  C.  E.  ik. 
A.  G.  Utis,  C.  E.  Utis  having  been  elevated 
tci  the  district  bench.  .Mr.  Godfrey  is  now 
in  active  jjractice.  J 11  p(;litics  his  affiliations 
are  with  the  Rrimblican  parts.  He  was  secre- 
tary of  the  Ramsey  County  congressional  con- 
vention in  1892,  and  in  1896  secretary  of  the 
I'ourth  Congressional  District  convention  to 
select  delegates  to  the  Naticjnal  Republican  con- 
vention ;  has  served  on  the  city  and  county  com- 
mittees, an<l  he  is  at  ])resent  serving  on  the  Re- 
publican iC.xecutive  Connnittce.  He  has  always 
taken  an  active  part  in  the  promotion  of 
Rci)ublican  iirinciples.  .-Mthough  ofifered  of- 
fices of  trust,  he  has  declined  nomination,  pre- 
ferring to  devote  his  time  to  his  professional 
duties.  In  1893  '"^  declined  the  appointment 
of  assistant  city  attorney  of  St.  Paul.  He  is  now 
United  States  Connnissioner  of  the  L'nited  States 
Court  of  Claims.  .Mr.  Godfrey  is  vice-chancellor 
of  St.  Paul  Lodge  Knights  of  Pythias  and  a  mem- 
ber of  tlie  Odd  Fellows,  I^lks  and  Masons.  His 
church  connections  are  with  the  Congregational 
body,  and  he  holds  the  office  of  secretary  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  Bethany  church.  He  was 
married  June  30,  1892,  to  Minnie  R.  Lawton,  of 
St.  Paul.  They  have  two  children,  Otis  Hickman 
and  Gladvs  Elizabeth. 


CORNELIUS  B.  SHOVE. 

C.  B.  Shove  is  of  a  family  which  traces  its  line 
for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  to  the  early  set- 
tlement of  New  England.  Alonzo  Shove,  father 
of  Mr.  C.  B.  Shove,  was  a  manufacturer  of  boots 
and  shoes  at  Syracuse,  New  York,  w-here  Cor- 
nelius was  born  November  8.  1844.  Six  years 
later  the  family  moved  to  Manitowoc,  Wisconsin, 
where  the  son  passed  his  bovhood.  and  received 
the  common  school  education  available  in  a 
countn,-  village.  When  he  was  thirteen  years 
old  he  entered  a  banking  and  insurance  ofifice  at 
Manitowoc.  In  this  position,  which  he  occupied 
for  eleven  years,  he  acquired  a  practical  training 
in  business  whicli  fitted  iiim  for  the  responsible 


4.70 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


position  which  ht-  has  since  attained  in  tlic  insur- 
ance business  in  this  citv.  Mr.  Sliove"s  first  ex- 
perience in  insurance  was  in  1868,  when  he 
entered  the  employment  of  the  late  J-  T).  Bennett, 
of  Cincinnati,  an  old  and  successful  insurance 
manager.  For  a  while  -Mr.  Shove  was  stationed 
at  Macon,  ^Missouri,  as  a  local  ag'ent.  When  the 
Andes  Insurance  Conijiany  was  organized  at 
Cincinnati,  Mr.  Shove  removed  to  that  city,  and 
was  appointed  special  agent  of  the  company.  In 
this  position  he  traveled  widely  and  acquired  a 
large  experience  in  general  insurance  matters, 
and  in  the  management  of  the  company's  affairs. 
Afterwards  he  was  appointed  state  agent  of  tin- 
company  for  Iowa.  The  Andes  was  ruined  by 
the  great  Chicago  and  Boston  fire,  and  for  sev- 
eral years  he  was  engaged  as  special  agent  and 
adjuster  of  several  companies.  In  the  year  1878 
he  came  to  Minneapolis,  and  after  a  short  time 
organized  the  .Millers  and  Manufacturers'  Insur- 
ance Company.  I'his  company  was  organized 
under  a  new  law  authorizing  a  combination  of 
stock  and  nuitual  plans.  It  was  something  of  an 
innovation  ui^on  cstal)lishcd  insurance  theories. 
but  has  i^rovcd  a  coni])lete  success.  The  Millers 
and  Manufacturers'  Insurance  Companv  com- 
menced business  on   Mav   i.   1881.     It  i^  essen- 


tially a  nuitual  company,  distributing  to  such  of 
its  policy  holders  as  come  under  the  mutual 
agreement,  the  surplus  of  premiums  paid  by 
them,  over  the  actual  cost  of  the  insurance.  Mr. 
Shove  has  been  Secretary  and  General  Manager 
of  the  company  since  its  organization,  initil  a  few 
years  since  he  became  its  President.  He  is  an 
inveterate  worker,  and  enthusiastic  in  his  busi- 
ness, and  proud  of  the  sttccess  of  his  company. 
In  1883  Mr.  Shove  was  married  to  Mrs.  Carrie 
A.  Norton,  of  Chicago.  They  live  at  1002  Haw- 
thorn avenue,  ^Minneapolis. 


WALTER  L(  )LTS  BADGER. 

\\  alter  Louis  Badger  is  a  native  of  Wiscon- 
sin. He  was  born  at  Fond  du  Lac,  May  27,  1868, 
the  son  of  George  A.  Badger,  for  years  a  suc- 
cessful merchant  in  that  city,  and  Harriet  E. 
Hastings  (Badger.)  lioth  parents  came  from 
good  New  England  stock,  and  were  natives  of 
Massachusetts.     Walter  Louis  attended  the  pub- 


lic schools  mitil  he  was  lourtecn.  when,  ambi- 
tious to  earn  mone\-  to  get  into  business,  he  left 
school.  In  the  nuantiine  his  j)arents  had  moved, 
in  iSjcS.  t(i  .Minnc;i|iiilis.  and  when  W'alli-r  began 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  ()!■    MINNESOTA. 


471 


to  look  for  opportunit)  to  cani  niniiL'),  one  ot 
the  tirst  things  which  presented  itsi'lf  was  em- 
ployment ill  the  office  at  tlic  I'air  <  irounds,  when 
the  fair  was  known  as  "I till  King's  Show."  He 
began  his  business  career  in  the  real  estate  office 
of  J.  (ioklsbury,  and  continued  there  until  going 
into  business  for  liimself  in  1886,  in  the  saine 
line  of  trade.  Tn  1890  he  became  a  special  part- 
ner of  the  firm  of  Corser  &  Co.,  anrl  remained 
witli  that  firm  three  years.  He  tlien  withdrew  and 
resumed  the  business  ak)ne  in  tlie  Xew  ^'ork 
Life  Building,  where  he  built  up  a  good  business 
and  has  charge  of  a  numljcr  of  large  estates,  in- 
cluding the  real  estate  business  of  the  Northern 
Trust  Company,  and  some  other  prominent  cor- 
porations. Air.  Badger  is  a  Republican,  although 
he  has  never  taken  a  very  active  part  in  party  mat- 
ters. His  principal  interest  in  ]5olitics  relates  to 
municipal  affairs,  and  he  is  an  active  promoter 
of  municipal  reform.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Conuuercial  Club  of  Minneapolis,  the  Royal  Ar- 
canum, a  director  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and 
also  of  the  Northern  Trust  Company.  He  is 
an  active  member  of  Plymouth  Church,  and 
has  been  for  a  number  of  years  treasurer  of  the 
Sunday  school.  He  was  married  in  iSgo  to  Miss 
Anna  Dawson,  of  Keokuk,  Iowa.  They  have 
two  children,  Lester  Roberts  and  Norman  Daw- 
son, aged  four  and  two  years,  respectively. 


GEORGE   ROSS   SMITH. 

The  ancestors  of  George  Ross  Smith  belonged 
to  that  courageous  band  of  men  who,  with  Daniel 
Boone,  were  the  pioneers  of  civilization  in  Ken- 
tucky. The  descendants  of  this  branch  of  the 
Smith  family  have  lived  there  since  that  time,  for 
tlie  most  part  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
The}'  have  been  patriotic,  too,  when  the  country 
needed  their  services.  Robert  Smith  fought  in 
the  War  of  181  j;  F.dwnrd  and  James  Smith,  a 
generation  later,  served  in  the  Mexican  War,  and 
David  Smith  respoufled  to  his  country's  call  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  ^\'ar,  sei-\-ing  in  the 
Second  Minnesota.  David  is  the  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  He  came  to  Minnesota 
from  Kentucky  in  1854,  settling  on  a  farm  in 
Steams  Coimtw  where  he  still  resides.    His  wife's 


maiden  name  was  Katharine  Crowe.  Their  son 
George  was  born  May  28,  1864,  at  St.  Cloud. 
He  was  provided  by  his  parents  with  educational 
advantages  somewhat  better  than  the  average 
farmer  bo_\'  of  that  period  received.  L'p  to  his 
fifteenth  year  he  attended  the  district  school  in 
the  winter,  working  during  the  summer  months 
on  the  farm.  He  then  entered  La'Ke  View 
Academy,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1886, 
receiving  the  gold  medal  awarded  by  this  institu- 
tion for  proficiency.  After  his  graduation  he 
taught  for  a  while  in  this  school,  and  later  became 
its  principal,  which  position  he  filled  until  1891. 
At  this  time,  h;i\ing  a  predilection  for  the  law  as 
a  profession,  he  entered  the  law  department  of 
the  State  I'niversity.  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1893.  He  was  elected  president  of  his  class  in 
the  senior  year.  Upon  his  admission  to  the  bar 
Mr.  Smith  opened  an  office  in  Minneapolis  and 
began  active  practice.  He  has  gradually  advanced 
in  his  profession  by  conscientious  work  and  com- 
mands the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  bar  and  the 
bench.  In  pcilitics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  has 
never  been  very  active  in  party  work.  His  society 
membership  is  confined  to  the  Delta  Chi  law 
fraternity.  Jaiuiary  9,  1895,  he  was  married  to 
Mrs.  F.  y.  H(^ran. 


472 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OP  MINNESOTA. 


\'ERXOX    .MORTOX   SMITH 

\'ernon  Alorloii  Smith,  chief  of  police  of 
the  city  of  ^Minneapolis,  is  a  civil  engineer  by 
profession  and  has  followed  that  business  botli 
in  civil  and  niilitar\-  life.  He  is  the  son  of  Sam- 
uel R.  Smith,  and  was  born  in  Stowe,  \'ermont, 
September  15,  1841.  I'dr  four  generations  the 
family  have  lived  in  this  country,  but  the  descent 
is  mixed  English,  Irish  and  Scotch.  Mr.  Smith 
had  only  the  school  advantages  of  the  public 
schools  in  his  youth,  but  he  made  a  special  study 
of  civil  engineering  and  fitted  himself  for  that 
profession.  He  had  practiced  his  profession, 
however,  for  only  a  brief  time  when  the  war 
broke  out  and  he  enlisted  as  a  private  soldier. 
During  nine  months  of  his  serxice  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  engineer  corps,  the  whole  period 
of  his  military  service  occupying  two  years.  On 
his  leaving  the  army  he  returned  to  his  home  in 
Vermont,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession as  engineer.  His  fellow  townsmen  rec- 
ognizing his  worth  selected  him  as  their  repre- 
sentative in  the  Vernidut  legislature  and  he 
served  them  two  years  in  that  capacity,  1867  and 
1868.  Mr.  Smith  was  on  the  look-out,  however, 
for  better  ()p])ortimities  than   oft  ere  1   tlu'inselves 


in  Vermont  in  his  line  of  business,  and  in  1873 
came  to  Minnesota  and  located  in  Minneapolis. 
He  lived  here  two  years  and  during  that  time 
became  interested  in  the  milling  business  in  the 
old  Dakota  Alills,  under  the  name  of  Beedy,  Huy 
&  Co.  He  then  removed  to  Lyon  County  in 
this  state,  and  while  a  resident  of  that  cotmty 
he  was  twice  elected  County  Commissioner.  In 
1884  he  returned  to  Minneapolis,  and  has  been 
a  resident  of  this  city  ever  since.  Since  locating 
in  Minneapolis  he  was  for  two  years,  in  connec- 
tion with  his  son  and  son-in-law,  T.  H.  Croswell, 
surveyor  for  the  government  in  the  Red  Lake 
agency,  where  he  laid  out  about  fifty  townships 
in  the  years  1890  and  1891.  He  served  two  years 
in  the  Minneapolis  city  council  from  the  Second 
ward,  having  been  elected  in  1888.  When  W.  H. 
Lustis  was  chosen  mayor  of  Minneapolis  in 
1892,  he  appointed  Mr.  Smith  Chief  of  Police. 
The  appointment  proved  to  be  a  very  fortunate 
one  and  Mr.  Smith  discharged  the  duties  of  the 
office  with  such  ability  that  when  Robert  Pratt 
succeeded  Mr.  Eustis  as  Mayor  in  1894  he  re- 
tained Air.  Smith  at  the  head  of  the  police  de- 
]3artment.  L  nder  his  administration  changes 
were  made  in  the  management  of  that  department 
looking  to  a  better  discipline  and  a  greater  gen- 
eral efliciency  in  the  force.  Air.  .'-^niith  is  a 
member  of  the  Commercial  Club  of  Minneap- 
olis, the  Engineers'  Club,  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
and  the  A.  C).  I'.  W.  He  has  a  pleasant  home 
on  the  East  Side.  His  wife  was  Isidore  C. 
Lathrop,  whom  he  married  at  Stowe,  \'ermont, 
Xovemlier  10,  i86,v  Thev  have  three  children 
— one  daughter,  Mrs.  Mar\-  I.  Crosswell,  of  Mer- 
riam  Park;  D.  S.  .Smith,  superintendent  of  the 
Street  Railway  of  St.  Paul,  and  LeRoy  \'.  Smith, 
superintendent  of  a  large  farm  in   Xorth  Dakota. 


PHILIP   TOLLEI-    ME(i.\.\RI)EX. 

Phil.  T.  .Megaarden,  chief  de])ut\-  sheriff  of 
Hennepin  County,  is  a  nali\e  of  Iowa  and  l)y 
descent  of  Xorwcgian  extraction.  His  parents 
were  botli  1-orn  in  Xorwa\-.  The  father,  Tollef 
K.  Mega;irden,  wa-  a  ile.-iler  in  livestock  and 
later   a   railroad    contractor.      Mr    li\cd    in    .\ll,-i- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


478 


makee  County,  Iowa,  at  the  time  of  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war,  and  enlisted  in  the  Fourth  Iowa 
Cavalry,  serving  three  years.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  he  removed  to  Dickinson  County,  where  he 
lived  until  iSjy.when  the  family  removed  to  Min- 
neapolis. Philip  was  born  in  Allamakee  County, 
on  October  2,  1864.  He  was  the  oldest  of  seven 
children.  During  liis  early  childhood  he  attended 
the  public  schools  near  his  home  in  Iowa  and 
in  Minneapolis.  In  the  fall  of  1878  he  had  re- 
solved to  prepare  for  the  Lutheran  ministry,  and 
entered  Augsberg  Seminarv,  .Minneapolis,  but 
the  next  year  his  father  died  suddenly  leaving 
Philip  at  the  head  of  a  family  of  seven  and  with 
little  means  for  their  support.  Putting  aside  the 
plans  which  he  had  made,  the  boy  commenced  a 
struggle  for  a  livelihood.  He  obtained  such 
employment  as  he  could,  first  as  clerk  in  a  fuel 
office,  then  bookkeeper  and  later  as  court  offi- 
cer in  the  municipal  court.  .\11  this  time  he  was 
studying  as  best  he  could,  sometimes  attending 
■evening  school  and  again  employing  a  private 
instructor.  He  managed  to  get  a  course  in  a 
lousiness  college  and  at  last  entered  the  univer- 
sity law  school,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1892,  taking  the  degree  of  LL.  P..  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  the  supreme  court  during 
the  same  year.     In    iSc)^  he   comijleted  a  post- 


graduate course  in  the  law  school  and  received 
the  degree  of  LL.  M.  Mr.  .\legaarden  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law,  but  on  January  1, 
:.S<;5,  discontinued  it  to  accept  the  office  which 
lie  now  holds.  He  intends  to  resume  practice 
upon  leaving  the  sheriff's  office.  Since  coming 
Ml  age  .Mr.  .\legaarden  has  been  a  staunch  Re- 
publican, and  has  taken  an  active  part  in  political 
affairs.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Inion  League 
and  other  political  clubs.  He  has  taken  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  order  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
and  is  at  present  Chancellor  Commander  for  the 
second  lime  of  .Monitor  Lodge  Xo  6,  K.  of  P. 
He  has  at  times  filled  nearly  every  office  in  this 
lodge.  Repeatedly  elected  to  represent  his  lodge 
in  the  Miimesota  Grand  Lodge,  and  being  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Domain  of 
.Minnesota,  he  has  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the 
affairs  of  the  order  in  the  Xorthwest.  He  has 
held  the  office  of  Deputy  Grand  Chancellor  of 
the  Grand  Lodge.  Mr.  Megaarden  is  also  a 
member  of  .Xorth  .Star  Division,  Xo.  i,  Uniform 
Rank,  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  holds  member- 
ship in  the  Khurum  Lodge,  Xo.  112,  .\.  F.  and 
A.  M.,  and  is  also  a  member  of  Ridgely  Lodge, 
Xo.  85,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  of  ]\Iinnewa  Tribe,  Xo. 
II,  of  the  Im]M-oved  Order  of  Red  Men.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Minneapolis  Commercial  Club. 
Mr.  Megaarden  is  unmarried. 


Gl'STAX    THEDEX. 

On  the  twelfth  day  of  November,  1862  Gustav 
Theden  was  born  at  Xor,  \'ermland,  Sweden. 
He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
country,  and  graduated  from  Karlstad  College 
in  1S80.  .Shortly  after  taking  his  degree  he 
emigrated  to  the  United  States,  settling  in 
Chicago,  where  he  Ijecame  editor  of  Missions 
A'aiinin,  a  position  which  he  held  for  eight  years, 
when  he  came  to  Alinneapolis,  since  his  home. 
Since  his  residence  in  ]^Iinneapolis,  Mr.  Theden 
has  been  editor  of  the  Minneapolis  \'eckoblad, 
a  religious  and  political  newspaper  in  Swedish, 
having  a  circulation  of  about  fourteen  thousand. 
He  is  now  one  of  the  proprietors  of  that  paper. 
He  has  a  good  understanding  of  militan-  tactics, 


474 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


having  had  a  cart-ful  training  along  this  line  in 
the  mother  country.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Swedish  Mission  Covenant  Church,  and  is 
unmarried.  It  was  in  the  campaign  of  1892  that 
:\Ir.  Theden  first  made  himself  felt  in  politics. 
He  was  engaged  by  the  Republican  .State  Central 
Committee  to  make  a  number  of  speeches  in  the 
Swedish  tongue  at  various  jKiints  over  the  state. 
Having  studied  law  with  a  marked  degree  of 
success,  and  having  many  of  the  arts  and  graces 
of  the  public  speaker,  he  made  a  reputation  in 
that  campaign  which  two  years  later  secured  him 
the  nomination  as  a  candidate  for  the  state  senate 
from  one  of  the  Minneapolis  districts.  He  was 
elected  by  a  large  majority,  and  his  term  of  office 
will  not  expire  until  the  first  of  January,  1899. 
During  his  first  term  as  member  of  the  state 
senate  he  became  known  as  the  champion  of 
measures  designed  to  benefit  labor,  notably  the 
lien  law,  which  owes  its  present  efficiency  in  this 
state  in  large  part  to  his  efforts.  He  was  also 
back  (A  legislation  intended  to  give  voice  to  the 
demand  for  additional  safeguards  to  be  thrown 
around  the  licjuor  traffic.  His  chief  work  as  a 
temperance  reformer  is  embudicd  in  a  bill  nulli- 
fying an  ordinance  of  the  city  of  .Minneapolis 
providing  that  only  meiubers  of  the  ])olice  depart- 


ment should  be  qualified  to  swear  out  warrants 
for  a  violation  of  the  Sunday  closing  law,  so- 
called.  .\t  the  opening  of  the  present  session  of 
the  legislature  (in  January,  1897),  he  became  the 
ciiamjjion  of  that  large  and  growing  class  of 
citizens  who  believe  that  the  modern  department 
stores  are  against  public  jiolicy.  He  moved  the 
conmiittee  of  investigation  that  was  busy  for  a 
large  part  of  the  session  sifting  out  the  facts 
connected  with  that  s\stem.  and  was  made  its 
chairman.  Mr.  Theden  is  a  striking  represen- 
tati\e  of  the  successful  young  man  in  politics, 
and  his  career  so  far  has  been  an  honorable  one. 
He  enjoys  the  confidence  of  a  rapidly  widening 
circle  of  acqtiaintances  and  friends,  and  his  ftiture 
is  very  promising. 


L(  )RA.\  CH.\RLES  STEVENSON. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  lawyer  prac- 
ticing his  profession  in  iMinneapolis.  He  was 
born  in  (Jakland  County,  .Michigan,  August  20,. 
1861,  the  son  of  John  W.  Stevenson  and  Frances 
A.  Bird  (Stevenson).  John  Stevenson  \\as  a 
farmer  and  followed  that  occupation  until  re- 
cently, when  he  nujved  into  a  small  village  near 
Detroit.  He  is  of  Scotch  descent,  his  grand- 
parents having  both  been  born  in  Scotland.  Mr. 
Stevenson's  descent  on  his  uKither's  side  is  from 
the  Wentworth  family,  quite  numerous  in  New 
York.  The  grandparents  of  Loran,  both  on  his 
mothers'  and  father's  side,  settled  in  Michigan 
in  the  early  days.  Loran  began  his  education  in 
a  country  school  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  his 
fathers  home,  to  which  he  was  obliged  to  walk 
every  day.  Later  he  attended  the  Michigan  state 
normal  school  for  about  three  years,  and  after 
that  sjjent  one  }ear  at  the  state  university  at  .-Knn 
Arbor,  but  did  not  complete  the  course  of  study 
or  graduate  from  anv  institution  of  that  kind. 
In  1883  he  located  in  Minnesota.  He  was  then 
engaged  as  a  conunercial  traveler  and  made  his 
headquarters  in  Mankato.  He  followe<l  this 
business  for  abmit  three  years,  ;ni(l  while  a  resi- 
dent of  Mankato,  was  m;irried,  Xovember  8.  1887, 
to  Miss  Icnne  Lettus.  The  following  day  he 
came  to  Minueapulis  to  live,  and  soon  afterw.irds 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


475 


cumnienced  the  study  of  law  with  C.  J.  liartlesun. 
July  12,  1889,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and 
has  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  ever 
since.  His  business  has  gradually  increased  and 
is  now  satisfactory  in  its  results.  Mr.  Stevenson 
is  a  Republican  and  a  member  of  the  Union 
League.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Commer- 
cial Club  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows and  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men.  Mr. 
Stevenson  was  not  favored  by  fortune  in  his  early 
life,  and  enjoyed  only  such  advantages  as  come  tu 
the  son  of  a  farmer  in  moderate  circumstances, 
compelled  to  relv  niainlv  upon  himself  for  what- 
ever advancement  he  could  obtain.  After  com- 
pleting his  studies  at  the  normal  school  and  at 
the  University  of  Michigan  he  spent  some  time  in 
the  occupation  of  teacher,  but  his  business  and 
professional  experience  has  been  mainly  in  the 
profession  of  law.     He  has  no  children. 


BERNDT  ANDERSON. 

Berndt  Anderson  is  dairy  commissioner 
of  the  state  of  Minnesota.  Mr.  Anderson 
is  a  native  of  Sweden,  having  been  born  at  Lund. 
August  2,   1840,  the  son  of  Lars  .\nderson    and 


Anna  Christiansen  (Anderson.)  Mr.  Anderson 
enjoyed  the  educational  advantages  afforded  by 
the  elementary  schools  of  his  native  town,  after 
which  he  attended  the  University  of  Lund,  where 
lie  was  graduated  in  1865.  His  diploma  for  that 
institution  gave  him  admission  as  an  officer  in 
the  internal  royal  department  at  Stockholm.  He 
was  naturally  of  a  scientific  bent,  and  subse- 
quently pursued  the  study  of  natural  science  in 
Berlin  and  Dre.sden,  Germany,  for  two  years.  He 
came  to  America  in  1880  and  located  in  Minne- 
sota. He  was  a  gentleman  of  fine  attainments 
in  letters  and  the  sciences,  and  was  employed 
as  associate  editor  of  "The  Minnesota  Stats 
Tidning,"  at  .Miimeapolis.  Subsequently  he 
became  one  of  the  stock  company  which 
purchased  this  paper,  and  afterwards  started 
a  Swedish  jiaper,  "Skaffaren,"  of  which  he  was 
made  editor-in-chief.  He  has  held  that  posi- 
tion during  the  last  twelve  years,  and  at  the  head 
of  that  successful  journal  has  exerted  a  wide  in- 
fluence, especialh'  among  his  fellow  countrymen. 


He  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  politics, 
and  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  state  con- 
vention which  nominated  W.  R.  Merriam  for  gov- 
ernor.    In  January,   1893.  he  was  appointed  by 


476 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


Governor  Nelson  to  the  office  of  chief  of  the- 
dairy  and  food  commission,  and  was  re-appointed 
in  1895.  Mr.  Anderson  is  prominent  in  the 
Swedish  Lutheran  Church,  is  a  member  of  the 
first  church  of  that  denomination  in  St.  Paul, 
where  he  resides,  and  has  been  its  reviser  for 
five  years.  He  was  married  in  1 87 1  to  Emma 
Yhnell,  at  Stockholm.  They  have  two  daughters 
and  three  sons.  The  office  which  Mr.  Anderson 
occupies  is  one  of  growing  importance  in  this 
state.  The  dair}-  interest  is  employing  more  capi- 
tal and  labor  and  becoming  more  widely  ex- 
tended every  year.  The  state  is  peculiarly 
adapted  to  this  industry,  and  the  products  of  the 
dairies  of  Minnesota  are  accorded  a  very  high 
rank  wherever  they  are  brought  into  competition 
with  those  of  other  sections.  Mr.  Anderson  has 
been  active  in  promoting  the  interest  of  this  in- 
dustry, protecting  the  producers  from  injurious 
and  unlawful  competition  and  raising  the  grade 
of  dain,'  stock  and  the  dairy  product. 


COURTLAXD  XAY  DICKEY. 

Courtland  X.  Dickey,  clerk  uf  the  district  court 
of  the  Fourth  Judicial  District,  for  Hennepin 
County,  was  born  January  i,  1855,  in  Jefferson 
County,  Indiana.  His  father  and  grandfather, 
who  lived  for  many  )  ears  in  the  Hoosier  state, 
trace  then-  ancestry  back  to  an  ancient  family  in 
the  north  of  Ireland,  a  branch  of  which  established 
itself  in  this  country  alnuist  a  hundred  years  ago. 
These  first  Dickeys  settled  in  Xew  Jersey,  and 
after  some  years  went  to  Xorth  Carolina.  Mr. 
Dickey's  paternal  grandfather  married,  in  i80(S, 
Miss  Elizabeth  Stark,  a  near  relative  of  the  hero  (if 
the  battle  of  Bennington,  and  located  with  his 
wife  in  what  was  afterwards  .Scott  Comity,  Indi- 
ana, but  then  a  wild  fnjntier  country.  The  elder 
Dickey  assisted  in  the  orgaiii/atinn  of  Scott 
County,  and  here  his  sun,  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  Ijorn.  This  son  l)ecame  a  law- 
yer, but  before  he  was  twenty-four  years  of  age 
was  elected  cmmtv  auditor.  Locating  in  Jefferson 
County,  he  served  as  postmaster  for  nine  years, 
and  then  became  successively  deputy  auditor  and 
recorder.     He  was  serving  his  second  term  in  the 


latter  office  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1874.  .Mr. 
Dickey  was  the  fourth  of  a  family  of  five  children. 
The  first  ten  vears  of  his  life  were  passed  on  his 
father's  farm.  When  the  family  moved  to  the 
town  of  Madison,  in  [efferson  County,  he  began 
to  go  to  school,  and  to  cultivate  what  he  was  not 
long  in  finding  out  was  a  decided  taste  for  music. 
This  musical  talent  helped  him  to  earn  his  first 
dollar.  In  1878,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  went 
to  California  on  account  of  ill  health,  remaining  in 
that  state  until  1883,  when  he  came  to  Minneapo- 
lis, which  city  has  since  been  his  home.  Mr. 
Dickey's  first  eni])lo\nieiit  after  coining  to  Min- 
neapolis was  as  a  copyist  in  the  office  of  the  clerk 
of  the  district  court,  a  jiositiiiii  which  he  secured 
in  competitive  examination  with  eighty-four  other 
apjdicants.  1  )uring  the  terms  of  E.  J.  Davenport 
and  Captain  Terrell  he  was  deputy  clerk-,  an<l  in 
1882  he  \vas  elected  clerk.  In  181/1  he  was  re- 
elected. In  the  year  icjoi,  when  his  second  term 
will  end,  Mr.  Dicke\-  will  have  been  in  the  clerk's 
office  of  Mi'nni|iin  ('ouiil\.  in  one  ca])acity  or 
other  for  eighteen  years.  He  is  one  of  the  most 
efficient  men  who  ever  filled  the  office  of  clerk  of 
llie  district  Court  in  the  state,  .\11  of  liis  political 
honors  have  been  received  at  tlie  hands  of  the  Re- 
luiblican  partw  and  to  tliis  party  he  has  always  be- 
lontred.     The  earlier  nH-mliers  of  tlie  famib    were 


PROGRESSIVE  MEK  OF  MINNESOTA. 


477 


Whigs  or  Rcpulilicaiis  witlmut  an  I'xceplii  mi.  lie 
is  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  a  incnihi'i-  of  the-  II.  !'.(). 
E.,  and  of  the  Tniprovcd  <  )rilir  of  Rcil  Men.  His 
family  is  identified  with  the  I  iiiversalist  church, 
hilt  he  helon.Lis  to  no  religious  organization. 


\  IRGIL   TI,    TI.XRRIS, 

X'irgil  II,  llarris.  judge  of  jiroljate  of  Meeker 
Countw  was  bom  at  Newark.  •  )liio,  .May  14,  1840. 
He  is  the  son  of  Daniel  and  .Martha  (  Dowling) 
Harris,  The  founders  of  the  llarris  family  in 
this  country  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  in 
Virginia,  and  their  descendants  are  scattered 
all  over  the  Southern  States.  liphriam  Harris, 
grandfather  of  the  suliject  of  this  sketch,  was  a 
personal  friend  of  Aaron  I'.urr,  who  had  the 
famous  duel  with  Alexander  Hamilton.  He  was 
present  and  took  part  in  the  first  declaration  of 
independence  at  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  two 
years  previous  to  the  signing  1  )f  the  formal  decla- 
ration, ICphriam  migrated  from  Kentucky  to 
Ohio  in  company  with  Daniel  lioone.  taking  a 
claim  on  what  is  now  a  part  of  the  city  of  Newark. 
The  Dowling  family  is  of  Irish  descent,  X'irgil's 
maternal  grandfather,  having  thrashed  a  liritish 
landlord  for  not  returning  the  salutation  "Good 
morning"  in  a  propei'  manner,  decided  it  was 
good  policy  to  move  West,  Martha  Howling. 
mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  mo\-ed  to  (  »hio  with  the 
family  in  1825,  locating  near  h'rederick.  As  an 
illustration  of  the  hardships  of  life  of  the  jiioneers 
of  that  dav  it  might  be  mentioned  that  this  young 
girl  walked  barefooted  and  <lrove  cattle  all  the 
way  from  Pennsylvania  to  (  'hio.  \  oung  Harris 
received  his  early  education  in  the  traditional  log 
schoolhouse  near  his  home,  and  later  t(  lok  a 
complete  course  in  a  business  college  at  Ashland, 
Ohio,  and  at  Indiana]iolis,  Indiana,  with  a  high 
school  course  at  I'>uc\rus.  <  )hi(i.  In  1862  he 
joined  Company  1!,  (  )ne  Hun(lre<l  and  ICleventh 
Ohio  \'olunteer  Infantry,  at  h'ostoria,  (  )hio,  ami 
served  three  years  in  the  Civil  War,  He  had  an 
honorable  war  record,  fighting  in  all  twenty-eight 
battles  with  the  armies  of  the  Cumberland  and 
Ohio.  After  his  discharge  from  the  army  he 
returned   home   and    wurked   on   the    farm.      His 


health  having  been  considerably  impaired  from  a 
sun  stroke  while  serving  in  the  army,  Mr,  Harris 
decided  to  come  to  Minnesota,  and  in  I'cbruary, 
1870,  he  located  at  Litchfield,  where  he  has  lived 
ever  since.  His  attention  has  been  chiefly  devoted 
to  the  drug  business,  which  he  carried  on  from 
1873  to  1890.  He  also  built  and  is  owner  of  a 
brick  block  in  Litchfield,  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  in  1896  was  elected  to  the  office  of 
judge  of  probate  of  Meeker  County,  which  office 
he  still  holds.  He  has  had  the  office  of  mayor 
of  Litchfield,  chairman  of  the  board  of  county 
commissioners,  and  justice  of  the  peace.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F..  the  A.  O.  U.  \V., 
and  the  (i.  A.  R.,  l)eing  past  conunander  of  the 
Frank  Daggett  Post.  Litchfield,  and  junior  vice 
department  conunander  of  Minnesota.  His  relig- 
ious affiliations  are  with  the  Christian  Church. 
In  1868  he  married  Lizzie  H.  Hill,  of  Marion 
Countv,  Ohio,  four  bo\-s  resulting  from  this  union, 
lUirtillion  Enuuit,  John  F,,  ?yIaro  A,  and  Ernest 
\'.  Mr.  Harris  has  devoted  some  of  his  leisure 
time  to  Classical  Literature,  and  is  at  present 
engaged  in  a  forthcoming  work  entitled  "A  Trip 
Through  Hell — An  Epic  of  the  I'nseen."  which 
will  be  copiouslv  illustrated  and  ])ub!ished  in  the 
near  future. 


478 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


GUSTA\'  ADOLPH  SCHUBERT. 

Gustav  Adolph  Schubert  is  an  orches- 
tral ami  band  leader  in  Minneapolis.  Mr. 
Schubert  is  a  native  of  Eilcnburg,  Germany,  wherf 
he  was  born  August  ii,  1848.  He  attended  the 
common  school,  which  in  that  city  was  by  no 
means  to  be  compared  with  the  American  insti- 
tution. At  an  early  age  he  developetl  unusual 
musical  talent  and  was  sent  for  musical  educa- 
tion to  Leipsic.  In  1865  he  became  a  member 
of  the  .Symphony  Orchestra  in  Halle,  which  at 
that  time  was  one  of  the  finest  organizations  in 
Germany.  He  also  played  in  several  concerts 
under  the  famous  musical  director,  Dr.  Robert 
Franz.  Subsequently  he  was  chosen  conductor 
of  the  orchestra  in  Flensburg,  Germany.  Dur- 
ing all  this  time  he  continued  the  study  of  his 
art  and  was  awarded  his  diploma  as  a  singing 
teacher  in  Germany  in  1876.  In  May,  1884,  he 
removed  with  his  family  to  America  and  located 
in  Minneapolis.  In  the  following  year  he  won 
the  second  prize  at  the  thirteenth  ( iornian  sing- 
ing contest  in  St.  Paul,  and  in  1S87  he  again 
won  the  second  prize  of  the  fourteenth  contest 
of  the  German  Singing  Society  in  Alinneapolis. 
Prof.  Schubert  was  for  a  time  connected  with 
Danz's  orchestra,  but    is    now    engaged    as    the 


leader  and  conductor  of  an  orchestra  and  mili- 
tary band  which  bears  his  own  name.  In  1889 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  E.  I'.  Thyle  which 
continued  until  1891.  Upon  its  dissolution  Mr. 
Schubert  continued  as  a  leader  of  the  Schubert 
orchestra  and  has  played  important  engagements 
in  Alinneapolis  and  vicinity.  IJefore  coming  to 
America,  Mr.  Schubert,  as  a  native  of  Germany, 
was  enlisted  in  the  army  of  the  empire,  and 
fought  in  the  war  between  Germany  and  France 
in  1870  and  1871.  He  was  corporal  of  the 
Twenty-fifth  Infantry  Regiment  in  that  war.  Pre- 
vious to  the  outbreak  of  that  war  he  was  a  sol- 
dier in  Flensburg.  He  fought  in  the  battles  of 
\'illerechsel.  and  the  three  days'  fighting  of 
Hericourt,  besides  several  other  important  en- 
gagements. He  is  a  member  of  the  Turner 
Society,  the  Knights  of  Honor,  the  Krieger 
.Society,  the  Western  Knights,  the  Sons  of  Herr- 
mann and  the  ( )rder  of  the  World.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran  Church.  On 
the  sixth  day  of  March,  1872.  he  was  married  to 
Mrs.  Christine  Johannsen.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren, Caroline  Jacobine,  who  is  now  Mrs.  F.  G. 
Callahan,  Katharine  Charlotte  and  W'ilhelmene 
Pauline. 


PET E k  1 ; FLA  C RAN E. 

Peter  ilela  Crane,  of  .Minneapolis,  was 
born  in  Wisconsin,  Alarch  6,  1847.  His  father, 
\  .  G.  Crane,  had  shortly  before  that  removed 
from  New  York  to  Wisconsin.  He  was  a  me- 
chanic and  a  farmer  in  reduced  circumstances, 
his  lack  of  means  being  due  to  prolonged  illness. 
E.  F.  Crane,  a  brother  of  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  is  a  Baptist  minister,  now  over 
ninety  years  of  age,  who  is  .said  to  have  baptized 
over  three  thousand  people.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  attended  the  district  school, 
which  in  the  early  days  tjf  Wisconsin  was 
comparatively  a  primitive  affair.  His  at- 
tendance, however,  was  confined  chiefly  to 
the  winter  months,  his  services,  as  in  the 
case  of  most  farmers'  boys,  being  re(|uired 
on  the  farm  in  the  summer.  Tn  the  spring  of 
i86().  Pi-lrr  r.ela  CrMiie  c.-imc  to  Minne- 
sota in  a  covered  wagon  and  settled  on  a  farm 
near    Montevideo.      He   has    had    (\\\\\v    a    \;u-ied 


rKOCKKSSIVlv  MKN  01'  MINNESOTA. 


4-79 


career,  having  been  engaged  in  farming,  in  sell- 
ing farm  machinery,  and  as  a  fnc  and  life  insur- 
ance agent.  In  1874  he  was  appdinted  the  agent 
of  the  St.  Paul  I'ire  and  Marine  and  the  Minne- 
sota P'armers'  Fire  Insurance  companies,  which 
he  managed  with  success.  In  1880  he  accepted 
the  general  agency  for  Dakota  of  the  St.  Paul 
Fire  and  ]\Iarine  Company.  In  1885  he  engaged 
in  the  life  insurance  business,  and  in  1887  he 
organized  the  Odd  Fellows'  National  Benevolent 
Association  the  membership  of  which  was 
confined  exclusively  to  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  In  January,  1892, 
tlie  company  was  changed  to  a  general 
msurance  company  of  the  natural  premium 
plan.  The  name  was  also  changed  to  the 
National  ^futual  Life  Association.  Mr.  Crane 
is  president  of  this  company  and  is  giving  it  his 
especial  attention.  His  political  affiliations  are 
with  the  Republican  party,  although  he  does  not 
take  a  very  active  part  in  politics.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Montevideo  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
and  of  Sunset  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  His  church 
connections  are  with  the  Congregational    body. 


On  December  20,  1876,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Addie  L.  Lawrence,  who  died  May  3,  1888.  He 
has  six  children,  Mary  L..  Mertle  E.,  Alta  R., 
Bela  L.,  Harold  C.  and  Gladise  E. 


EDWARD  JOSEPH  McMAHON. 

Edward  Joseph  McMahon  is  of  Irish  de- 
scent. Thomas  McMahon,  his  father,  emigrated 
from  Ireland  to  this  country  in  183 1,  settling  at 
BufTalo,  New  York.  Bridget  Shaughnessy  (Mc- 
Mahon), his  mother,  was  also  of  Irish  birth, 
coming  to  the  United  States  when  thirteen 
years  of  age.  The  McMahon  family  removed 
to  ^Minnesota  in  1857,  settling  at  Faribault, 
where  they  engaged  in  farming  and  became 
fairly  prosperous.  Edward  was  born  at  Fari- 
bault, Tanuarv  10,  1859.  He  received  a  good 
general  education,  somewhat  better  than  that  of 
the  average  farmer's  boy,  attending  the  public 
schools  at  Faribault,  and  graduating  from  the 
high  school  at  the  head  of  his  class  in  his  six- 
teenth vear.  For  the  next  five  years  he  worked 
on  his  father's  farm,  but,  having  a  predilection 
for  the  profession  of  law,  he  left  the  farm  and 
entered  the  law  office  of  John  H.  Case,  at  Fari- 
bault, to  take  up  its  study.  He  was  studious  in 
his  habits,  and  at  the  end  of  two  years,  in  1882, 
was  admitted  to  practice.  ^Ir.  McMahon  de- 
cided to  remove  to  North  Dakota  to  take  up 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  he  hung  out 
his  shingle  in  the  little  town  of  Hope.  It  was 
but  a  short  time  after  his  arrival  that  he  w-as 
appointed    countv   attorney.      This   appointment 


480 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


came  to  him  in  a  rather  pecuHar  way.  He  was 
comparatively  a  stranger,  but  one  oi  the  county 
commissioners  came  to  him  one  day  to  get  his 
opinion  on  the  legahty  of  a  certain  measure  that 
was  bothering  the  commissioners.  The  other 
local  attorneys  hail  declared  it  leyal,  Ijut  -Mr. 
jNIcAIahon  gave  an  opposite  opinion,  and  was 
able  to  so  convince  the  conuiiissioners.  When 
they  held  their  next  meeting  the\-  elected  the 
young  attorney  for  the  ofBce  above  mentioned. 
Mr.  JMcMahon  established  a  profitable  practice 
in  Hope,  but  in  18S9  removed  to  Minneapolis  in 
order  to  have  a  wider  field.  He  formed  a  part- 
nership in  1893  with  1'.  A.  ("lilman.  under  the 
firm  name  of  Gilman  &  McMaiion.  which  still 
continues.  They  do  a  general  law  business  and 
enjoy  a  profitable  practice,  many  times  engaged 
in  important  cases  in  the  states  (if  Wisconsin, 
North  and  South  Dakota.  Mr.  .\lcMahon  has 
ahvavs  been  a  Republican.  While  in  North  Da- 
kota he  was  electe<l  to  the  oftice  of  county 
clerk  and  register  of  deeds  for  Steele  County, 
for  the  term  of  1882-84.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Commercial  Club,  of  ]\linneapolis,  and  of 
the  I.  ().  O.  F.,  and  is  also  a  Mason,  belonging 
to  all  the  Masonic  bodies  in  the  city,  and  ha'; 
served  three  times  as  Master  of  Khurum  Lodge. 
No.  112. 


ED.MUND  ROWE  W.\RD. 

.Mr.  Ward  has  been  a  resident  of  .Minneapolis 
only  since  January  y,  1895,  ^^^^'-  ^'^^  '""^s  found  it 
a  profitable  field  for  his  business,  and  has  been 
highly  successful  in  his  capacity  as  manager  of 
the  Phoenix  .Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  of 
Hartford,  in  Minnesota.  Mr.  Ward  is  a  native  of 
Ontario,  Canada,  and  was  born  in  Oxford  county, 
April  10,  1S53.  the  son  of  Benjamin  and  Sarah 
Hill  Ward.  'I'lie  father  was  a  farmer,  and  \u\- 
mund  grew  up  <in  the  farm,  attending  the  country 
schools.  He  K-ft  the  farm  at  the  age  nf  twenty- 
six,  and  first  learned  the  carpenter  and  joiner's 
trade,  which  occupation  he  followed  in  Saginaw, 
Michigan,  mitil  18K9.  I'art  of  his  lime  his  Imsi 
ness  was  that  of  builder  and  contraclnr.  under  the 
firm  name  of  Denny  I't  Ward,  .-nid   p.ni   of  ilie 


time  as  president  of  the  Co-operative  Building 
Association  in  Saginaw.  It  was  not  until  1889 
he  took  up  the  busmess  of  life  insurance  as  a  so- 
licitor. Since  that  time  his  advancement  has  been 
rapid,  as  follows:  .Six  months  after  beginning 
the  business  he  was  appointed  state  special  agent 
for  the  L'nion  Central  Life  Insurance  C'jmpany. 
Six  months  later  he  was  advanced  to  the  position 
of  district  general  agent  for  the  same  company, 
under  which  contract  he  handled  a  large  part  of 
the  company's  assets  in  the  way  of  loans,  and 
made  a  success  of  it.  On  Jtine  i,  1891,  he  re- 
signed his  position  with  the  Cnion  Central  to 
accept  an  oflfer  from  the  Phoenix  Mutual  Life  of 
Hartford,  as  special  traveling  agent.  The  first  of 
the  following  January,  1892,  he  was  appointed 
assistant  manager  for  the  same  company  in  .Mich- 
igan. In  June  of  the  same  year  he  was  appointed 
executive  special  agent  for  the  same  company  for 
Michigan  and  Ohio.  In  January,  1895,  1'^'  ^'''^^ 
offered  his  present  ])osition  as  manager  for  Min- 
nesota for  the  Phoenix  Mulii;d  Lifi-  and  accepted 
it.  His  success  for  181)5.  as  shown  b\-  the  insur- 
ance commissioner's  report,  was  \er\-  t'licourag- 
ing.  lia\iiig  written  tliree  times  .'is  much  business 
as  the  company  had  received  in  any  preceding 
year,  while  his  1)usiness  for  1896  exceeds  that  of 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


4-81 


i8y5  by  mure  lliaii  an  liundrcd  per  iciit.  Mr. 
Ward  is  president  of  the  Minneapolis  Association 
of  Life  I'nderwritcrs  and  vice-president  of  the 
National  Association  of  Life  rndervvriters.  He 
is  a  nieniher  <if  .Minneapolis  Loiltje,  N'o.  19,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M.;  also  a  member  of  the  Minneapolis  Com- 
mercial Club.  He  was  married  in  1872  to  Eliza- 
iDCth  A.  Dell,  of  .St.  Mary's,  (  )ntario.  They  have 
two  children,  Robert  E.  and  .Maud  II.  P. 


WILLARI)  i'.^'nil'.K  ri.xiux 

W.  B.  Pineo,  of  Minneapolis,  is  a  spe- 
cialist in  diseases  of  the  eye,  ear,  nose 
anil  throat.  Dr.  I'iueo  was  born  at  Col- 
umbia, Maine,  April  22,  1858.  His  father 
Benjamin  C.  Pineo,  was  a  stone  contractor  in 
moderate  circumstances.  His  mother's  maiden 
name  was  Cordelia  W.  Ramsdell.  On  his  father's 
side,  Ur.  Pineo  is  descended  froiu  Jacques  Pineau, 
the  French  Huguenot,  who  landed  at  Plymouth 
in  1700.  Dr.  Timothy  Stone  Pinneo,  grand 
uncle  of  W'illard,  was  the  author  of  Pinneo's 
Grammars  and  the  revisor  of  the  .McGuffcy 
readers.  He  graduated  from  the  classical  and 
medical  departments  of  Yale  College  with  high 
honors,  ami  was  professor  of  belles  lettres  at 
Marietta  College,  Ohio.  Still  later  he  was  at  the 
head  of  a  school  in  Greenwich,  Connecticut.  Dr. 
Peter  Pineo,  of  Boston,  another  grand  uncle,  was 
distinguished  for  his  splendid  war  record.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  early  education 
at  Oak  Hill  .Seminary  at  ilucksport,  Maine,  and 
Kent's  Plill  Seminary  at  Redfield,  Maine.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1882,  he  came  to  Minnesota  and  not  long 
afterwards  began  the  stu(i\-  of  medicine.  He  re- 
ceived medical  diplomas  from  the  Minnesota 
Hospital  College  and  from  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  Universit\-  of  Minnesota  in  1885.  He 
was  valedictorian  of  his  class  and  president  of 
the  alumni  association.  During  the  winter  of 
1889-90  he  received  instruction  on  the  eye,  ear, 
nose  and  throat  at  the  Polyclinic  and  Manhattan 
Eye  and  Elar  Infirmary  of  New  'V'ork  city.  Dur- 
ing the  year  1895  h*^  niade  a  tour  of  the  eye  and 
ear  hospitals  of  Berlin,  \'ienna,  Paris  and  London. 
Dr.  Pineo  owes  little  to  anv  one  but  himself  for 
the  success  which  he  has  attained  in  his  jirofes- 


sii.m,  the  money  necessary  to  enable  him  to  pur- 
sue his  medical  studies  having  been  earned  while 
teaching  in  the  public  schools.  For  five  years 
following  his  graduation  from  the  university,  Dr. 
Pineo  was  associated  with  Dr.  Dunsmoor  in  the 
general  practice  of  medicine  in  the  city  of  Minne- 
apolis, but  since  that  time  he  has  made  a  specialty 
of  the  diseases  of  the  C}'e,  ear,  nose  and  throat, 
and  has  confined  himself  to  that  line  of  practice. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Repul)lican  and  a  reliable  sup- 
porter of  Republican  ijrinciples,  although  he  has 
never  taken  a  very  active  part  in  politics.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  .Minneapolis  Commercial  Club, 
the  Minneapolis  Whist  Clul),  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  t  )rder  of  Elks,  and  has  received  all  the 
degrees  conferred  in  Masonry  in  this  state.  He 
is  past  master  of  Plennepin  Lodge,  Xo.  4,  and 
.Minneapolis  Council,  Xo.  2,  and  past  junior 
warden  of  Zion  Connnanderv,  Xo.  2.  He  is  at 
present  wise  master  of  St.  \'incent  de  Paul  Chap- 
ter of  Rose  Croix,  Xo.  2.  of  the  Ancient  and 
Accepted  .Scottish  Rite  and  is  Right  Worshipful 
District  Deputy  (irand  Master  of  the  state  of 
Minnesota.  He  is  also  vice-president  of  the 
Masons'  bVaternal  .\ccident  Association  of  Min- 
neapolis. He  was  married  Xovember  28,  1884. 
to  Saidie  Kendal  Cobb,  granddaughter  of  Xa- 
thaniel  Cobb,  of  Boston,  the  noted  philanthropist. 


482 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


MARTIN   MARTY. 

Right  Reverend  Martin  Marty,  O.  S.  U.,  Sec- 
ond Bishop  of  St.  Cloud,  is  a  native  of  Switzer- 
land. He  was  born  at  Schwvz,  January  12,  1834. 
He  earlv  resolved  to  devote  his  life  to  the  service 
of  the  church,  and  entering-  the  great  Benedictine 
Abbey  of  Einsiedeln,  made  his  profession  Ma\ 
20,  1855.  The  young  monk  had  already  pursued 
his  theological  studies  with  such  zeal  and  talent 
that  the  next  year  he  was  ordained  priest,  on  the 
fourteenth  of  September.  About  that  time  a  colony 
of  monks  from  Einsiedeln  were  sent  to  Indiana 
and  founded  the  Monastery  of  Saint  ^Meinrad. 
Dom  Marty  arrived  in  i860  to  share  the  labors  of 
his  brethren.  The  little  comnuinity  prospered,  a 
college  was  established  and  the  missicMi  work  be- 
came more  extensive.  In  1870  Pope  Puis  IX. 
erected  St.  Meinrad's  into  an  abbey,  constituting 
the  fathers  connected  with  it  intn  the  Helveto- 
American  Congregation,  and  its  jirior,  Martin 
Marty,  was  made  mitred  abbi)tt.  The  corner  stone 
of  the  new  nxjuastcry  was  laid  M;iy  22,  1872.  Ab- 
bot Marty  jiresidcd  for  several  years,  perfecting 
the  institutif)n  inider  his  care  and  extending  the 
missions,  erecting  churi-hes  and  foslering  educa- 
tion. He  had  a  long  cherished  desire,  hdwever. 
to  undertake  mission  work  among  the  Indians. 
and  in  7876  he  set  nut  with  Sduu-  fatliers  to  the 


Dakota  Territory.  The  work  there  gave  such 
promise  that  he  resigned  the  dignity  of  abbot  to 
devote  himself  to  his  new  duties.  In  1879  the 
territory  of  Dakota,  comprising  one  liun- 
dred  and  seventy-five  thousand  s<|uare  miles, 
was  formed  into  a  vicariate  apostolic  and 
entrusted  to  the  care  of  the  zealous  Benedictine, 
who  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Tiberias,  Febru- 
ary I,  1880.  He  continued  in  charge  until  1889, 
when  the  vicariate  was  divided  into  the  dioceses 
of  Jamestown  and  Sioux  Falls,  Bishop  Marty 
retaining  the  latter.  In  this  year  he  was  selected 
by  President  Cleveland  to  serve  as  a  member  of  a 
commission  appointed  to  treat  with  the  Chippewa 
Indians  o\  Minnesota  concerning  the  cession  of 
their  lands,  and  with  Senator  Henry  Rice  and  Dr. 
Joseph  Whiting,  he  visited  the  different  reserva- 
tions and  secured  from  the  Indians  their  consent 
to  the  proposals  made  by  congress.  In  1895 
Bishop  Marty  was  transferred  to  the  See  of  St. 
Cloud  as  successor  of  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Zardetti,. 
who  was  transferred  to  the  Archiepiscopal  See  of 
Bukarest,  in  Roumania.  At  the  beginning  of 
1896  the  diocese  of  St.  Cloud  numliered  seventy- 
two  priests,  eighty  churches,  twelve  chapels,  one 
university  and  seminary,  forty-six  parochial 
schools,  with  an  attendance  of  five  thousand  one 
hundred  children;  one  orphan  asylum,  containing 
one  hundred  orphans ;  five  other  charitable  insti- 
tutions, and  a  population  of  about  forty  thousand 
Catholics.  The  See  of  St.  Cloud  is  one  of  the 
most  important  in  the  Northwest,  and  to  the  care 
and  promotion  of  this  important  work  Bishop 
.Marty  devoted  his  entire  time  and  energy, 
i  I'lishop  Mnrty  died  September  18,  1896.) 


LARS  M.  RAX  I). 

Lars  M.  Rand  came  from  that  station  in 
life  with  which  he  has  in  the  years  of  his 
later  success  and  pros])erity  always  retained  a 
large  sympathy.  He  is  the  son  of  Mathias  O. 
Rand,  a  laborer  in  Pergen,  Norway,  where  he 
was  born  January  2.^,  1857.  He  comes  of  a  long- 
lived  family.  His  four  grandj^arents  all  lived  to 
be  over  ninety  years  of  age.  .Mr.  Rand 
attended  the  cotnmon  schools  of  P.ergen, 
and  of  Mimiesot;i  .-ifter  his  reniM\al  to  this 
country.      lie    came    t'l    America    in    1875.     He 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


483 


took  the  literary  course  at  the  State  Normal 
School  at  Winona.  After  leaving  school  he  read 
law  with  Hon.  William  H.  Yale,  of  that  city.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  there  in  1884, 
and  in  the  same  year  was  elected  Judge  of  Crim- 
inal Court  in  the  city  of  Winona.  He  held  this 
office  until  the  latter  part  of  1883,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Minneapolis  in  search  of  a  larger  field 
for  the  enijjloyment  of  his  talents  in  the  practice 
of  his  ])rofession.  In  1887  City  Attorney  Sea- 
grave  .Smith  appointed  J"dge  Rand  as  his  assist- 
ant, and  he  served  two  years  in  that  capacity. 
Since  that  time  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
well-known  law  firm  of  (ijertsen  &  Rand,  and 
enjoys  a  lucrative  practice.  In  1890  he  was 
elected  to  the  citv  council  from  the  Sixth  ward, 
and  \vas  re-elected  alderman  from  the  same  ward 
in  1894,  both  times  with  a  very  large  majority. 
Judge  Rand  is  a  Democrat,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Democratic  state  central  conmiittee.  He  has 
for  a  numl:)er  of  years  taken  an  active  part  in 
promoting  the  interests  of  his  party,  and  is  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  its  influential  members  in  this 
state.  He  is  democratic  in  his  sympathies  and 
feelings,  and  has  achieved  a  reputation  as  an 
advocate  of  the  interests  of  the  conmion  people. 
In  official  life  he  has  always  opposed  the  grant- 
ing of  franchises  and  special  privileges,  and  took 
an  active  part  in  opposition  to  the  Street  Railway 


Com|)any  in  tiicir  lung  controversy  with  the 
council  over  tiie  cpiestion  of  transfers,  a  contro- 
versy which  finally  resulted  in  the  complete  tri- 
umph of  the  council  and  the  attainment  of  a  sys- 
tem of  transfers  which  is  probably  as  nearly  per- 
fect as  it  could  be  made,  and  altogether  in  the 
interest  of  the  public.  Judge  Rand,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  council,  opposed  the  existing  garbage 
and  gas  and  electric  contracts  which  he  regards 
as  unfavorable  to  the  city.  He  is  an  earnest 
advocate  of  the  city  owning  its  own  street  rail- 
way and  lighting  plants.  He  is  also  a  persistent 
advocate  of  eight  hours  as  a  sufficient  work  day, 
and  of  the  adoption  of  that  rule  in  all  public  work 
l)y  the  city.  Judge  Rand  is  a  .Mason,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  Turner,  and  a  member  of  the  Benevolent 
and  IVntective  (  )rder  of  Elks.  He  is  identified 
with  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  in  1884  was  mar- 
ried to  .Miss  Jennie  M.  lieebe,  of  Winona.  They 
have  two  children,  Lars  and  I-'lorence. 


JA.MKS  H.  BRADISH. 

James  H.  llradish  comes  of  an  old  Massa- 
chusetts family  which  traces  its  line  back  to  the 
early  Colonial  times.  His  father,  Cyrus  Brad- 
ish,  was  born  in  Haverhill,  Xew  Hampshire,  in 
1 8 14.  His  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Hannah  llaciielder,  was  a  native  of  the  same 
place.  Soon  after  their  marriage,  Cyrus  Brad- 
ish  and  his  wife  moved  to  Cabot,  Vermont, 
where  .Mr.  liradish  engaged  in  farming.  Their 
son  James,  was  one  of  si.x  children.  He  came 
W  est  with  .some  of  his  brothers  in  1862,  settling 
at  Menasha,  Wisconsin.  Though  only  si.xteen 
years  old  he  entered  the  armv  witli  his  brothers, 
serving  for  a  time  as  captain's  clerk.  Later  in 
the  war  he  enlisted  as  a  regular  private  and 
sencd  unlil  .\ugust  30.  1865,  when  he  was 
mustered  out.  His  regiment  went  through  the 
Atlanta  campaign  and  participated  in  .'^herman's 
great  march  to  the  sea.  Mr.  Bradish  was 
wounded  at  Resaca,  on  May  14,  1S64.  Innne- 
(liatelv  on  being  mustered  out  of  the  army  Mr. 
Bradish  entered  [■viijon  College,  and  after  a  six- 
vears'  course,  graduated  in  1871.  He  then  en- 
tered Columbia  College  law  school  in  New 
York  Citv.  and  after  two  years  graduated  with 
the  deg-rec  of  LL.    B.     He  at  once  begun    the 


484 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


practice  of  law  at  Ripijii,  Wisconsin.  After 
about  two  years  Mr.  Ijradish  came  to  Alinne- 
apolis  and  became  associated  with  the  Honor- 
able C.  Al.  P(jnd,  nciw  judge  of  the  District 
Court.  I  his  partneisliip  terminated  after  a 
tim.e.  l)Ut  Mr.  !'> radish  has  continued  in  active 
practice.  In  the  spring  of  1892  he  was  ap- 
pointed assistant  general  solicitor  of  the  Min- 
neapolis, St.  Paul  &  -Sault  Ste.  Marie  Railroad 
Conii)any.  Since  coming'  to  Minneapolis  Mr. 
Bradish  has  taken  a  very  active  part  in  politics. 
In  1888  he  was  elected  alderman  from  the  Xinth 
ward,  for  a  term  of  four  years,  and  w  as  re-elected 
after  a  most  vigorous  contest  in  1892.  In  the 
council  Mr.  ISradish  has  taken  a  ])articular  in- 
terest in  the  ]5atrol  limits  law  of  Minneapolis. 
One  of  his  acliievements  in  the  council  was 
that  of  securing  the  bridging  of  the  Great 
Northern  Railway  tracks,  at  the  street  crossings 
on  the  ICast  Side.  He  is  cliairman  of  the  coun- 
cil conmiittec  on  roads  and  bridges.  Mr.  Brad- 
ish became  a  nicmlicr  of  the  park  board  in  1891. 
On  October  i,  1874,  ^Ir.  Bradisli  married  a 
college  class-mate.  Miss  Sarah  h".  Powers,  a 
daughter  of  Moses  H.  Powers,  of  Green  Lake, 
Wisconsin.  Mrs.  Bradish  graduated  in  the 
classical  course  at  Ripon  College,  traveled  ex- 
tensively in  F.urope  and  is  a  ladv  of  highest  cul- 


ture. They  have  two  children,  Bertha  and 
Herman.  Herman  is  now  senior  in  the  High 
School,  Bertha  organist  at  Pilgrim  Church,  and 
a  fine  musician. 


ASA  FRIEND  GOODRICH. 

Asa  Friend  Goodrich  is  a  native  of  Minne- 
sota, and  was  born  October  lo,  1865,  at  St.  Paul. 
His  father  was  Augustus  J.  Goodrich,  at  one 
time  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  old  St.  Paul 
"Pioneer,"'  prior  to  its  consolidation  with  the 
"Press."  Subsequently  Mr.  Goodrich  became 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  St.  Paul  Gas  Light 
Company.  His  business  ventures  were  success- 
ful and  he  accumulated  a  comfortable  estate.  His 
wife,  Rachel  Friend,  was  a  daughter  of  Kennedy 
T.  Friend,  an  old  pioneer  of  St.  Paul.  Asa  at- 
tended the  grammar  schools  and  high  schools 
of  St.  Paul,  and  after  completing  the  high  school 
course  decided  to  take  up  the  study  of  medicine. 
He  entered  the  Pennsylvania  College  of  Dental 
.Surgcr\-  at  Philadeliihia  in  tlic  winter  of  1885-6. 


m , 
In   the   fall   of    18S6  ho   entered   the   Hahnemann 
Medical   College  in    Philadelphia,  where  he  was 
graduated  in  .March,  i88(),  at  the  head  of  his  class. 
In   1891  he  went  to  1 'hil.-idelphia  and  lool<  ;i  post- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


485 


graduate  and  huspital  course  fur  six  niunlhs.  lie 
then  returned  to  St.  Paul  and  l)egan  the  practice 
of  his  profession.  I  )r.  Goodrich  is  a  member  of 
the  Minnesota  .State  institute  of  Ilomeopathy; 
Ramsey  County  I  iMineiipatliic  Medical  Society, 
also  N.  W.  Academy  of  Homeopathic  Surgeons, 
and  has  l)eon  highly  successful  in  his  professional 
career,  hi  i)()litics  he  is  a  republican,  although 
his  identification  with  his  partv  has  not  le<l  Iiini 
into  actual  ])articipation  of  party  affairs.  1  le  is  a 
member  of  the  People's  Church,  in  .St.  Paul,  al- 
though raised  in  the  Methodist  Church.  He  is  a 
member  of  Summit  Lodge,  No.  163,  A.  [■'.  and 
A.  M.  In  June,  1889,  he  was  married  to  Marion 
L.  Banker,  daughter  of  M.  L.  I'lankcr,  whose 
parents  were  both  descended  from  old  New  York 
families,  traceable  back  to  the  period  of  the 
Revolution,  and  whose  early  meml^ers  fought 
in  the  Continental  Army.  The  Goodrich  family 
are  of  English  descent,  and  can  be  traced  to 
the  time  of  William  the  Conqueror.  Goodrich 
Castle  and  (Goodrich  Court  are  still  to  be  seen 
in  England  on  the  old  ancestral  estate.  The 
American  branch  of  the  family  was  founded  in 
Connecticut,  and  later  removed  to  New  York. 
It  was  prior  to  the  Revolution,  and  members 
of  the  family  were  engaged  in  that  war  on  the 
side  of  the  Colonies.  The  I<"riend  family,  the 
family  of  Dr.  Goodrich's  mother,  were  among 
the  \'irginia  and  Mar\'land  ])ioneers,  and  of  Ger- 
man descent. 


EDWARD  JAMES  CONROY. 

The  chairman  of  the  board  of  county  commis- 
sioners of  Hennepin  County,  Minnesota,  is  Ed- 
ward James  Conroy,  who  is  a  resident  of  Minne- 
apolis. Mr.  Conro\'  was  l^orn  in  Oshkosh,  Wis- 
consin, November  15,  1864,  the  son  of  Thomas 
and  Afargaret  Conroy,  both  of  whom  were  born 
in  Dublin,  Irelaml.  Thev  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try in  1854,  settling  at  Oshkosh.  \\'isconsin. 
Thomas  Conroy  was  a  carpenter  l,>v  trade,  and  he 
follcMived  this  occupation  in  ( )shkosh,  becoming 
fairly  prosperous.  Edward  received  but  a  com- 
mon school  education  in  the  pulilic  schools  of 
Oshkosh,  which  was  supplemented  bv  a  three 
months'  course  in  a  commercial  collesfe.     From 


the  time  he  was  able  to  wurk  >  oung  Conroy  tried 
to  be  of  assistance  to  his  famih .  He  earned  his 
first  dollar  as  a  lather,  at  which  he  became  an 
expert,  and  which  line  of  work  he  followed  during 
his  school  vacations.  When  only  seventeen  years 
of  age  he  left  home  and  removed  to  Minnesota, 
locating  in  Minneapolis.  Here  he  learned  the 
plasterer's  trade,  at  which  trade  he  worked  for 
the  next  two  years,  accjuiring  a  general  knowl- 
edge of  the  business  of  a  master  mason  and  con- 
tractor. In  18S3  he  commenced  in  business  on 
his  own  account  as  a  contractor  of  mason  work, 
which  he  has  followed  ever  since.  From  the  first 
he  was  successful  in  obtaining  remunerative 
contracts,  and  many  down  town  blocks  and 
homes  in  Minnea])olis  attest  to  his  skill  and  enter- 
prise. Mr.  Conroy  has  always  affiliated  with  the 
Democratic  party,  and  has  been  an  active  partici- 
pator in  the  affairs  of  his  city  for  the  past  ten 
years.  In  1888  the  Democrats  of  the  Second 
ward  nominated  him  for  the  office  of  alderman, 
but  he  was  defeated.  In  iSgi  he  was  chosen  as 
assistant  sergeant-at-arms  in  the  upper  house  of 
the  state  legislature.  The  following  year  he  was 
a  nominee  on  the  Democratic  ticket  for  county 
commissioner  in  the  Fiist  District  of  Hennepin 
County,  and  elected  for  a  term  of  four  years.  In 
his  short  period  of  service  as  a  countv  commis- 


486 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


sioner,  Mr.  Conroy  has  earned  for  himself  an 
enviable  reputation  as  a  man  of  sterling  honesty, 
integrity  and  uprightness  in  handling  public 
business.  He  was  so  well  liked  by  his  associates 
on  the  board  that,  notwithstanding  a  Republican 
majority,  he  was  elected  to  the  chairmanship, 
which  he  maintained  during  the  four  years  of  his 
term  with  dignity  and  impartiality.  He  was  re- 
elected to  the  same  office  in  1896  by  a  large  ma- 
jority. In  the  campaign  of  1894  he  was  chairman 
of  the  Democratic  county  conmiittee,  also  of  the 
Democratic  campaign  committee.  Mr.  Conroy 
has  also  served  on  the  board  of  tax  levy  for  four 
years,  being  one  of  the  most  efficient  members  of 
that  board.  Aside  from  the  duties  of  his  ]iublic 
office,  Mr.  Conroy  has  been  identified  to  a  consid- 
erable extent  with  the  real  estate  and  building 
interests  of  ^Minneapolis,  and  his  success  thus  far 
in  life  gives  promise  of  still  better  results  in  the 
future. 


CH.\RLES  ERA.STU.'^  LEWIS. 

Mr.  Lewis  is  president  and  treasurer  nf  the 
Charles  E.  Lewis  Company,  grain  conunission 
stock  brokers,  of  Minneapolis.  He  was  born  in 
Edgerton,  Williams  County,  Ohio,  Xovember 
II,  1858.  His  father.  William  S.  Lewis,  is  a 
native  of  Richland  Count\',  in  that  state,  where 
he  was  born  in  1812.  ^^"he^  l)Ut  seventeen  years 
of  age  he  moved  to  Williams  County,  where  he 
still  resides,  in  moderate  circumstances.  He  has 
always  been  a  stalwart  Republican,  and  from 
I8(i()  to  18()4  served  as  sheriff  of  his  county. 
Eliza  Wanamaker  (Lewis),  the  mother  of  Charles 
E.,  was  also  a  native  of  ( )hio.  .She  was  born  in 
1811  in  Trumbull  County,  and  moved  to  W  iC 
liams  County  in  1830,  where  she  resided  until 
her  death  in  1887.  The  Wanamakers,  of  Pemi- 
sylvania,  are  near  relatives.  Charles  E.  had  only 
the  advantages  of  a  conmion  school  education, 
attending  the  ]niblic  schools  of  his  ncighl)iir- 
hood  until  he  was  but  thirteen  years  nld.  1  K- 
had  learned  tclegrajjhy,  and  at  this  age  secured 
a  ]iosition  on  the  Lake  Shore  (.I-  Michigan 
Southern  railway  as  night  operator.     Three  years 


later,  in  1874,  he  moved  to  Hannibal,  Ali>S(juri, 
where  he  remained  until  1880.  During  the  six 
years  he  lived  at  Hannibal  he  was  in  the  employ 
of  several  different  railroads  as  an  operator  and 
clerk.  Leaving  Hannibal  he  went  to  Chicago, 
entering  the  employ  of  the  Chicago,  Rock- 
Island  &  Pacific  railway  in  the  ticket  audit  de- 
partment. In  1883  he  came  to  Minneapolis,  and 
for  the  ne.xt  two  years  he  was  employed  as  a 
clerk  and  operator  with  the  Minneapolis  &  St, 
Louis  railway,  the  Western  Union  Telegraph 
Company,  the  Minneapolis  Tribune  Company 
and  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  railway, 
h'rom  1885  to  1888  he  was  in  the  emplo\-  of 
Pressey,  Wheeler  &  Company,  conunission  mer- 
chants and  stock  brokers.  After  their  failure  in 
the  latter  year,  Mr.  Lewis  decided  to  go  into 
business  for  himself.  The  firm  name  of  his  con- 
cern has  been  changed  two  or  three  times  since 
that  date,  but  on  July  1,  i8<)6,  it  was  incorporated 
as  the  Charles  E.  Lewis  Company.  This  lirm 
has  been  built  up  by  Mr.  Lewis'  inilustr\-  and 
conservative  business  methods  until  it  is  now  one 
of  the  solid  and  snbstaiuial  grain  commission 
firms  of  Minneapolis.  Mr.  Lewis'  political  affili- 
ations have  always    bet-n    with    the    Republican 


PROGRESSIVE  MliN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


487 


party.  lie  is  a  iiicinhn-  m|  [Uv  M  iiinraixjlis, 
Coiiiiiiercial,  Town  and  (.'onntry  C'lnhs  and  tlic 
Long  Meadow  (iun  t'lub,  and  the  llununer 
Fishing  and  Hunting  Chih.  He  was  married  in 
1884  to  Mary  E.  Xorris,  (jf  Hannibal,  .Missouri. 
Thev   have   ncj   children. 


CHARLE.S  A.  TUI.l.l'.R. 

The  patronymic  of  the  family  of  which  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  is  a  meniber  was  ori.ginally 
spelled  Tullar.  The  spelling  was  changed  b\' 
Artemidorous  Tuller,  grandfather  oi  Charles,  who 
thought  it  was  easier  to  write  "e"  instead  of  "a." 
In  an  old  deed,  signed  liy  him  in  1804,  however, 
lie  spelled  his  name  "Tullar,"  and  it  is  also  noted 
that  in  an  old  contract,  which  was  signed  in  182O 
bv  two  meml)ers  of  the  familw  this  same  differ- 
ence of  spelling  occurs.  Artemidorous  Tuller, 
who  was  of  old  New  England  stock,  was  a  me- 
chanic bv  profession,  and  possessed  considerable 
inventive  genius.  The  first  crooked  ax  helve 
turned  out  was  made  b\-  him.  His  son,  Hiram 
\Mniting  Tuller,  father  of  Charles  A.,  was  1)orn  at 
Lower  Sandusky,  Ohio,  in  1824.  When  he  was 
but  eight  years  of  age  the  family  moved  to  Jones- 
ville,  Michigan.  He  still  resides  there,  the  oldest 
pioneer  living  in  that  locality.  In  business  life 
he  has  been  quite  active,  and  attained  a  comfort- 
able afifluence  as  a  contractor  and  1  milder.  Um^- 
ing  the  Civil  War  he  held  a  clerkshij)  in  the  war 
department  at  Washington,  under  tieneral  Meigs, 
and  also  shouldered  a  nuisket  at  the  time  General 
Early  attempted  to  take  Washington.  He  has 
always  taken  a  prominent  place  in  the  community 
in  which  he  lives,  and  has  occu])ied  many  town- 
ship and  village  offices.  He  was  also  a  clerk  of 
the  state  senate  in  the  .session  of  1865  and  1867. 
Clara  E.  Ximocks,  his  wife,  was  a  native  of  New 
York.  .She  was  born  at  Houseville,  in  Lewis 
County,  November  I,  1827,  of  English  descent. 
Their  son  Charles  first  saw  life  at  Jonesville, 
Alichigan,  June  26,  1866.  The  lad's  education 
was  received  in  the  graded  and.  high  schools  of 
his  native  to\vn.  He  graduateil  from  the  latter 
in   his   eighteenth    \ear  and  at   once   engaged   in 


active  business  life.  'J"lie  first  dollar  he  earned 
was  by  acting  as  agent  for  the  Detroit  Evening 
News,  carrying  the  papers  every  morning.  He 
was  at  the  same  time  also  working  in  the  post- 
ofKce  of  his  native  village,  holding  the  position 
of  assistant  postmaster.  In  August,  1885,  in 
response  to  a  telegram  from  Charles  A.  Nitnocks, 
then  manager  of  The  Minneapolis  Journal,  he 
came  West  to  take  a  position  as  collector  with 
that  paper  in  Minneapolis.  This  position  he  held 
until  January  i,  i88y,  at  which  time  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  position  of  bookkeeper,  to  fill  a 
vacancv  caused  l)v  the  resignation  of  the  lady 
who  had  filled  that  position.  In  ;\larch,  1890,  he 
was  promoted  to  the  jiosition  of  cashier  of  The 
Minneapolis  Journal,  and  still  later,  in  Janii- 
ar\%  1895,  to  that  of  assistant  manager.  In- 
dustry, perseverance  and  model  habits  are  the 
qualities  which  have  enabled  Mr.  Tuller  to  rise 
to  the  responsible  po.sition  he  now  fills.  He  is  a 
conscientious  and  hard  worker,  and  a  shrewd  and 
conservative  manager  of  the  responsibilities  de- 
volving upon  him.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  and  is  an  attendant  of  the  Episcopal 
church.  He  was  married  June  7.  1893.  to  Marv' 
E.  Tho'mpson,  of  Minneapolis. 


488 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


THEODORE   LAMr.EKT   HAVS. 

Theodore  Lambert  Hays,  general  Xortliw  estern 
representative  of  Mr.  Jacob  Litt,  the  well-known 
theatrical  manager,  and  having  under  his  charge 
the  Bijou  Theater  in  Minneapolis  and  the  Grand 
Opera  House  in  St.  Paul.  Lambert  Hays,  his 
father,  was  one  of  the  oldest  settlers  in  .Minneapo- 
lis. He  was  bom  in  Germany  on  Ghristmas  Daw 
1842,  and  came  to  America  when  l)Ut  eight  years 
old.  He  lived  for  a  short  time  at  Alliany.  New 
York,  and  then  at  Kenosha,  Wisconsin.  In  1855 
he  came  to  Minnesota  and  located  in  St.  Anthony. 
He  was  apprenticed  to  the  first  baker  doing  busi- 
ness in  the  little  village  by  the  falls,  and  siton 
learned  the  trade,  embarking  in  business  for  him- 
self in  1865.  He  built  the  first  bakery  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  the  old  Cataract,  "n 
the  site  of  the  old  Central  Market  house.  He 
later  liuilt  the  People's  Theater,  and  re-built  it 
when  it  was  burned  a  year  or  two  afterwards.  He 
was  engaged  in  active  business  until  1887.  .Mr. 
Plays  was  always  public  spirited.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  vohmtcer  lire  (K'i)artnicnt  cif  the  early 
sixties,  and  remained  so  until  it  was  ])ut  on  a  |)aid 
basis,  doing  his  share  toward  fighting  ilie  fires 
that  afflicted  the  little  wooden  town  of  .\linneap- 


olis  at  that  period.  He  also  assisted  in  estabhsh- 
ing  the  first  Turnverein  society  in  .Minneapolis, 
and  the  building  of  the  West  .Side  Turner  Hall, 
and  throughoiu  his  career  gave  considerable  at- 
tention to  the  maintenance  of  the  Turner  societies. 
He  died  in  May,  1893.  His  wife.  .Mary  Gertrude 
Rauen,  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Germany 
with  her  parents,  and  were  among  the  early  set- 
tlers of  .Minnesiita.  She  is  a  sister  of  Peter  Rauen, 
a  prominent  resident  of  North  Minneapolis. 
Theodore  Lambert  Hays  was  born  March  2y, 
1867.  His  education  was  received  in  the  ccunmoii 
schools  of  Minneapolis,  and  he  was  a  pupil  in  the 
high  school  up  to  the  tenth  grade.  He  then  took 
a  business  course  in  the  Curtiss  Business  Col- 
lege. During  his  Ijusiness  career  Mr.  Plays  has 
always  been  actively  identified  with  his  father's 
business  affairs.  His  first  position  after  leaving" 
school  was  with  the  Minnesota  Title  Insurance  and 
Trust  Company,  being  employed  among  others 
to  make  a  transcript  of  county  records  in  the 
office  of  the  register  of  deeds.  He  gave  up  this 
position  in  a  short  time  to  become  interested 
with  \V.  E.  .Sterling  in  the  management  of  the 
People's  Theater,  which  had  been  erected  by 
Lambert  Hays,  his  father.  .\  little  later  this  the- 
ater was  leased  b\^  lacol>  Litt,  h^-ank  L.  Bixby 
acting  as  resident  manager.  The  theater  was 
changed  at  this  time  from  a  stock  theater  to  a 
combinatiiin  Imuse,  and  Mr.  Hays  began  his  first 
experience  in  this  business.  He  served  as  treas- 
urer under  Mr,  Bixby  with  such  success  that 
when  the  latter  was  transferred  to  St.  Paul.  Mr. 
Hays  was  appointed  manager,  a  position  he  has 
held  ever  since.  Lender  his  able  direction  this 
playhouse  has  established  for  itself  a  record  of 
sterling  success,  and  is  considered  one  df  the 
best  paying  theatrical  properties  in  the  Northwest. 
In  1806  ^Ir.  Hays  became  Jacob  Litt's  general 
representati\-e  in  the  Northwest,  and  took  charge 
of  the  Grand  (  )ih  ra  House  in  St.  Paul  in  addition 
to  the  Bijou  in  Minneapolis.  Lender  its  new  man- 
agement the  Grand  enjoyed  more  prosperous  sea- 
sons than  ever  before.  Mr.  Ila\s  possesses  the 
ccinfidence  nf  tile  ]iiiblic  to  a  considerable  degree 
as  an  aiinisement  caterer,  and  enjoxs  the  friend- 
ship and  res])cct   of  his  associates.     'I'hoiigli   his 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


489 


lather  was  a  slaiiiicli  and  ciilliusiaslic  JJciiiucrat, 
Theo.  L.  Hays  has  never  been  so  positive  in  his 
jjolitical  feelings,  and  has  always  l)cen  indej^en- 
dent  in  his  support  of  candidates  for  office.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  F.Iks,  the  Royal  Arcanum,  the 
Knights  nf  i'ythias  and  the  (.'ommercial  L'lul). 
In  religion  he  is  a  Catholic.  J  le  was  married  in 
Jamiary,  i8<J3,  to  Mary-  Ellen  Roberts,  at  Chi- 
cago, and  has  one  child,  Thcodiirc  .Albert  T'.d- 
ward  Hajs. 


K(  )l 


i.\.\ll.'^()\. 


One  of  the  best  known  ami  alilcst  of  tin.: 
yotmger  men  of  the  district  bench  in  Minnesota 
is  Judge  Robert  Jannson,  of  the  l'"(jurth  judicial 
District.  He  is  of  Irish  descent,  his  father,  .A.le.K- 
ander  Jamison,  and  his  mother,  .Mary  (Roberts) 
Jamison,  having  been  born  in  the  north  of  Ireland. 
The}-  came  of  the  sturdy  Presbyterian  stock  of 
that  region,  and  while  in  their  teens  emigrated  to 
America.  Ale.xander  Jamison,  who  became  a 
mason  and  builder,  located  at  Red  Wing,  ^linne- 
sota,  in  1S57,  and  in  the  course  of  time  became 
well-to-do.  Here  his  son  Robert  was  born,  Sep- 
tember 4,  1858.  As  a  young  man  of  nineteen 
that  son  was  graduated  from  the  Red  Wing  high, 
school  in  1S77.  Coming  to  Minneapolis  in  the 
fall  of  that  year  he  began  a  special  course  of  study 
in  the  state  uuiver.sity,  which  lasted  for  three 
vears,  and  then,  having  jireviously  made  u])  his 
mind  to  enter  the  ])rofession  of  the  law.  he  l)egan 
his  preparatory  \\<irk  in  the  office  of  Judge  John. 
M.  Shaw,  in  Minneapolis.  In  1883  he  w-as  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar.  and  two  vears  later,  in  1885. 
w-as  appoii-ited  assistant  county  attorney  of  Hen- 
nejMn  County.  He  distinguished  himself  very 
early  in  this  office  by  the  skill  which  he  displayed 
in  the  ]-)rosecution  of  the  Fiarrett  brothers  for 
nmrder.  These  cases  will  be  remembered  as 
Ijeing  among  the  most  sensational  in  the  criminal 
history  of  Hennepin  Count \-.  In  Xovember.  1888, 
Mr.  Jamison,  bv  vote  of  the  people,  was  advanced 
to  first  place  in  tlie  county  attorney's  office.  He 
served  for  01-ie  term  as  county  attorney  and  de- 
clined nomination  for  a  second  term.  The  death 
of  Jtidge  Frederick  Hooker,  in  1803,  created  a 
-vacancy  oi-i  the  bench  of  the  Fourth  District,  and 


.\lr.  Jamison  was  appoiiUed  by  ( iovernor  i\.nute 
Xelson  in  Sei)teml)er  of  that  year,  to  fill  it.  In 
1894  'le  \\<is  elected  to  succeed  himself  for  a  term 
of  si.x  years,  commencing  January  i,  1895.  Al- 
though comparatively  a  young  man  he  has 
acquitted  himself  with  great  credit  as  a  judge  and 
has  developed  high  cjualifications  for  the  judicial 
office.  Mr.  Jamison  has  always  taken  an  active 
interest  in  ])olitics,  and  during  the  campaign  of 
1892  was  chairman  of  the  Republican  state  central 
committee.  In  the  field  of  practical  ])olitics  the 
future  was  opening  up  before  him  with  consider- 
able brilliancy  when  he  suddenly  and  quite  unex- 
pectedly to  his  many  friends,  stepped  aside  in 
order  to  receive  judicial  honors.  It  is  not  im- 
probable, however,  that  he  regards  this  retire- 
ment as  being  only  temporary.  \\'hen  elected  to 
the  bench  for  the  full  term  in  1894.  he  received 
the  largest  vote  by  several  thousand  ever  cast  for 
a  judicial  candidate  in  the  Fourth  District.  Few 
men  in  the  more  recent  political  life  of  Minne- 
sota have  had  a  larger  or  more  enthusiastic  per- 
sonal following,  or  have  been  more  worthy  of  it. 
Mr.  Jamison  was  a  member  of  the  Chi  Psi  frater- 
nity w  hile  in  college.  He  is  a  Mason  and  an  Elk. 
.August  16.  1883,  he  was  married  to  .Adalinc  L. 
Can-ip,  of  Minneapolis,  and  three  children  have 
been  born  of  the  union.  Glee,  Xeil  antl  Lou. 


490 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


ALOXZO  THO.MAS  STEIUUXS. 

A.  T.  Stebljins.  nienilicr  of  the  state  senate 
from  (._)hnsted  Countv,  and  one  of  the  prosperous 
merchants  of  Southern  Minnesota,  is  a  native  o! 
Massachusetts,  and  was  born  at  Mansfield,  in  tiiat 
state,  September  21.  1847.  His  father,  Thomas 
Warren  Stelibins,  now  in  his  eiglity-first  \car, 
for  a  numl^er  of  }ears  has  been  associated  -uith 
him  in  business  at  Rocliester.  The  elder  Steb- 
bins  came  from  I'rench  Huguenot  ancestors,  who 
emigrated  to  America  in  1734.  His  father  and 
grauflfather  served  in  the  \\  ar  of  the  Revolution, 
and  his  father  in  the  War  of  i<Si2.  His  wife  was 
Harriet  Idandon.  and  when  the  subjci-t  (if  this 
sketcli  was  one  year  old  she  died.  In  1850  the 
family  moved  to  Kecne,  Xew  Ham])shire.,  where 
young  Stebbins  filled  liiinself  for  high  sclmol. 
When  he  was  ten  years  of  age  the  faniilv  came 
West,  locating  on  a  farm  in  Winona  Countv.  Min- 
nesota. The  son  ])r(i)iiptl',-  resumed  his  studies. 
wf)rl\ing  on  the  farm  dm-ing  the  sunnner  and  at- 
tending the  Winona  high  school  dm-ing  the 
winter.  After  finishing  the  cmirse,  he  went  to" 
Boston  where  he  attended  the  liryant  &  Stratlon 
Conmiercial  College,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1865.     From  1865  to  1867  he  was  a  clerk  in  a 


hardware  store  in  Winona.  This  was  his  first  work 
away  from  home.  Subsequent  to  that  period  he 
was  bookkeeper  for  a  prominent  grain  firm  in 
^^  inona,  which  position  he  held  until  1871,  when 
he  went  to  Rochester,  and  \vith  his  father  bought 
the  hardware  store  of  H.  A.  llrown  of  that  place. 
'i'he  new  firm  was  named  Stebbins  &  Co.,  and  it 
has  been  prosperous  from  the  beginning.  In 
1892  Stebbins  &  Co.  bought  the  hardware  store  of 
the  A.  ( )zniun  estate  in  Rochester.  Mr.  Stebbins 
lias  always  been  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  cast 
his  first  presidential  vote  in  1868  for  Grant.  From 
1883  to  1885  he  was  a  member  of  the  city  council 
of  Rochester.  In  1889  he  represented  Olmsted 
Count)-  in  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature,  and 
in  1804  ^^'^s  elected  to  the  state  senate.  During 
his  ser\ice  in  the  lower  house  Mr.  Stebbins  was 
chairman  of  the  connuittee  on  insane  hospitals, 
and  did  much  to  promote  the  building  of  the  hos- 
pital at  Fergus  Falls.  For  the  last  two  sessions 
of  the  legislature  he  has  been  chairman  of  the 
insane  hospitals  committee  of  the  senate,  in  that 
capacity  displaying  sound  judgment,  marked  busi- 
ness ability,  and  an  intelligent  and  painstaking 
interest  in  the  management  of  these  institutions. 
At  present  he  is  at  the  head  of  three  prominent 
business  associations  in  Southern  Minnesota, 
namel)-,  the  Rochester  Hoard  of  Trade,  the  South- 
ern Minnesota  Fair  Association,  and  the  Southern 
Minnesota  Mutual  hire  Insurance  Company.  Mr. 
Stebbins  is  an  enthusiastic  ^lason.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Rochester  Lodge,  No.  2r.  A.  F.  &  A.  M.; 
Halcyon  Royal  Arch  Chapter  Xo.  8;  Home  Coni- 
mandery,  Xo.  5,  Knights  Templar,  and  Osnian 
Temple.  A.  A.  ().  X.  M.  .^.  He  has  served  as 
presiding  officer  in  the  blue  lodge,  chapter  and 
commandery.  He  is  past  captain  general  of  the 
Minnesota  Grand  Coninianderv,  Knights  Temp- 
lar, and  at  jiresent  is  serving  as  deputv  grand 
m.ister  of  the  Minnesota  Grand  Lodge,  A.  F.  & 
A.  M.  In  additinn  to  belonging  to  the  above 
named  M.iscinic  bodies,  .Mr.  .Stebbins  is  a  nicmber 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  A.  O.  V.  W.,  Knights 
of  Honor  and  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution. 
He  attends  the  Congregational  church  but  is  not  a 
member  of  it.  .September  26,  1871,  Mr,  Steliljins 
was  married  to  Miss  Adelaide  L.  .'^tebbins.  in 
r>rookline,  \'ermont.     Two  children  ii,'!\-c  blessed 


PROGRESSIVU  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


4-91 


the  uniuii,  Mahollo  ( '.,  born  July  26,  1873,  and 
George  M.,  h'uu  Jiil\  25,  1875.  Tlic  latter  is  a 
student  in  thr  law  ik'partnicnt  ni  the  State 
University. 


.\Lr.h:K  r  \\ii.i.i.\.\i  .^■i(  x  kto.x. 

The  siibjeet  of  this  sketch  is  a  member  of 
the  state  senate  h-oni  the  rwrntirtli  1  )islriet,  serv- 
ing his  second  tei'm.  lie  is  the  son  of  Jnhn  C  . 
Stockton  and  Martha  j.  S']])])}-  (Stockton)  His 
father  was  a  farmer  in  comfortable  circumstances 
in  Wisconsin,  living  a  very  quiet  life,  but  li(inore<l 
and  respected  by  his  neighbors.  Albert  \\  illiani 
Stockton  was  born  in  Kosciusko  County,  Indiana, 
March  30,  1844.  lie  removed  with  his  parents 
to  Richland  County.  Wisconsin,  in  the  fall  of 
1855.  He  lived  on  the  farm  with  his  parents 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  receiving  a  conuuon 
school  education.  (  )ii  August  22,  1862,  he  en- 
listed in  Company  1!,  25th  Wisconsin  N'olunteer 
Infantry,  going  into  cam])  at  La  Crosse.  In  Sep- 
tember the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Ft.  Snelling 
to  participate  in  the  Indian  war  then  raging,  where 
the  regiment  was  divideil,  the  right  wing  going  up 
the  Minnesota  river  and  the  left  .going  up  the 
Mississippi,  the  companies  being  located  at  dif- 
ferent points.  The  ci)mi)an\  in  which  Mr.  Stock- 
ton was  enlisted  was  stationed  at  Alexandria.  In 
December  it  was  ordered  to  re|)ort  at  I't.  Snelling, 
and  from  there  went  to  Cam])  Randall,  Madison. 
Wisconsin.  In  l''ebruary,  the  following  year,  the 
comj^anv  went  South,  the  first  sto])  l)eing  made 
at  Columbus,  Kentuckv.  Mr.  Stockton  has  an 
honorable  war  recortl.  He  served  with  liis  com- 
pany continuously,  not  losing  a  day  from  sickness 
or  otherwise,  ])artici])ating  in  all  the  battles  in 
which  the  company  was  engaged  until  June  14, 
1864,  when  he  was  severely  wounded  by  a  gun 
shot  wound  in  the  right  thigh,  at  the  battle  of 
Peach  Tree  Orchard,  in  front  of  the  Kennesaw 
IMountains,  Georgia.  Mr.  Stockton,  like  thous- 
ands of  others,  exjierienced  (|uite  a  serious  time  in 
various  hospitals  at  Resaca,  Georgia:  Chattanooga 
and  Xashville  Tennessee:  Madison  and  Prairie  du 
Chien,  Wisconsin.  In  June,  1865,  he  was  dis- 
charged with  his  reigment  at  Madison.  Wisconsin. 


/^: 


He  then  returned  home  and  for  several  years  was 
engaged  as  a  clerk  in  a  general  store.  In  August, 
1872,  he  removed  to  i''anbault,  Minnesota,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  Mr.  Stockton  has  occupied 
many  j^ositions  of  public  trust.  He  served  as  dep- 
uty county  auditor  of  Rice  County  for  twelve 
years.  He  then  held  the  position  of  assistant  cash- 
ier of  the  I'irst  National  Hank  of  I'aribault  for  two 
years.  In  1886  he  formed  a  partnership  and  has 
been  engaged  in  the  niaiuifacture  of  llour  and  fur- 
niture ever  since  that  time.  He  has,  however, 
always  taken  an  active  interest  in  all  enter]3rises 
tending  to  buikl  u])  and  jiromote  the  best  interests 
of  h.is  city  and  county  generally.  l-"or  ten  years 
Mr.  .'-Stockton  has  acted  as  chairiuan  of  the  board 
of  county  conmiissioners  of  Rice  County.  In 
i8qo  he  was  honored  l)y  the  jieople  of  his  dis- 
trict with  an  election  to  the  state  senate,  and  was 
re-elected  in  1894.  He  has  been  active  in  pro- 
UK  iting  legislation  lor  the  good  of  the  community. 
having  served  on  various  committees  and  oc- 
cu])ied  a  jxisition  on  the  finance  conuuittee  each 
term.  In  the  session  of  1895  he  was  chairman  of 
the  railroad  commission.  Mr.  Stockton  is  held 
in  general  esteeiu  by  all  who  know  him  for  his 
intblic  s])irit  as  well  as  for  his  admirable  personal 
character. 


492 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MIXNESOTA. 


WILLIAA[  HENRY  NORRIS. 

William  Henry  Xorris  was  born  at  Hallowcll, 
Maine,  July  24,  1832.  His  father  was  Rev.  \\il- 
liam  Henry  Norris,  a  Methodist  clergyman  for 
fifty  years,  who  died  in  1878.  Rev.  ^Ir.  Norris 
shared  the  lot  of  itinerant  mmisters,  living  for 
different  periods  in  Brooklyn  and  in  New  Haven, 
and  in  1839,  at  the  age  of  thirty-four,  going  to 
South  America  in  charge  of  Methodist  mission- 
ary churches.  During  this  time  he  was  located 
in  Montevideo  and  Buenos  Ayres.  He  endured 
the  privation  of  a  missionary's  life  and  never  had 
a  salary  beyond  a  thousand  dollars.  He  was  al)le, 
however,  to  afford  his  children  a  liberal  education. 
He  was  descended  from  a  family  of  Irish  farmers, 
who  settled  in  New  Hampshire  about  1750.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  attended  no  school  until 
past  fifteen  years  of  age,  receiving  his  early  edu- 
cation at  the  hands  of  his  father.  He  then  fitted 
for  college  at  Dwight's  High  School,  in  Brook- 
lyn, and  in  1850  entered  Yale  college,  where  he 
graduated  in  1854  as  valedictorian  of  his  class. 
While  he  was  in  college  he  was  a  memlter  of 
Linonia.  Alpha  Delta  Phi  and  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
societies.  After  leaving  college  he  taught  school 
a  vear  at   Marmarnncck,   New   'S'ork.     He   then 


took  part  of  the  law  course  at  Harvard  Univer- 
sity. A  year  later  he  came  West  and  settled  in 
Green  Bay,  Wisconsin;  continued  his  studies  in 
the  law  office  of  James  H.  Howe,  and  in  1857 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  remained  with  Mr. 
Howe  until  1862.  The  next  ten  years  he  carried 
on  his  law  practice  alone.  He  was  then  associ- 
ated professionally  with  Thomas  B.  Chynoweth 
for  six  years,  and  subsequently  with  E.  H.  Ellis. 
Twenty-three  years  were  spent  in  the  practice  of 
law  at  Green  Bay.  During  the  greater  part  of  this 
time  Mr.  Norris  was  local  attorney  of  the  Chicago 
&  Northwestern  railroad,  and  for  six  years  attor- 
ney f<jr  the  Green  Bay  &  Minnesota  railroad, 
now  the  Green  Bay  &  Western.  These  en- 
gagements led  him  to  make  a  specialty  of  railroad 
law.  He  moved  to  Minneapolis  in  1880,  and 
opened  an  office  for  general  practice.  In  January, 
1882,  he  was  selected  by  the  Chicago,  Alil- 
waukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway  Company  as  its  state 
solicitor.  In  his  trial  of  claims  and  in  all  his 
practice  in  behalf  of  his  railroad  clients  he  has 
been  highly  successful,  having,  in  several  cases, 
advised  his  clients  to  disregard  acts  of  the  legis- 
lature as  unconstitutional,  contentions  upon 
i.vhich  the  court  has,  in  each  case,  ruled  in  his 
favor.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  does 
not  always  vote  the  entire  ticket  selected  by  his 
party.  He  is  a  member  of  all  the  Masonic  orders, 
and  a  member  of  Plymouth  Congregational 
church.  He  was  married  at  Green  I'.ay  in  1859- 
to  Hannah  B.  Harriman.  daughter  of  Joab  Har- 
riman,  a  ship  builder  of  Waterville,  Maine.  They 
have  three  children,  Louise,  wife  of  .A.lfred  1). 
Rider,  of  Kansas  City;  Georgia  and  Harriman. 


WILLIAM  .M.  JAAiES. 

\\'.  M.  James  is  the  editor  and  manager  of  the 
Brcckcnridge  Telegram.  He  has  only  had  charge 
of  this  paper  for  three  years,  but  during  that  time 
he  has  increased  its  circulation  three  hun- 
dreil  ])er  cent  and  made  it  one  of  the 
leading  Republican  papers  of  Northern  Min- 
nesota. His  father,  Robert  James,  was  a 
prosperous  farmer  on  tlie  north  shore  of 
Lake   Erie,   in    Elgin    Comitv,    1  hit;irio,   hax'ing 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


493 


m  mim. 


come  to  Canada  from  the  north  of  Ireland.  His 
ancestry,  however,  was  Scotch.  He  died  in  1893. 
His  wife,  Lorena  Markle,  was  born  in  Ontario, 
and  is  still  living-  in  Elgin  County.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  born  on  the  farm  in  Elgin 
County,  Ontario,  February  16,  1858.  He  received 
his  education  in  the  common  and  high  schools 
of  Ontario,  which  are  noted  for  their  thorough- 
ness, and  graduated  from  the  Collegiate  In- 
stitute at  St.  Thomas,  Ontario,  in  1881. 
He  taught  school,  however,  previous  to 
his  attending  the  institute,  and  also  while 
pursuing  his  studies — seven  years  altogether, 
two  years  of  which  were  spent  in  St. 
Thomas.  Air.  James  first  came  to  Minnesota  in 
September,  1883,  locating  at  Minneapolis,  where 
he  worked  for  a  time  in  a  wholesale  hardware 
house.  He  moved  to  lireckenridge  in  1884,  hav- 
ing received  the  appointment  of  principal  of  the 
graded  schools  at  that  place,  which  position  he 
held  for  three  years.  He  then  went  into  the  mer- 
cantile business,  but  sold  out  the  following  year. 
1888.  At  this  time  he  was  appointed  postmaster 
at  Ereckenridge  by  President  Harrison,  holding 
that  office  during  the  latter's  administration.  In 
1880  Mr.  James  also  engaged  in  the  drug  and 
stationer)'  business,  in  which  he  is  still  engaged. 


In  1893  Mr.  James  entered  into  partnership  with 
J.  C.  Wood  and  bought  the  lireckenridge  Tele- 
gram, of  which  he  assumed  charge  as  editor  and 
manager.  In  October,  1896,  .Mr.  James  became 
cnvner  of  the  \yd\)vy,  which  Ijy  his  pluck  and  per- 
severance, as  slated  above,  he  had  built  up  to 
to  be  one  of  the  leading  paj^ers  of  that  part  of  the 
state.  .Mr.  James'  ])olitical  affiliations  are  with 
the  Republican  ])art\-,  anrl  he  has  been  active  in 
promoting  its  ])rinciples.  He  has  served  iiis 
county  committee  as  secretary  for  six  years.  He 
also  acted  as  village  justice  for  eight  years.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  a 
Kniglit  reni])lar;  also  a  member  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias  and  the  .\.  ( ).  V.  W.  His  church  con- 
nections arc  with  the  .Methodist  Iqjiscopal  church. 
Ik-  was  married  in  1886  to  Maggie  Harvey, 
daughter  of  the  late  Williau)  Harvey,  M.  P.,  of 
Canada.  They  have  had  four  children,  Harvey, 
Horace.  Ada  and  .Marv. 


CHARLES  JOHX  BARTLESON. 

Charles  J.  Bartleson  was  born  April  3, 
1844,  at  Macomb,  Illinois,  the  son  of  Charles 
Mahelm  Uartleson,  of  German  descent,  and  Mary 
Ann  Airey  (Bartleson),  of  an  old  English  Quaker 
family,  whom  Charles  Mahelm  married  at  Liver- 
pool. Charles  W.  spent  many  years  in  successful 
navigation  as  the  commander  of  a  packet  ship. 
Mrs.  Bartleson  sailed  with  her  husband  for  sev- 
eral years,  their  home  meanwhile  being  estab- 
lished at  Philadelphia.  In  1837  Captain  Bartle- 
son determined  to  quit  the  sea,  and  removed  to 
the  far  West,  settling  at  Macomb,  Illinois.  Here 
Charles  J.  Bartleson  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  in  the  old  McDonough  College,  then 
an  institution  of  some  note.  In  1S61  he  enlisted 
in  the  Second  Illinois  Cavalry  and  ser\'ed  with  the 
Western  army  in  Crant's  campaigns  up  to  the 
siege  and  surrender  of  \  icksburg,  when  he  went 
with  his  cnnnnand  to  the  Department  of  the  Gulf 
antl  served  with  General  Banks  in  his  Red  River 
campaign.  Mr.  Bartleson  was  slightly  wounded 
at  \'ermillion  Bayou,  Louisiana,  but  boasts  that 
his  three  vears  of  rough  riding  in  the  armv  was 
the  making  of  lum  physicallv.    At  the  close  of  the 


494 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MIXNESOTA. 


war  Mr.  Bartleson  l)egan  the  study  of  law  in  the 
office  of  John  S.  Thompson,  at  Aledo.  Ilhnois. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  April,  1867.  He 
then  practiced  his  profession  in  that  city  for  five 
years  in  connection  with  his  preceptor,  Judge 
Thompson,  at  which  time  he  removed  to  Minne- 
apolis, and  has  since  been  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  law  at  this  point.  While  not  desiring  to  be 
regarded  as  a  specialist,  he  has  been  chiefly  in- 
terested in  the  law  and  litigation  pertaining  to 
real  estate,  in  which  he  is  considered  well 
equipped,  especially  with  reference  to  the  decis- 
ions of  our  own  courts  liearing  u])on  that  branch 
of  the  law.  Mr.  Bartleson  is  not  a  promoter  of 
litigation.  On  the  other  hand  he  takes  more 
pride  in  so  advising  his  clients  in  the  conduct  of 
their  business  as  to  avoid  imneccssary  conlri)- 
versy  than  in  litigation  of  causes,  and  conse- 
quently is  commonly  on  the  defensix'c  and  less 
frequently  in  court.  In  politics  .Mr.  liartleson  is 
a  Democrat.  He  has,  however,  never  held  a 
political  office  and  has  no  aspirations  in  that 
direction.  He  is  a  member  of  tlie  Minneapolis 
Club,  the  Commercial  Club,  the  Minnctoaka 
Yacht  Club  and  the  G.  A.  R.  He  Vv'as  married 
May  9,  1871,  to  Harriet  Xewell  Wright,  and  has 
three  daughters  and  one  son.  Main'].  I'.lanchc, 
I\Tatid  and  Charles  Albert. 


WILLI. \.\1    KAIXEY   MARSHALL. 

William  Ix.  Marshall,  the  fifth  governor  of 
Mitmesota,  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  in  this  state.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
hrst  Republican  meeting  held  in  territorial  days, 
and  was  the  first  candidate  of  the  new  party  for  a 
territorial  office.  He  was  the  fifth  son  of  Joseph 
and  Abigal  (Shaw)  Marshall,  the  former  a  native 
of  Kentucky  and  the  latter  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
both  of  his  grandfathers  were  revolutionary 
soldiers.  His  father  was  of  Scotch  Irish  descent, 
and  many  of  the  sturdy  traits  of  character  com- 
mon to  that  mixture  of  blo(jd  were  prominent  in 
the  son.  Mr.  Marshall  was  liorn  in  r)Oone  County, 
Missouri,  Uctober  17,  1825,  and  got  the  major 
portion  of  his  education  in  the  common  schools 
at  Quincy,  Illinois.  School  days  over,  he  vvcnt 
to  the  lead  mining  region  of  Wisconsin,  where 
he  was  a  miner  and  surveyor  until  1847,  when  he 
went  to  St.  Croix  J~alls  to  enter  a  land  and  tree 
claim.  In  this  latter  place  he  opened  a  general 
store  and  secured  appointment  as  deputy  receiver 
of  the  L'nited  States  land  office.  In  1848  he  was 
elected  to  represent  the  St.  Croix  N'allev  in  the 
Wisconsin  legislature,  luit  his  seat  was  unsuc- 
cessfully contested  by  Joseph  Bowron,  because 
his  home  in  St.  Croix  Falls  was  on  the  west  side 
of  the  state  line.  Late  in  1847  he  located  a  claim 
in  St.  Anthony  I' alls,  Minnesota,  biu  did  not  jK'r- 
fcct  the  title  to  it  imtil  two  vears  later,  1849,  '•'' 
the  fall  of  which  \(.ar  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  first  territorial  legislature  of  the  state.  He 
li^•ed  on  his  claim  at  St.  Anthony  until  1851.  when 
lie  removed  to  .St.  Paul,  which  cit\-  was  ever 
afterwards  his  home.  He  opened  the  first  iron 
store  in  that  place,  and  when  trade  was  dull, 
added  to  his  income  b\  surve\'ing  public  lands. 
This  business  promised  so  well  that  he  ga\-c  u|) 
his  store  and  apjilied  himself  exclusively  to  it  for 
several  years.  In  1855  he  became  one  of  a  com- 
pany of  business  men  who  opened  a  banking 
house  in  .St.  Paul  The  venture  was  prosi)erous 
until  1857  when  it  went  down  before  the  financial 
storms  of  that  year.  Mr.  Marshall  next  ojierated 
a  dairy  farm  near  St.  I\uil  ,'ind  sold  nulk  from  his 
wagons.  This  business,  while  ]>ros]')erous  enough, 
did  not  suit  his  tastes,  and  in  i8!)i  lie  iiurchascd 
the  Timc^  and  the  Minnesotan.  Re|iublican  daily 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


495 


licwspaiJcrs  puhlislicd  in  St.  I'anl,  and  c.-i)Us(;li- 
(.lated  tlicni,  callin.i;'  the  consolidated  paper  the 
Press,  lie  was  editing  this  paper,  when,  in  1862, 
he  enHstetl  in  the  Seventh  .Minnesota  Regiment 
of  vokinteer  infantry,  lie  soon  heeanie  lierten- 
ant-colonel  of  the  regiment,  and  in  a  year  was 
made  its  colonel,  in  the  place  of  Stephen  Miller, 
who  had  been  eU'cted  governor.  1  le  was  a  brave 
officer  and  displayed  a  high  order  of  executive 
ability  in  the  handling  of  his  command.  In 
1862  he  was  with  General  .Sible\  in  the  Indian 
campaign  in  this  stale,  and  conunaiided  the  bat- 
talion that  went  to  the  relief  of  I'.irch  Coolie.  In 
1863,  .still  being  lieutenant-colonel,  he  com- 
manded his  regiment  in  Sibley's  expedition  to 
the  Upper  .Missouri,  taking  part  in  the  battle  of 
P>ig  Mound.  Tn  <  )ctober,  1863,  he  went  south  in 
conmiand  of  the  regiment,  and  was  commissioned 
as  colonel  on  Noveiuljcr  6,  of  that  year.  In 
|une,  1864,  he  joined  the  right  wuig  of  the  Six- 
teenth Army  Corps,  at  Memphis,  Tennessee,  and 
was  assigned  to  the  first  brigade  of  the  first  di- 
vision. With  his  regiment  he  took  part  in  the 
battles  of  Tupelo,  Mississippi,  in  July,  and  was 
in  the  expedition  to  O.xford  in  August.  He  was 
m  the  skn-mishes  at  Tallahatchie  river  in  the  fall 
of  that  year,  and  went  from  there  to  Arkansas 
and  ^Missouri  in  pursuit  of  General  Price.  De- 
cember 1 5  and  1 6,  he  w  as  at  the  battle  of  .Xashville, 
and  on  the  fifteenth  succeeded  to  the  conuiiand 
of  the  third  brigade,  on  the  death  of  Colonel  Hill. 
He  was  at  the  siege  of  .Moliile  in  March  an<l 
April,  1865,  and  was  wounded  in  the  advance 
on  Spanish  Fort.  In  May,  June  and  July,  1863, 
he  was  in  command  of  the  post  at  Salem.  .\la- 
bama.  He  was  breveted  brigadier  general  in 
March,  1865,  for  gallant  services  at  Xasliville, 
and  nuistered  out  with  his  regiment  at  I'drt 
Snelling,  in  August,  1865.  In  the  fall  of  that 
year  he  was  elected  governor  of  the  state,  and 
was  re-elected  in  1867,  serving  until  January, 
1870.  At  the  expiration  of  his  second  term  he 
was  chosen  vice-isresident  of  the  Marine  National 
Rank  of  St.  Paul,  and  president  of  the  St.  Paul 
.Savings  Bank.  In  1874  he  was  appointed  a 
member  of  the  board  of  railroad  commissioners, 
and  continued  to  ser\-e  itntil    1883.     From    1883 


U)  1893  he  engaged  in  a  number  of  enterprises, 
among  them  farming,  stock  raising  and  the  buy- 
ing and  selling  of  real  estate.  These  ten  years 
marked  the  least  successful  period  of  his  life.  In 
the  fall  oi  1893  he  was  elected  secretary  of  the 
Minnesota  Historical  Society,  and  in  1894  was 
stricken  with  paralysis.  In  January,  1895,  '^^ 
resigned  as  secretary  becau.se  he  could  no  longer 
discharge  the  duties  of  the  ofifice.  In  March  of 
that  }ear  the  resignation  was  reluctantly  accepted, 
and  .Mr.  Marshall  on  the  advice  of  friends,  went 
to  Pasadena,  California,  in  the  hope  that  the 
change  of  climate  might  helj)  him.  After  his 
arrival  in  California  he  had  another  stroke  of 
paralysis,  and  died  January  8,  1896.  The  re- 
mains were  brought  to  St.  Paul  where  the  funeral 
\vas  -held,  one  of  the  most  ini])osing  in  the  his- 
tory of  that  city.  January-  16,  at  Christ  church. 
The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  Dr.  C. 
Mitchell,  of  the  Xew  Jerusalem  (Swedenborgian) 
church,  of  which  the  dead  man  was  one  of  the 
founders.  March  22.  1854.  Mr.  Marshall  was 
married  to  Miss  .\bby  Langford.  of  Utica,  Xew 
York.  A  son,  who  was  born  of  this  union,  died 
in  1892,  leaving  a  widow  and  one  child.  These 
two  were  with  Mr.  Marshall  during  his  last  ill- 
ness in  ."-^t.  Paul  and  Calit'ornia. 


496 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF   MINNESOTA. 


JOHX    THOMAS     BAXTER. 

John  Thomas  Baxter  is  a  lawyer  prac- 
ticing his  profession  at  Minneapolis.  His  father, 
Thomas  Baxter,  was  a  miller,  and  was  engaged  in 
that  business  at  Bangor,  Wisconsin,  at  the  time 
of  his  death  in  1875.  His  mother's  maiden  name 
was  Susannah  Lewis.  The  suliject  of  this  sketch 
was  born  at  Ilcrliii.  Wisconsin,  (  )ctol.)er  14,  1863. 
He  began  his  education  in  the  connnon  schools 
and  attended  the  high  school  at  West  Salem,  Wis- 
consin, walking  back  and  forth,  the  distance  of  five 
miles, eaclulay.  Inthisway  he  made  his  preparation 
for  college.  He  began  his  college  course  at  Riixm. 
where  he  continued  for  three  years.  During  his 
stay  at  Ripon  college  he  earned  his  living  as  ex- 
press messenger  for  the  American  Ex]:)ress  Com- 
pany, having  a  "night  run,"  which  took  him  a\\a\- 
from  home  in  the  evening,  brought  him  iiack  in 
the  morning,  and  thus  enabled  him  to  attend  the 
college  exercises  in  the  day  time.  .Mr.  Baxter  ex- 
cels as  a  speaker,  and  represented  his  college  in 
the  Wisconsin  state  oratorical  contest  in  his 
junior  year.  He  took  the  first  honors,  and,  theri-- 
fore,  represented  Wisconsin  in  the  interstate  ora 
torical  cf)ntcst,  held  at  Iowa  City,  in  the  si)ring  of 
1884.  The  same  year  he  was  elected  president  of 
the  Wisconsin  Collegiate  Association.  The  course 
of    study    pursued    by    him    was    the    classical. 


including  Greek.  At  the  end  of  his  junior 
year  he  decided  to  drop  out  of  college  for  a  year 
and  then  finish  his  course  at  Williams  College,  to 
which  he  was  attracted  by  the  celebrated  Dr. 
Mark  Hopkins.  He  entered  the  junior  class  at 
Williams  in  1885,  and  while  there  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Delta  Upsilon  fraternity,  which  was  the 
oldest  college  society  at  that  institution,  and  the 
chapter  to  which  Garfield  had  belonged.  He  was 
elected  editor  of  the  Williams  Literary  Monthly, 
and  received  the  first  junior  prize  in  oratory. 
In  his  senior  year  he  won  the  Graves  prize  for  an 
essay  on  "The  New  Political  Economy."  At  grad- 
uation he  was  awarded  the  \'an  \'echten  prize, 
given  at  each  commencement  to  that  member  of 
the  graduating  class,  who,  by  a  vote  of  the  faculty 
and  students,  is  declared  the  best  extempore 
speaker  of  the  class.  This  distinction  was  won  in 
a  class  of  sixty-six  members.  But  the  incident  of 
his  college  course  which  possesses  the  most  in- 
terest for  Mr.  Ba.xter,  w  as  the  fact  that  he  was  the 
last  student  who  ever  recited  under  the  venerable 
Dr.  Mark  Hopkins.  It  was  a  recitation  in  moral 
])hilosophy.  Dr.  Hopkins  died  just  before  the 
commencement  at  which  ?\lr.  Baxter  graduated. 
Mr.  Baxter  came  to  .Minneapolis  in  1887,  and  be- 
gan the  study  of  law  with  Kitchel,  Cohen  & 
Shaw,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1889.  He 
has  been  in  active  practice  since  1 890,  and  has  been 
the  secretary  of  the  Minneapolis  Bar  Association 
since  February,  1892.  In  politics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican, but  is  independent  enough  to  vote  for  meas- 
ures and  men  without  nuich  regard  for  party  lines. 
He  is  a  member  of  Park  Avenue  Congregational 
church.  October  14,  1 891  he  married  Gertrude 
Louise  Hooker,  daughter  of  William  Hooker, 
of  Minneapolis,  and  niece  of  the  late  Judge 
Hooker.  They  have  two  daughters,  I'.cth  and 
Helen. 


JOSEPH  STROXGE. 

Joseph  Stronge  is  a  manufacturer  in  St. 
I 'an!.  His  father,  Sanuiel  Stronge,  was  a  farmer, 
residing  near  Dublin,  Ireland.  The  Stronge  fani- 
ilv  includes  a  number  of  ])roniinent  officers  in 
the  British  arnu',  some  of  whom  ser\ed  at 
Waterloo,  under  Wellington.  Sanuiel  Stronge's 
wife,  Charlotte  Sexton,  was  a  relative  of  Se-cton, 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


497 


•cunspicuous  as  a  leader  of  the  Irish  Parliamentary 
party  in  the  British  parliament.  Joseph  was  born 
in  County  Kildare,  Ireland,  August  6,  1863.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  which  in  that 
section  were  regarded  as  unexcelled  in  any  part 
of  the  world.  He  came  to  America  in  1882  and 
found  employment  in  Albany,  New  York,  as  a 
clerk  in  a  book  store,  at  the  nuuiificent  salarv 
of  five  dollars  a  week.  .Subsequently,  in  1883,  he 
went  to  Toronto,  Canada,  and  later  to  Montreal,  in 
1886.  Then  he  came  to  .St.  Paul  in  1887,  where 
he  had  secured  a  position  as  a  traveling  salesman 
for  the  Oppenheimer  Millinery  Company.  Mr. 
Stronge  traveled  for  four  \ears  for  this  house,  his 
field  of  operations  lieing  in  Wisconsin  ami 
Northern  Michigan.  He  was  very  successful  in 
his  business,  and  is  said  to  have  been  paid  the 
highest  salar}-  drawn  by  any  commercial  traveler 
of  St.  Paul.  In  iSi)2  he  decided  to  go  into  busi- 
ness on  his  own  account,  and  since  that  time  has 
carried  on  as  manv  as  four  retail  stores  at  one 
time.  In  the  spring  of  1895  '"-'  concentrated  all 
his  liusiness  into  one  large  wholesale  and  retail 
establishment,  and  in  the  fall  of  1895,  i"  addition 
to  this,  opened  a  manufacturing  concern  in  St. 
Paul  under  the  name  of  the  Stronge  Manufactur- 
ing Compan\-.  for  the  manufacture  of  children's 
headwear.     In  this  he  has  also  been  hiqlilv  suc- 


cessful and  sells  the  output  of  his  factory  to  job- 
bers and  retailers  all  the  way  from  Chicago  to 
the  Pacific  Coast.  Mr.  Stronge  is  not  closely 
identified  with  any  political  party,  but  is  an  advo- 
cate of  sound  money,  and  is  also  a  believer  in 
the  wisdom  and  feasibility  of  the  income  tax. 
Ilis  church  connections  are  with  tlie  Episcopal 
denomination,  with  which  he  was  identified  in 
Ireland.  He  was  married  in  1891  to  Miss  Louise 
Williams,  and  lliey  have  one  son,  Sidney  Ray- 
niniid,  three  years  of  age. 


PHII.II'  ANDREW  KAUEER. 

h  is  not  slating  the  fad  loo  strongly  to  say 
that  nearly  all  of  the  bright  and  enterprising 
young  men  at  the  head  of  the  country  weekly 
newspa])ers  of  .Minnesota  have  come  to  occupy 
these  ])ositions  through  their  own  industry  and 
pluck.  Philip  A.  Kanfer,  publisher  of  the  Red 
Lake  balls  (iazette,  is  not  an  exception  to  the 
nde.  When  but  fifteen  years  of  age  he  began 
active  work  in  a  newspa])er  cjffice,  working  as  a 
])rinter's  "devil"  on  the  Ked  Lake  Palis  Gazette. 
\\  itli  industrious  and  sober  habits,  and  improve- 
ment in  his  general  education  bv  close  observa- 
tion and  study,  he  found  himself  in  a  position  to 
become  the  proprietor  of  this  ]5aper  in  1892,  after 
nine  years  of  newspaper  training.  He  has  con- 
ducted the  Gazette  since  that  time,  and  with  high- 
ly satisfactory  results.  The  Gazette  is  now  the 
official  paper  of  Red  Lake  F'alls  city  and  of  Red 
Lake  Count\,  of  which  Red  Lake  Falls  is  the 
county  seat.  .Mr.  Kaufer  is  a  native  of  this  state, 
and  was  born  at  Mankato,  Iul\-  22,  1868.  He  is 
the  son  of  H.  li.  Kaufer  and  ?ilonica  Eitterer 
(  Kaufer).  Iloth  parents  are  of  German  descent. 
The  father  is  still  living  at  the  age  of  seventy-six, 
virile  and  bright  as  a  man  of  fifty  years.  He  estab- 
lished the  first  pottery  manufactory  in  Minnesota 
at  Mankato,  and  has  acquired  a  sufficient  fortune 
to  make  himself  independent  financiall\'  by  his 
operations  in  that  business,  and  through  judicious 
real  estate  investments.  His  wife  is  an  unusally 
well  read  woman,  of  high  ideals,  and  well  informed 
on  all  current  questions  of  the  dav.  .She  was  born 
in  the  backwoods  of  Indiana,  and  was  taught  to 
read  German  bv  her  mother.  Her  knowledge  of 
English  was  acf|uired  unaided.     Philip  received 


498 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


his  elementary  trainiiii;  in  the  CathoHc  college  of 
Mankato,  which  was  supplemented  by  attendance 
at  the  Mankato  public  schools.  The  boy  imbibed 
his  mother's  taste  for  the  ac<|uirement  of  general 
knowledge,  and  this,  with  the  sturdy  and  indus- 
trious characteristics  inherited  from  his  parents, 
enabled  him  to  persevere  in  his  chosen  profession 
and  to  finally  secure  ownership  of  the  paper  on 
which  he  had  labored.  Mr.  Kaufer  is  a  member 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  He  was  married 
Septemlser  3,  i8g4'  to  Lizzie  A.  Boyle,  a  teacher 
in  the  jiublic  schools  of  Red  Lake  Falls,  and  has 
one  child,  I'hil  .\.  Kaufer.  jr.,  liorn  June  22,  1896. 


ARNT  KJOSNE.S  PEDERSON'. 

A.  K.  I'ederson  is  the  son  of  I'eder  Ulson 
Kjosnes  and  Helga  Arntsdatter  \'igen  (Kjosnes). 
Following  the  usiral  custom  of  the  Xorwegian 
people,  he  adopted  as  his  surname  Pederson ;  that 
is,  to  say,  Arnt,  of  Kjosnes,  the  son  of  Peder.  He 
was  born  December  28,  1845,  in  the  parish  of 
Selbo,  near  Throndhjem,  Norway.  His  ancestors 
were  nearly  all  tillers  of  the  soil.  ( )n  account  of 
the  father  being  in  straightened  circtmistances 
financially,    the    children    (of    win  mi    there    were 


eight)  were  compelled  in  early  youth  to  help  in 
the  work  on  the  farm.  From  his  eighth  to  his 
twelfth  year,  .\rnt  alternately  worked  at  his  own 
home  and  for  his  neighbors,  his  younger  brothers 
having  grown  up  so  he  could  be  spared  from 
home.  He  received  his  education  in  the  common 
"religious  school."  which  he  attended  until  his 
fifteenth  year.  He  then  left  home  and  com- 
menced work  in  a  saw  mill,  continuing  in  this 
occupation  for  four  years,  until  he  was  unfortu- 
nate enough  to  have  three  fingers  cut  off.  The  fol- 
lowing  winter  he  drove  a  team,  but  in  the  spring 
started  at  work  in  a  saw  mill  again,  where  he  re- 
mained for  five  years,  or  until  i86t),  when  he 
emigrated  to  America.  Having  no  money  of  his 
own,  he  borrowed  sufficient  funds  to  cross  the 
ocean,  and  arrived  in  Minneapolis  ]\Iav  16,  1869. 
He  immediately  commenced  work  at  his  former 
occupation,  that  of  tending  a  circle  saw  in  a  saw 
mill.  He  kept  steadily  at  this  work  for  eleven 
years,  when  he  was  compelled  to  quit  on  account 
of  the  growing  weakness  of  his  eyes,  caused  by 
constant  straining.     During  this  time,  however^ 


Mr. 


I  eclersi  m 
obtained 


nac 

This  he  now  nn)rtgage< 

hundred    dollars,    and 


lad  betn   frugal  in  his  habits  and 
1    biiiise   and    lut    in    Minneapolis. 
fnr  t\\(i  thousand  and  five 
'ctling   a    bill   of   huiiber 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


499 


wriit  tii  Apitk'ti  HI,  Miiinesiila,  wlieri-  he  (jngaged 
in  llir  luniljui-  l)Usincss.  In  tliis  he-  lias  been  very 
successful,  now  cduducting-  one  of  the  most  ex- 
tensive hnnher  and  hardware  business,  between 
Minneapolis  and  Aberdeen.  .\t  lirst,  on  account 
of  the  money  he  had  outslandiui:;;  among  the 
farmers,  Mr.  I'ederson  was  soniewhat  handi- 
cappi'd  in  securing  credit  for  lumber,  and  reniem- 
Ijcrs  with  grateful  a])preciation  the  assistance  af- 
forded him  by  the  old  Washburn  Mill  Company, 
and  states  that  thev  were  more  bencticiai  to  him 
than  the  connuercial  agencies.  In  connection 
with  his  lumber  and  hardware  business,  Mr. 
Pederson  also  owns  a  tin  sho])  and  a  harness  sho]). 
and  deals  in  lime,  brick,  i)ainl.  wood,  coal,  etc. 
He  was  instrumental  in  organizing  the  Citizens 
Ilank,  of  Appleton,  in  i8c)2.  of  which  institution 
he  is  president.  In  i)olitics  .Mr,  i'ederson  has 
always  cast  his  lot  witli  the  Republican  party,  and 
is  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  its  principles.  His 
first  vote  he  cast  for  General  (irant  for  president. 
He  has  been  active  in  local  politics,  but  has  held 
no  office  except  that  of  town  supervisor  for  two 
terms,  and  member  of  the  village  council  for 
twelve  years  successively,  one  excepted.  On  May 
22,  1870,  Afr.  Pederson  was  married  to  Mary  C). 
Fuglem,  who  was  also  born  in  .'^elbo,  Xorway. 
They  have  had  ten  children,  of  whom  six  are 
living:  five  boys  and  one  girl. 


WILLIAM    NORTHCOURT  PORTEOCS. 

William  iSorthcourt  Porteous,  M.  D., 
was  born  in  Ontario,  Canada,  June  20,  1857.  His 
father,  David  Porteous,  was  a  student  of  medicine 
and  surgery  in  Edinburgh  LTniversity,  Scotland, 
but  in  those  days  anaesthetics  were  not  in  use 
and  the  sufferings  of  patients  operated  upon  so 
unnerved  him  that  he  gave  up  the  practice,  emi- 
grated to  New  Brunswick,  and  engaged  in  the 
milling  business  there.  His  father  was  an  ad- 
miral in  the  British  Navy,  receiving  his  appoint- 
ment to  that  rank  just  before  his  death.  The  wife 
of  David  Porteous  was  Jessie  Bell,  daughter  of 
a  leather  manufacturer  conducting  a  large  busi- 


-^ 


ness  in  Canada.  The  iiell  family  were  also  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  the  lumber  business  in 
that  country.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  grew 
up  in  ( )ntario,  where  he  attended  the  common 
and  granmiar  schools  and  ])repared  for  McGill 
I'niversity  at  Montreal.  After  completing  a 
university  course  he  went  to  Scotland  to  ])ursue 
liis  studies  in  medicine  and  surgery  at  Edin- 
burgh University,  where  his  father  had  been  a  stu- 
dent before  him.  He  also  took  a  course  of  study 
at  London  College,  at  London,  England.  Like 
many  of  the  enterprising,  aml)itious  young  men 
of  Canada,  Dr.  Porteous  was  attracted  by  the 
better  opportunities  afforded  in  the  states,  and  in 
i8g2  came  to  Minnesota  and  settled  in  Minne- 
apolis for  the  practice  of  his  prcjfession.  Since 
his  residence  here  he  has  made  a  specialty  of  the 
treatment  of  the  ear,  the  nose  and  the  throat, 
and  has  attained  prominence  in  his  profession 
for  which  he  had  carefully  prepared.  Dr.  Por- 
teous is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
In  1894  li^  married  Miss  Alma  Norton  Johnson, 
daughter  of  Col.  Charles  W.  Johnson,  of  Minne- 
apolis. Mrs.  Porteous  is  a  leader  in  social  and 
musical  circles  and  the  possessor  of  a  contralto 
voice  of  rare  qualitv  and  power. 


500 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


CHARLES  HENRY  GOODRICH. 

Dr.  Charles  H.  Goodrich,  of  St.  Paul,  is  one 
of  the  prominent  members  of  the  dental  pro- 
fession of  Minnesota.  Though  a  native  of  Michi- 
gan he  has  lived  in  Alinnesota  nearly  all  his  life. 
Dr.  Goodrich's  father  was  Augustus  J.  Good- 
rich, a  native  of  Elroy,  New  York,  but  long  a 
prominent  business  man  of  St.  Paul.  Air.  Good- 
rich came  to  St.  Paul  in  1859.  At  the  close  i>f 
the  war  he  was  business  manager  of  the  old 
"Pioneer,"  and  for  eighteen  years  prior  to  1886 
he  was  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  St.  Paul 
Gas  Light  Company.  When  an  eastern  syndi- 
cate bought  the  stock  of  the  company  in  1886, 
Mr.  Goodrich  retired,  and  in  May,  1887,  he  died 
at  the  age  of  .seventy-one  years.  He  was  married 
three  times.  His  second  wife  wasMiss  Martha  Wil- 
bur, who  was  born  at  Alexander,  New  York,  in 
1827.  Her  father  was  colonel  of  a  regiment  of 
militia  and  represented  his  district  in  the  New 
York  Assembly.  Her  brothers  are  prominent 
citizens  of  Erie  County,  \cw  ^'ork,  two  of  them 
being  Doctors  of  Divinity  in  Methodist  pulpits. 
She  was  married  to  Mr.  Goodrich  in  1856,  and 
died  on  January  i,  i860,  soon  after  the  family 
moved  to  Minnesota,  and  when  her  son  Charles 
was  but  a  vcar  old.     Dr.  Goodrich  was  born  at 


Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  on  January  i,  1859.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  of  St.  Paul  until  1875, 
when  he  found  employment  as  a  clerk  in  a  retail 
hardware  store.  L'pon  the  failure  of  his  employer 
about  two  years  later,  he  entered  the  dental 
office  of  Dr.  Louis  W.  Lyon.  This  gave  him  an 
opportunity  of  fitting  himself  for  his  profession. 
He  studied  under  Dr.  Lyon  and  took  a  course 
at  the  Pennsylvania  College  of  Dentistry,  grad- 
uating in  1880.  Since  entering  upon  practice  Dr. 
Goodrich  has  been  very  successful.  His  standing 
in  the  profession  was  recognized  recently  by  his 
appointment  on  the  State  Board  of  Dental  Ex- 
aminers. He  is  a  member  of  the  .\merican 
Dental  Association,  the  Southern  .Minnesota 
Dental  Association  and  the  Minnesota  Dental 
Association,  and  was  at  one  time  president  of 
the  latter  organization.  Dr.  Goodrich  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics,  though  he  was  at  one  time 
a  Democrat.  He  is  a  member  of  the  People's 
Church.  In  1886  he  was  married  to  Aliss  Fannie 
Jewell  Howgate.  They  have  one  child,  a  son  of 
eight  years,  named  Robert  Earl  Goodrich. 


JOHN   FRANKLIN    McGEE. 

John  Franklin  McGee  is  a  lawyer  practicing 
his  profession  in  Minneapolis.  Mr.  McGee  is  of 
Irish  descent.  His  father,  Hugh  McGee,  emi- 
grated to  this  countr)-  from  the  north  of  Ireland,, 
in  1850,  while  yet  a  lad  of  fifteen.  He  settled 
at  Amboy,  Lee  County,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in 
the  railroad  business  as  a  mechanic,  where  he 
still  lives,  retired,  in  comfortable  circumstances. 
John  Franklin  was  born  at  Amboy,  January  i, 
1861.  His  mothers  maiden  name  was  Margaret 
Heenan.  Mr.  .\lcGee  attended  the  city  school 
of  Amboy,  graduating  from  the  high  school  in 
liis  twentieth  year.  During  his  last  year  at  the 
high  school  he  read  law  with  ( '.  II.  Wooster,  of 
Amboy.  From  there  he  went  to  Clinton,  Illinois, 
and  entered  the  office  of  Moore  &  \\'arncr.  the 
latter  uieniber  of  the  tii-ni  now  being  a  member 
of  congress.  The  senior  member  of  this  firm, 
Mr.  Moore,  was  ]iartner  with  United  States  Senator 
David  Davis,  of  Illinois,  from  :S5_:5  until  the  death 
of  .Senator  Davis.  Mr.  Mc(!ee  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  the  su])renu'  court  of  Illinois.  Xovem- 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


501 


])cr  lo,  1882.  Ik-  came  west,  however,  the  fol- 
lowing April,  settling  in  Devils  Lake,  Dakota 
Territory,  going  into  partnership  with  D.  E.  Mor- 
gan, at  present  district  judge  at  Devils  Lake. 
Mr.  ;\lcGee  assisted  Mr.  ^Morgan,  who  was  prose- 
cuting attorney  at  that  time,  trying  all  the  impor- 
tant criminal  cases  from  the  organization  of  the 
county  until  leaving  for  Minneapolis.  The  most 
important  case  Mr.  McGee  tried  while  at  Devils 
Lake  was  the  sensational  ( )swald  murder  case, 
in  April  and  May  of  1886.  He  removed  to  .Min- 
neapolis in  April,  1887,  and  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  A.  H.  Xoyes.  which  partnership  was 
continued  until  August  19,  1889.  Since  that 
time  Mr.  McGee  has  not  entered  into  any  other 
partnerships.  His  specialty  is  that  of  corporation 
law.  He  was  the  representative  of  the  old  Chi- 
cago, St.  Paul  &  Kansas  City  Railroad,  and  is 
also  of  its  successor,  the  Chicago  Great  Western. 
He  is  also  attorne\-  fur  a  munher  of  elevator  com- 
panies. ( )ne  of  the  most  important  cases  in  which 
he  has  been  interested,  and  one  which  became  of 
national  interest,  was  that  of  Xorman  Brass  vs. 
North  Dakota,  a  suit  brought  to  overthrow  the 
grain  laws  of  that  state,  W'hen  this  case  was 
finallv  atincaled  to  the  supreme  court  of  the 
Ignited  State-.,  the  law  was  upheld  by  a  vote  of 


live  to  four.  lie  has  never  been  very  active  in 
])(jlitics,  but  is  an  indei)endenl  Rei)ul.)lican  in  his 
belief.  He  has  not  held  any  political  (jfifice.  He 
was  married  September  14,  1884,  to  Libbie  L. 
Ryan,  of  Wapella,  Illinois.  They  have  four  chil- 
dren. 


JOIIX   I'.,  lit  )L.\I1'.RRG. 

John  \L  liulmberg,  a  ])roniinent  representa- 
li\('  of  the  Swedish  naticjuality  in  .Minnesota,  was 
l)orn  in  Smaland.  Sweden,  on  December  17,  1850. 
He  received  a  common  school  education  in  his 
native  town,  and  in  1873  emigrated  to  America, 
locating  in  .Minneapolis,  which  is  still  his  home. 
lie  had  learned  the  trade  of  mason  in  Sweden, 
and  followed  it  in  this  country  for  ten  years  after 
liis  arrival  here.  lie  then  became  a  contract(jr 
and  builder,  which  is  his  business  at  this  time. 
I'roni  povertv  and  ol)Scurity  he  has  been  able  to 
build  his  fortunes  >ip  until  at  the  present  time  he 
is  one  of  the  best  known  people  of  his  nationality 
in  Minnea])olis.  and  one  of  the  wealthiest,  also. 


In  politics.  Mr.  Holmberg  has  always  been  a 
consistent  Republican,  working  earnestly  for  the 
success  of  that  party  in  every  campaign.  In  1892, 
as  a  reward  in  part  for  his  faithful  services,  he 


502 


PROGRESSIVE   MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


was  sent  to  the  legislature  from  the  old  Thirty- 
second  representative  district  of  Minneapolis, 
comprising  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  wards.  He  served 
during  the  session  of  1893  ^"^h  credit  to  him- 
self, fully  answering  the  expectations  of  his  con- 
stituents, and  was,  in  the  fall  of  1894,  elected  to 
the  office  of  sherifY  of  Hennepin  County,  which 
he  held  for  one  term.  [Mr.  Holmberg  is  a  Luther- 
an in  religion.  He  belonged  to  the  Swedish  Au- 
gustana  church  for  about  twenty  years,  but  is  at 
present  a  member  of  St.  John's  English  Lutheran 
church  in  .Minneapolis.  He  is  president  of  the 
Flour  City  Realty  Company.  He  earned  his  first 
dollar  in  America  by  carrying  building  stone  up 
to  the  fourth  floor  of  the  old  Washburn  A  flour 
mill,  the  one  which  was  destroyed  by  an  explo- 
sion a  number  of  years  ago.  killing  a  number  of 
employes.  In  the  fatherland  Mr.  Holmberg  had 
only  the  advantages  which  came  to  the  children 
of  the  poorer  people.  His  father,  who  died  thirty- 
three  years  ago,  was  a  farmer,  and  was  not  al)le  tu 
give  his  son  any  start  in  the  world,  except  that  of 
a  good  name.  All  tliat  Mr.  Holmberg  is  he  owes 
to  his  own  efforts,  a  fact  in  which  he  very  properly 
takes  considerable  pride.  His  mother  is  living 
and  makes  her  home  in  ^linneapolis.  !\[r.  Holm- 
berg is  married  and  is  the  father  of  six  cliililren. 


JULIUS  C.  GILBERTSOX. 

Dr.  }.  C.  Gilbertson  is  a  successful  physician  of 
Luverne,  Minnesota.  He  is  a  native  of  Norway, 
but  has  lived  in  this  country  ever  since  he  was 
si.x  years  of  age  and  by  education  and  assimila- 
tion is  thoroughly  American.  His  ancestors 
were  of  the  Norwegian  peasantry.  Engebret 
Gilbertson,  his  father,  was  a  farmer  and  was  very 
poor  when  he  came  to  America  in  1867  with  his 
wife  and  his  young  family.  He  settled  in  Good- 
hue County,  Minnesota,  but  after  two  years 
moved  across  the  river  to  Pierce  County,  Wis- 
consin, where  he  still  lives  in  comfortable  cir- 
cumstances, having  become  independent  and  at 
the  same  time  raised  a  large  family.  \'iiung 
Julius  went  to  the  district  school  in  llie  neigh- 
borhood in  the  winters  and  worked  hard  on  tln' 
farm  during  the  rest  of  the  year.  In  t88o,  when 
nineteen  years  old,  he  harl  advanrt-d  so  far  as  to  l)e 


able  to  secure  a  certificate  to  teach  in  the  county 
schools.  However  he  did  not  avail  himself  of 
this  opportunity  but  entered  Red  Wing  Seminary 
the  next  year  and  graduated  in  1884.  At  this 
time  his  father  offered  to  mortgage  his  farm  in 
order  to  secure  the  means  for  Julius  to  further 
pursue  his  studies  but  the  son  w'ould  not  hear 
iif  it,  and  went  to  teaching"  school,  at  the  same 
time  studying  as  much  as  might  be  in  his  spare 
time.  In  the  spring  of  1885  he  opened  a  small 
general  store  at  Esdaile,  Wisconsin,  but  after 
two  years  he  tired  of  mercantilism  and  sold  his 
business  to  i\lr.  A.  A.  Ulvin.  He  attended  spe- 
cial lectures  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin  the 
following  winter  and  in  1888  entered  the  medical 
department  of  the  University  of  [Minnesota.  Three 
more  years  of  hard  work  ensued  and  in  1891  he 
graduated,  receiving  the  class  honors.  After 
graduation  from  the  L'niversity  and  having  passed 
successfully  (he  examination  of  the  state  medical 
board,  Dr.  (gilbertson  settled  in  Luverne  and  at 
once  engaged  in  the-practicc  nf  his  profession. 
He  has  been  very  successful  and  h;is  liuilt  up  a 
large  and  lucrative  practice — j)robably  as  large  as 
any  in  that  part  of  the  state.  He  has  no  specialty 
and  his  jiracdce  is  general,  hut  lie  has  been  espe- 
cially successftd  in  the  treatment  of  nervous  dis- 
orders.     Dr.  '  "I'lbert'^nn  was  married  on  Novem- 


PROGREvSSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


503 


bcr  27,  i8i;5,  to  Miss  Tlica  1 1.  I  UI^'sdii  at  IJlair, 
Wisconsin.  lie  is  a  incmlicr  (if  the  Lutheran 
church.  Jn  jjolitical  bcHcf  he  is  a  Repubhcaii. 
He  has  never  held  an  office  excej:)!  that  of  town 
clerk  in  Wisconsin   fr.  mi    iS,S5  to   1887. 


IF.RDINAND  I'.ARTA. 

h'erdinanil  I'.arta  is  a  St.  I'anl  attorney 
and  jirominent  Republican  politician  of  Ramsey 
County.  He  was  born  September  8,  1857,  in  tiie 
town  of  L'ninn.  \  ermm  C/nunu,  Wisconsin.  His 
fatlier  -was  Joseph  .M.  Carta,  who  came  to  the 
L'nited  States  from  P)ohemia  in  i84(),  and  later 
settled  on  a  farm  in  Wisconsin  and  from  1865 
devoted  his  attention  to  the  invention  and  perfec- 
tion of  a  twine  l^inder.  in  which  he  was  successful. 
His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Alary  Holak. 
Mr.  Barta  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home.  Like  most 
western  boys  of  the  time  he  was  obliged  to  do 
much  for  himself  at  an  early  ao;e.  I'roni  his 
seventeenth  year  he  studied  and  tautjlit  alternately 
and  in  this  wa\-  manaL;ed  to  keep  uj)  with  his  class 
and  secure  a  full  course  in  the  high  school  at 
1-a  Crosse.  I'roni  1870  to  1882  he  studied  law  in 
the  office  of  Howe  &  Tourtellotte,  and  held  a 
clerkship  under  Leonard  Lottridge  for  a  year 
prior  to  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  November, 
1882.  In  .Mav,  1883,  he  decided  to  seek  a  new- 
location  in  the  west.  Stopping  in  St.  Paul,  he 
determined  to  locate  there,  opened  an  office  and 
has  maintained  a  successful  practice  ever  since. 
Mr.  Barta  has  been  a  Republican  ever  since  he 
attained  his  majority.  Soon  after  coming  to 
St.  Paul  he  began  td  take  an  active  part  in  the 
political  affairs  of  the  city  and  county  and  was  for 
six  years  a  member  of  the  city  and  county  Repub- 
lican coiimiittees.  His  first  candidacv  for  office 
was  for  the  legislature  from  the  Fifth  ward  of  the 
city  of  St.  I^aul  in  the  fall  r)f  1804.  for  which  office 
he  was  elected,  although  the  district  had  a  normal 
Democratic  majoritv  of  five  hundred.  While  in 
the  legislature  he  devoted  his  time  to  hard  and 
effective  work  in  the  interests  of  his  constituents, 
being  a  member  of  several  of  the  more  important 
committees.  He  was  renominated  for  the  office 
without  oj)])iisiti(in   in   t8ij6  and  was    re-elected. 


Air.  Barta  is  a  member  of  the  Alasonic  frater- 
nity. He  was  married  in  January,  1888,  to  Miss 
Lena  Brings,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Lucy 
Brings,  who  were  early  settlers  of  St.  Paul.  They 
have  one  son,  whose  name  is  Joseph. 


TPIOAfAS  J.  DOL'GHERTY. 

Several  presidents  have  been  born  within  the 
borders  of  the  state  of  Ohio;  and  from  Ohio  have 
come  many  of  the  progressive  citizens  of  the 
Xorthwestern  states.  Thomas  J.  Dougherty, 
postmaster  at  Northfield,  Minnesota,  was  born  at 
Alarietta,  Ohio,  on  September  15,  1856.  When 
he  was  about  three  years  old  his  parents  removed 
from  Ohio  to  Wisconsin,  settling  on  a  farm  in 
St.  Croix  County.  He  received  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  of  the  same  county, 
and  later  spent  two  years  in  the  St.  Croix  County 
Collegiate  and  Alilitary  Academy,  a  school  which 
flourished  for  a  short  time  at  Hudson,  Wisconsin. 
He  then  taught  school  in  St.  Croix  and  Polk 
counties  for  several  terms.  Mr.  Dougherty  came 
to  Alinnesota  in  1876  and  became  a  citizen  of 
Northfield,  Rice  County,  where  he  has  lived  ever 
since.  He  first  entered  the  office  of  Perkins  & 
Whipple  as  a  law  student  and  remained  with  them 
until   1 871 1,  when  he     was     offered,  by  Warder, 


504 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


Mitchell  &  Co.,  manufacturers  of  the  Champion 
reapers  and  mowers,  the  responsible  position  of 
general  collector  for  Alinncsota,  Wisconsin,  Iowa 
and  North  and  South  I  )akota.  He  accepted  the 
offer  thus  made  him  and  held  the  position  for 
eight  years,  resigning  in  1877  to  enter  upon  the 
practice  of  law.  Pie  went  into  partnership  with 
O.  F.  Perkins.  This  firm  continued  until  1893, 
when  Mr.  Perkins  died,  and  R.  J.  Drake  suc- 
ceeded to  his  part  of  the  business.  The  new  firm 
thus  formed  still  exists  as  Drake  &  Dougherty. 
In  politics  .Mr.  Dougherty  is  a  Democrat,  and  has 
been  a  i)rominent  figure  in  the  imlitical  affairs  of 
Northfield  and  Rice  County.  At  one  time  he  was 
nominated  by  the  Democratic  jjarty  of  his  county 
as  a  candidate  for  judge  of  ])robate.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Northfield  city  council,  and  the 
citizens  of  the  Third  ward  have  foimd  his  services 
so  valuable  that  they  have  retained  him  con- 
stantly as  their  councilman  since  1890.  He  has 
also  .served  as  a  member  of  the  schtxil  board  dur- 
ing the  last  four  years.  Tn  January,  1896,  Presi- 
dent Cleveland  appointed  him  ])ostmaster  at 
Northfield.  On  October  5.  1882,  at  Hazelwood, 
Minnesota,  he  married  .Miss  Katie  llennessy,  of 
that  place.     Mrs.  Dougherlx-  died  Nov.  26,  181/). 


1  RANK  A.  DAY. 

I'rank  A.  Day,  of  Fairmont,  Martin  County,  is 
one  of  the  best  known  newspaper  men  and  poli- 
ticians in  the  state.  His  newspaper,  the  Martin 
County  Sentinel,  is  a  high  class  country  weekly, 
and  it  is  the  boast  of  its  editor  that  it  has  the 
largest  circulation  of  any  country  weekly  in  Min- 
nesota. Air.  Day  was  born  in  1855  in  (ireen 
County,  Wisconsin.  In  1874  he  came  to  Fair- 
mont and  established  the  Sentinel  which  he  has 
conducted  ever  since.  In  1878  he  was  elected  to 
the  lower  house  of  the  legislature  and  had  the 
distinction  of  being  the  \oungest  member  of  the 
body.  In  1886  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
state  senate  and  was  re-elected  in  1890  and  1894. 
It  was  during  the  first  session  of  his  last  term,  in 
i8t)5,  that  he  was  elected  president  of  the  senate, 
and  filled  the  office  of  lieutenant  governor  for  the 
two  years'  term  made  vacant  bv  the  promotion  of 
Lieutenant  Governor  Clough  to  the  office  of  gov- 
ernor. Until  the  campaign  of  1806  Mr.  Day's 
political  affiliations  hail  l)een  with  the  Republican 


partv.  h'or  two  terms  lie  was  a  member  of  the 
Republican  .state  central  coiumiiuc.  In  i8i)j  he 
was  one  of  Minnesota's  delegates-at-large  to  the 
Republican   natii  ral   conwulion   in    M  inneaoolis, 


PROGRESSIVE   MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


505 


and  has  been  a  prominent  figure  in  all  the  impor- 
tant Republican  gatherings  in  the  state  fur  a 
dozen  years  or  more.  In  the  campaign  <A  i8ij6, 
however,  Mr.  Day,  with  Hon.  John  Lind,  llun. 
John  Day  Smith,  Congressman  C.  A.  Towne, 
State  Senators  D.  F.  Morgan  and  S.  B.  Howard, 
and  other  men  formerly  pruinincnt  in  the  Repub- 
lican party  of  the  state,  organized  the  free  silver 
Republican  party  of  Miimesota,  and  sui)ported 
Bryan  and  Sewall  and  the  free  silver  fusion  candi- 
dates in  the  stale  campaign.  Several  of  the  gen- 
tlemen above  named  were  nominated  for  ofifice, 
Mr.  Lind  being  chosen  by  the  new  movement  as 
its  candidate  for  governur,  and  being  subse- 
quently indorsed  by  the  Democratic  and  Poimlist 
parties.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  candidate  for  presi- 
dential elector,  Mr.  Towne  for  congress  from  the 
Sixth  District,  and  Mr.  Day  was  nominated  by 
acclamation  for  congress  from  the  Second  Dis- 
trict, and  without  effort  on  his  part  was  indorsed 
by  the  Democratic  and  Populist  parties.  Although 
swept  down  to  defeat  with  the  other  free  silver 
candidates  in  Minnesota,  Mr.  Day"s  popularitv  at 
home  was  attested  by  the  fact  that  he  overcame  a 
large  Republican  majority  in  Martin  County,  car- 
rying it  by  one  hundred  and  fifty-four,  and  ran 
nine  hundred  and  fifteen  ahead  of  his  ticket  in  the 
Second  District.  As  a  public  man  Air.  Day  has 
exerted  a  marked  intiuence,  has  helped  to  shape 
most  of  the  important  legislation  of  the  state  dur- 
ing the  past  ten  years,  and  has  made  himself 
known  from  one  end  of  the  state  to  the  other.  He 
is  married  and  has  four  children — two  l)ovs  and 
two  girls. 


CHARLES  SUMNER  CAIRNS. 

Charles  Sunmer  Cairns  is  a  lawyer  practicing 
his  profession  at  Minneapolis.  His  ancestors  on 
both  sides  of  the  family  came  to  America  from 
Great  Britain  before  the  Revolutionary  war.  His 
father's  name  was  Robert  Cairns  and  his  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Alary  A.  Haynes,  one  of  whose 
paternal  ancestors  was  Sanuiel  Haynes,  one  of  the 
nine  founders  of  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire. 
He  came  from  England  in  1635  in  the  ship 
"Angel   Gabriel."     Charles   Sumner   Cairns  was 


born  July  4,  1856,  on  a  farm  near  Duncan  Falls, 
Muskingum  County,  Ohio.  His  early  education 
was  obtained  in  the  common  schools  of  that 
county,  after  which  he  entered  .Muskingum  Col- 
lege, at  New  Concord,  Ohio,  where  he  graduated 
in  a  classical  course  in  1876.  He  took  a  law 
course  in  the  University  of  Michigan,  graduating 
in  1882,  and  for  some  time  thereafter  he  continued 
to  read  law  in  the  ofiice  of  Roby,  Outten  &  Vail, 
at  Decatur,  Illinois.  In  1883  he  came  to  Minne- 
apolis and  opened  a  law  office  with  D.  S. 
Frackelton.  After  the  dissolution  of  that  partner- 
ship he  continued  business  by  himself  until  1895, 
when  he  entered  the  firm  of  Fletcher,  Cairns  & 
Rockw^ood.  Mr.  Cairns  is  a  Republican  and  takes 
an  active  interest  in  local  and  state  politics.  He 
was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  state  legis- 
lature and  served  in  the  session  of  1893.  He  also 
has  served  the  Republicans  as  a  member  of  cam- 
paign connnittees  and  has  taken  a  leading  part 
in  the  management  of  public  affairs  in  his  own 
city.  \\'hen  the  state  census  of  1895  was  taken 
Air.  Cairns  was  made  chairman  of  the  citizens' 
committee,  appointed  to  look  after  the  interests 
of  the  city  in  that  connection,  and  performed  the 
duties  imposed  upon  him  with  such  success  as  to 
meet  with  the  hearty  approval  and  conmiendation 


506 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


of  his  fellow  citizens.  Mr.  Cairns  is  a  man  of 
high  character  and  his  appointment  at  the  head 
of  that  committee  was  a  guarantee  that  the  work 
would  be  done  fairly  and  honestly.  At  the  same 
time  it  was  prosecuted  with  vigor  and  intelligence, 
and  it  is  due  to  his  efforts  that  the  census  of  1895 
was  regarded  as  the  most  reliable  ever  taken  in 
the  citv.  He  is  a  member  and  first  vice  president 
of  the  Union  League,  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  and  also  of  the  Commercial  Club.  His 
church  membership  is  with  Wesminster  Presby- 
terian church,  of  which  society  he  is  one  of  the 
deacons.  His  wife  is  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Shella- 
barger,  of  Decatur,  Illinois,  to  whom  he  was 
married  October  30,  1884.  Her  maiden  name 
was  Frances  \'.  .'^hellabarger. 


CHRISTIAN'  J(  )HNSUN. 

Dr.  Christian  Johnson,  of  Willmar,  is  a  native 
of  Denmark,  where  he  was  born  in  X'eile  Amt, 
Jutland,  July  17,  1853.  He  is  the  son  of  J.  V. 
Ramsing,  a  farmer  in  comfortable  circumstances, 
and  Zidzel  Christiansatter  (Ramsing).  The  an- 
cestors of  Dr.  Johnson  were  largely  identified 
with  the  military  afTairs  of  their  country.  His 
maternal  grandfather  was  a  cavalry  officer  in  Na- 
poleon's army  in  Russia.  Christian  was  taught 
the  rudimentary  branches  b}-  his  mother,  who  was 
a  lady  of  many  accomplishments.  Later  he  at- 
tended the  common  school,  but  received  his 
academic  instruction  under  private  tutelage. 
When  but  si.xteen  years  of  age  he  emigrated  to 
America.  He  had  no  money,  friends  or  acquaint- 
ances, but  he  worked  at  such  odd  jobs  as  he  could 
secure  in  New  York  and  Boston,  in  the  meantime 
continuing  his  studies  in  the  public  schools  and 
under  private  teachers  as  nnicli  as  his  means 
would  allow.  Having  a  desire  to  follow  the  medi- 
cal profession,  he  connncnced  studying  for  that 
purpose  in  Boston.  In  1874.  however,  lie  was 
compelled  to  return  to  Denmark  to  settle  up  the 
family  estate.  For  the  next  three  years  he  pur- 
sued the  study  of  medicine  in  Copenhagen.  In 
1878  he  returned  to  this  country  with  the  inten- 
tion of  completing  his  studies,  but  circtunstances 
making  it  necessary  that  he  should  visit  Minne- 
sota, lie  decided  to  locate  here,  and  in  1870  settled 
in  Royalton,  in  ^Morrison  County.  In  1883  he 
passed  the  state  medical  examination  anrl   com- 


menced the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  moved 
from  Royalton  to  New  London  in  1886,  residing 
in  this  place  until  the  spring  of  1895,  at  which 
time  he  moved  to  Willmar.  Dr.  Johnson  has 
enjoyed  a  large  and  remunerative  medical  practice 
throughout  Kandiyohi  County.  He  has  also 
served  as  I'nited  States  pension  surgeon  at  Will- 
mar for  several  years.  In  addition  with  his  pro- 
fessional practice  he  has  been  identified  with  a 
number  of  business  enterprises.  In  i8()5  he  began 
the  publication  of  the  Willmar  Tribune,  but  a 
few  months  later  entered  into  ])artnership  with 
Victor  E.  Lawson,  under  the  firm  name  of  John- 
son &  Lawson.  This  firm  continued  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Tribune,  which  was  a  decided  success 
from  the  start.  Dr.  Johnson  is  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  New  London  Real  Estate  Company, 
which  built  the  Great  Northern  hotel,  and  made 
extensive  improvements  in  that  town.  He  is  also 
owner  of  con.siderable  real  estate  in  and  around  it. 
Wliile  a  resident  of  New  London  Dr.  Johnson 
was  closely  identified  with  even-  public  enter])rise. 
He  was  one  of  the  incorporators,  and  until  lately 
one  of  the  directors  of  the  .State  Bank  of  New 
London,  and  served  as  president  of  the  village 
and  of  the  school  board,  and  in  a  number  of  other 
village  offices.  ITp  to  1893  Dr.  Johnson  affili- 
ated with  the  Republican  party,  and  took  an  active 
part  in  the  local  politics,  ser\'ing  the  state  central 
committee  as  a  stump  speaker.  He  disagreed 
with  the  party,  however,  on  the  issue  involved  in 


PROGRESSIVE  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


507 


the  repeal  uf  the  Sheniian  law.  and  juiiieil  the 
People's  party  in  the  eainpait^ii  of  181)4,  taking 
an  active  part.  lie  was  a  eamlidate  for  election 
to  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature,  but  was 
defeated  by  only  twenty-nine  votes.  In  the  cam- 
paign of  1896  he  was  a  leading  candidate  for  the 
People's  party  congressional  nomination,  and  was 
also  a  delegate  to  the  iiati<inal  convention  <if  that 
party  in  .St.  T.ouis. 


HENDRICK  GORDON  WEB.STER. 

Hendrick  Gordon  Webster  traces  his  ances- 
try back  to  Colonel  David  Webster  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  i'lymouth,  Xew  Hampshire.  Mr. 
Webster  was  born  in  Plymouth,  New  Hampshire, 
in  1847.  ^^^  's  the  son  of  David  C.  Webster  arid 
Nancy  Gordon  (W'elister).  He  is  a  grandson  of 
Colonel  William  W  ebsler  of  the  New  Hampshire 
militia,  and  a  great-grandson  of  Colonel  David 
Webster,  who  commanded  a  regiment  of  New 
Hampshire  troops  in  the  Continental  Arnu'.  The 
document  formally  discharging  Colonel  Webster 
and  his  regiment  from  the  I'ontinenlal  Armv  at 
Saratoga,  signed  by  Brigadier  General  Bailey, 
chief  of  stafT  for  General  Gates,  is  still  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  family.  Colonel  David  Webster 
was  one  of  the  earlier  settlers  of  New  Hampshire 
about  1765,  and  the  family  resided  there  for  three 
generations.  He  was  a  farmer  and  ke])t  a  tavern 
on  the  site  now  (jccu])ied  by  the  famous  Pemmi- 
gewasset  House,  at  Plymouth.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  obtained  his  early  education  in  the 
Nashua,  New  Hampshire,  high  school  and  in 
Plymouth  Academy.  He  then  began  the  study 
of  pharmacy  and  went  into  business  as  a  druggist 
in  Boston.  He  was  engaged  in  that  business 
also  in  Newton  and  in  I'^all  River,  ^ilassachusetts. 
As  a  citizen  of  Fall  Ri\er  he  took  an  active 
interest  in  local  affairs  and  was  made  a  member 
of  the  Fall  River  city  council.  He  has  always 
been  a  Republican  and  active  in  that  party.  He 
came  to  Minnesota  in  t88o  and  embarked  in  the 
drug  business  in  this  city.  In  1883  a  number  of 
the  progressive  pharmacists  of  the  state  united  in 
the  organization  of  the  Minnesota  State  Phariua- 
ceutical  Association  its  objects  being  to  promote 
the  advancement  of  pharmacy  in  this  state.  Mr. 
Webster  was  one  of  the  charter  members  and  was 
active  with  others  in  securing  the  passage  by  the 


legislature  of  1885  of  a  law  regulating  the  prac- 
tice of  pharmacy.  This  law  provided  for  a  board 
of  pharmacy,  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor, 
to  enforce  its  provisions.  All  persons  who  were 
engaged  in  the  drug  business  at  this  time  were 
registered,  either  as  pharmacists  or  assistants,  and 
were  permitted  to  continue  as  such,  but  the  board 
was  required  to  examine  as  to  the  qualifications 
of  all  who  thereafter  wished  to  engage  in  the 
business,  and  to  cause  the  prosecution  of  violators 
of  the  law.  The  board  hold  quarterly  examina- 
tions of  candidates  for  registration.  These  exam- 
inations are  Ixith  practical  and  theoretical  and 
very  thorough.  Candidates  in  order  to  pass  these 
examinations  find  it  necessary  to  pursue  some 
regular  course  of  instruction  in  pharmacy,  in 
addition  to  the  practical  experience  of  the  drug 
store,  and  so,  as  the  result,  a  flourishing  depart- 
ment of  pharmacy  has  been  added  to  our  State 
Cniversity,  besides  two  private  schools  which 
have  been  established  since  the  enactment  of  the 
law.  and  which  are  well  patronized  by  students 
of  pharmacy.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  good 
progress  has  already  been  made  toward  securing 
for  the  people  of  our  state  the  services  of  more 
intelligent  and  skilled  pharmacists.  Mr.  Webster 
is  a  member  of  the  Plymouth  Congregational 
Church.  He  was  married  in  1870  to  Abbie  Rich- 
ardson Stevens,  in  Newton.  Massachusetts.  He 
lias  one  son.  George  Gordon. 


ixi)i:x. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  THE  STATE         9 


BIOGRAPHIES. 

Ackeniian,  Julius  H ^So 

Adams,  Samuel  E 33^^ 

Allen,  Edward  L 3*2 

Ames,  Albert  A 64 

Anderson,   Berndt 475 

Anderson,  John  D 313 

Andrews,  John  W 5  ^ 

Ankeny,  Alexander  T 115 

Archibald,  Alexander  R 466 

Arctander,  John  W 2iy 

Austin,  Horace 461 

Babb,  E.  C 34i 

Badger,  Walter  L 470 

Baldwin,  Dwight  M 80 

Barnes,  Isaac  A 385 

Barta,  Ferdinand 503 

Bartleson,  Charles  J 493 

Batchelder,  George  W 433 

Baxter,  John  T 496 

Beardsley,  Benjamin  F 301 

Beemer,    Henry 359 

Belden,  Clarendon  D 158 

Belden,  Henry  C 67 

Bicknell,  William  C 205 

Bissell,  Frank  E 1 73 

Bixby,  Tams 50 

Black,  George  D 118 

Block,  Julius  H 83 

Boardman,  Frederick  H 275 

Bobleter,  Joseph 232 

Booth.  Walter  S 89 

Boyesen,  Alf  E 57 


Page 

1  Irabcc,  Frank  J 335 

I '.radford,  Isaiah  H 200 

r.radish,  James  H 483 

liriggs,  Asa  G 268 

Ihill,  Ilascal    R 364 

Brown,  Calvin  L 247 

Brown,  Charles  W 143 

Brown,  h'rcdcrick  \" 456 

Brown,  Henry  F 193 

Brown,  Scba  S 290 

Bruckart,  1  )aniel  W 358 

Buck,  Cassius  AF 271 

Buck,  Daniel ) )  ] 

Burke,  Andrew  H /2 

Burnett,  ^ViIlianl  J it,2 

Butler,   Pierce 317 

Butts,  Ednnmd  G 256 

Byrnes.  Tiniothv  E 201 

Cairns.  Charles  S 505 

Calderwood.   John  F 168 

Calhoun,  John  F 198 

Campbell,  Erford  A 259 

Canac-AIarquis.  Ferdinand   P 162 

Canty,  Tlionias 418 

Carleton,  Frank  H 112 

Car])enter.  Clarence  P 352 

Case.  Christopher  F 87 

Childs,   Hcnn-  W 322 

Clark,  Thomas  C 396 

Clark.  William  W 251 

Clement.  Thomas  B 164 

Clough,  David  A[ 274 

Colbum.  Nathan  P 70 

Collins.  Loren  W 32 

Conklin,  J.  Frank 107 

Conroy.  Edward  J 485 


510 


INDEX. 


Pagt 

Cooley,  Clayton  R 435 

Cotton,  Joseph  B iy4 

Countrjman,  Ambrose  D 3^6 

Cowles,  Egbert 165 

Cox,  Albert  J i99 

Crafts,  Leo  IM 39 1 

Crane,  Peter  B 4/8 

Crocker,  Augustus  L 38-2 

Cross,  Judson  N ^7^ 

Cutts,  Anson  B i  ^9 

Dare,  Arthur  N 4^7 

Darragh,  Edward  J 63 

d'Autremont,  Charles.  Jr 9^ 

Davis,  Cushman  K iS 

Davis,  Charles  R Uo 

Day,  Frank  A .^04 

Dickey,  Courtland  N 47'J 

Dickson,  Frederick  N 146 

Dodge,  Willis  E i35 

Donnelly,  Ignatius 4i4 

Dougherty,  Thomas  J 303 

Douglas,  Wallace  B 3 1 5 

Dowling,  Michael  J '63 

Drew,  Charles  W ^02 

Dunn,  James  H 37° 

Dunn,  Robert  C iSo 

Dunsmoor,  Frederick  A 190 

Dunwoody,  William  H T04 

Easton,  William  E ^-'8 

Eberlein.  Charles  W 377 

Eddy,  Frank  .M 4-'8 

Edgerton,  George  B i7 

Edwards,  Clement  S i3" 

Filer,  Homer  C 434 

Elliott,  Charles  B 66 

Ernst,  Casper 65 

Eustis.  William  H 4.^ 

Evans,  Louis  A 5.t 

Evans,  Robert  G 40 

Faricy,  John  T 262 

Farmer,  Benjamin  F 307 

Farmer,  John  Q 74 

Ferris,  .'Mien   F 43 1 

Fish,  Daniel 400 


Page. 

Fjelde,  Jakob 438 

Flandrau,  Charles  E 121 

Ilannery,  George  P 362 

Fleming,  William  A 127 

Fletcher,  George  H 278 

Fletcher,  Loren 38 

P'oot,  Silas  B 324 

Foote,  Hiram  W 170 

Force,  Frank  W 361 

Force,  Jacob  F 395 

Fosnes,  Christopher  A 329 

Foss,  James  F.  R 284 

Fournier,  Alexis  J 445 

Frater,  John  T 53 

Fryberger,  William   ( ) 339 

Furlong,  John  J 217 

Gallasch,  Adolph  G 418 

Gaylord,  Ernest  R 355 

Getty,  George  F 149 

Gibbs,  John  L 340 

Gilbert,    Cass 1 34 

Gilbertson,  Julius  C 502 

Gilfillan  John  B' 136 

Gjertsen,  Henry  J 128 

Gjertsen,  M.  Falk 281 

Godfre}-,  Percy  D 468 

Goodnow,  John  F 468 

Goodrich,  Asa  F 484 

Goodrich,  Charles  H 500 

Gossman,  Louis  E 189 

Grant,   Donald 68 

Graves,   Charles  H 182 

Gray,  Archibald  D 78 

Grondahl,  Jens  K 88 

Hadley,    Emerson 325 

Haecker,  Theophilus  L 160 

Hale.  William  F 84 

I  lall.  Christoi)hcr  W 406 

Hammer,  I'"rederick  0 353 

Haney,  Charles  F 294 

Harris.  Anak  A 439 

1  TaiTJs,  ^Mrgil  H 477 

Harrison,  .\lcxander  M 429 

Haskell,  \\'illiam  E 430 

Hay.  Eugene  G 365 


INDEX. 


511 


i'agc. 

Hayne,  Marcus  P 1 97 

Hays,  Theodore  L 4^H 

Hays,  Willet  M iS^J 

Heatwole,  Joel   P 62 

Heilniaicr,    Carl 161 

Hellekson,  Ole  H 457 

Hendrickson,  Hans  W 349 

Hendryx,  Charles  F 454 

Hewitt,  William   E 351 

Hicks,   Henry  G 1 22 

I-Iield,  Willard  J <)7 

Hill,  James  J 101 

Hilschcr,  John  !•' 131) 

Hilt.  Martin  .\ t,<.)J 

Hinds,  Charles  G 345 

Hirsch,  Christian  J-  B 283 

Holbrook,  Franklin  G 253 

Holmheref,  Jolin  E 501 

Hubbard.  T.ticitis  F 60 

Huebner,  Edward  H 411 

Hunt.  Lewis  P 204 

Huntington,  George 388 

Huntsinger.  John   S 114 

Ives.  Francis 76 

James,  William  !\  [ 402 

Jamison,    Robert .  . 489 

Jayne,  Trafiford  N 124 

Jenks,  George  W , 326 

Johns,  Henry 221 

Johnson.  Aleck  E 218 

Johnson,  Charles  H 207 

Johnson,  Christian 506 

Johnson,  Edward  M 129 

Johnson,  Gustavus ^31 

Johnson,  Richard  W 108 

Johnson,  William   E 151 

Johnston.  D.  S.  P. 82 

Jones,   Edwin    J 4^ 

Jones.  Harry  W 1 20 

Joyce.  Frank  M 2SS 

Kaercher,  Aaron  R 263 

Kaufer.  Philip  A 407 

Kellam.  Charles  R.  J 216 

Kellog.  Frank  P> 254 


Page. 

Kellogg,  James  A 244 

Kenyon,  Moses  D 465 

Kepncr,  Thomas  E 175 

Kerrick,  John  H 405 

Kc\es,  Edward  \) 369 

Kiley,  Edwaid  C 336 

Kingsbury,  Olin  W 327 

Kingsley,  X'athan  C 36- 

Kitchel,  Stanley  R 310 

isleeberger,  George  R 113 

Koehler,   Robert 174 

Koerncr,  August  T 318 

Koon.    .Martin    1! 48- 

Ladd,  Henry  E 321 

Lannners,  Louis  F 191 

Lancaster,  William  A 375 

Lane,   Freeman  P j,(y 

Langdon,  Robert   B 424 

Langum,  Sanuiel  A 240 

Faraway,  tJrlo  AI 314 

Lawrence,  Wesley  M 138 

Leatherman,  Robert  L 299 

Lee,  William  E 224 

Leonard,  Claude  B 3S7 

Lewis,  Charles  E 486 

Lewis,  Henry  J 332 

Lewis,  C)lin   B 125 

Liggett,  ^^■illiam    M 166 

Littleton,   Samuel  T 245 

Lochren.    William 320 

Lohrbauer.   Harold  J 223 

Loring,  Charles  M 46 

Love.  George  A 3 1  r 

Lovejoy,  Stephen  B 186 

AicArthur,  Daniel  T y)2 

McCleary.  James  T 412 

AlcElliogott,  Thomas  J 220 

McGee,  John  F jcx> 

McGill,  Andrew  R 30 

McTntyre,  John  C ^ig 

McKinnon,   Alexander 291 

McKinnon.  John  R -^63 

McKusick.  Levi  H 443 

McMahon.  Edward  J 470 

McMillan.   Frank  G 234 


512 


INDEX 


rage. 

AlcMillan,  i'utnam  D 344 

-Mac  Kenzie,  George  A 148 

Alacdonald,  Colin  F 210 

JMacdonald,  John  L 308 

JNlaron,  Frank  A 133 

Marshall,   William   R 494 

2\Iarty,   Martin 482 

jNlatteson,  Charles  D 455 

Z\Ieeds,  Asa  D 153 

]\legaarden,  Philip  T 472 

Mendenhall.   Rufus  J ^j-j 

JMerriam,  William  R 184 

r^Ierrick,  Ambrose  N 126 

:\Ierritt,    .-Vl'fred 252 

Merr)^  Charles  W 215 

jMetc'alf,  Frank  C 463 

JNIichael,  James  C 159 

^Miller,   Stephen 380 

Miner.  Jnlius  E 212 

Miner,   Nelson   H 230 

r^litchell,   WilHam 437 

JNlitchell,  William  P. 102 

Mohler,  A.  L j-j 

J\loodey,  James  C 171 

M  oore,  Albert  R 296 

Moore,  James  E 214 

I\lorey,  Charles  A 285 

I\l organ,  Darius  F 449 

2\lorris,  Samuel  V.,  Jr 303 

Morris,  W^illiam  R 446 

Morrison.    Dorilus 458 

Morrison,  Robert  G 145 

Morton.  Howard  McI 276 

!\Iuehlberg,    Hermann 302 

Mullen,  John  T 147 

:\rnnro.  William  J 85 

Nelson,  ISenjamin  F 410 

Nelson,  Knute 366 

Nelson,  Nicholas  A 209 

Nelson,  Rennselaer  R 370 

Ncthaway,  John  C 142 

Neumeier.  Frederick  C 267 

Newell,  George  R 448 

Ney.  Christopher  W 293 

Nordeen.   Tohn  A 261 

Norris.  ^\■iIliam   TT 492 


i'age. 

Northrop,  Cyrus 73 

Nye,  Carroll  A 279 

Nye.  Frank  AI 181 

Nye,  Wallace  G 86 

O'Brien,  Christopher  D 179 

O'Brien,  Dillon 404 

O'Brien,  Thomas  D 31 

Odell,  Robert  R 298 

Olmsted,  E.  Benton 265 

Olson,  Seaver  E 398 

Oppenheim,  Ansel 451 

Oswald,    John    C 233 

Oiilie,  Erik  N 354 

Ozmun.  Edward  H 374 

Paige,  James 386 

Paris,  Alfred  W 288 

Parker,    George 379 

Partridge,  George  H 39 

Pattee.  William  S 106 

Pederson,  Amt  K 498 

Pendergast,  W'illiam  W' 96 

Penney,  Robert  L 328 

Peterson,  James  A 227 

Peterson,    John 237 

Peterson,  Samuel  G 357 

Petzet,  Walter 238 

Pfaender,  W' illiam 42 

Pillsbuni-.  Charles  A 5G 

Pillsbury,  Fred  C 225 

Pillsburs",  George  A 155 

Pillsbury,  John  S 195 

Pineo.  Vviliard  B 481 

Porter.  Arthur  W 390 

Porteous.  William  N 499 

Potter.  Edwin  G iii 

Powers.  Le  Grand 208 

Pratt.  Robert 257 

Prince,  Frank  Al 95 

P'urdy.  Milton  D 109 

Ouist.  Peter  P 152 

Ramsey.    Alexander 27 

Rand.  Lars  W 482 

Ransom.  Arthur  E 356 


INDKX. 


513 


I\ra,    Jnliii    1' 408 

kced,  Louis  A 462 

Reynolds,  David  E 440 

Rice.  (Gilbert  IT 222 

Rice.   Henry  X 226 

Richardson.    Xathan 110 

Kicliter,    {■'.dward    W 260 

Kici<er.    i'".nos    M 239 

Rider.  Henry  A 393 

Rogers,  Edward  G 105 

Rosen.    Peter 248 

Russell,  Robert  U 368 

Ivyan.    1  )ennis   E 306 

."^ahin.  1  )\vis;lit  M 60 

Sanborn.  John  I! 42() 

.Savage,    luhvard 301 

Schilliui;,  William  V 203 

Schlener.  John   A 41 

.Schniid,  John    11 300 

Schnntz.    I'rilz 282 

-Schubert.   ( lustav  A 478 

Scliurnieier,  Theodore  L 381 

Scott,   Louis    X 3O7 

.Scott,  Thomas  \'> 236 

Searin,c;,  Edward  E 346 

Searle,  Dolson  B I<j2 

Secor,    David 33.I 

Severance.  Cordenio  A 167 

.Sheffield.  Benjamin  B 100 

.Sheldon,  Theodore  B 242 

.Shepard,    Irwin 52 

Shove,   Cornelius   B 46() 

.Sibley.  Henry  H 441 

Sim]ison.   David   E jR<) 

.Sinclair,    Daniel 137 

Smalley,  Eugene  \' 1 34 

Smith.   Charles  A 34 

.Smith,  Cyrus  L 202 

-Smith,  George  R 471 

Smith,  John  Day 376 

.Smith.    Seagrave 420 

.Smith.  \'ernon  M 4j2 


Smith.   William   \\' 


407 


Page. 

.Somerville,  George  W 452 

Stackptjle,  A.  J 249 

Stacy,  Edwin  P 243 

Staples,    I'Vanklin 185 

Start,  Charles  M 423 

-Stelibins,  Alonzo  T 490 

.Steenerson,  1  laivor 54 

.Stetson,    I'rank   L 258 

.Stevens,   l-'rederick  C 187 

.Stevens,   I  lirani   I-" 172 

-Stevens,  John  II 416 

-Stevens,  .Marion  S 21  j 

Stevenson,  Loran  C 474 

.Stewart,   I  )arwin  A 343 

Stewart.  CJeorge  W 333 

-Stickney,  Alpheus  B 178 

Stillman,   Ransom  L 269 

Stockton.  All)ert  W 4(11 

.Straka.    Ejiiil 3^7 

Strong.  James  W 394 

Stronge,   Joseph 496 

Swanstrom,  Andrew  P 462 

S\\  eningsen,  SannuT 169 

Swift.   Henry  A 4:52 

-Swift.  Lucian 432 

I'awnt-y.  James  A 4^0 

'i'aylor,   Armstrong ^71 

Tew,  .Martin  E 330 

Iheden,  Gustav 473 

Thompson,  J.  H ijg 

Thom])-son,  Richard  E ^(i^ 

Thorpe,  Lars  ( ) jtj 

Titcomb,  Charles  G 424 

l\)dd,  Irving 36(3 

Tomlinson,  Harr\'  A 250 

Towne.  Charles  A 92 

Truelsen,  Casper  H 188 

Tryon,  Charles  J 81 

'Fuller,  Charles  .A 4S7 

Tuttle.  James  H 384 


Ci)ham.  Henry   P n^^ 


'f) 


.Sneed.  Erank  \V 436 

Snyder,  Fred  B 141 

.Snyder.  Harry 246 


\  an  Duzee.  Charles  .A 389 

\  an  Hoesen.  F^rancis  B (^4 

\  an  -Sant,  -Samuel  R ^72 


514- 


INDEX. 


PagL-. 

\'an  Tuyl,  Charles  W 206 

\anderburgli,  Cliarles  K 34- 

X'anderpoel,  Florance  A 144 

A'on  Baumbach,  Frederick yo 

\'oreis,  Benjamin  F 213 

Wales,   diaries   E 460 

Walker.  Alfred  E -'31 

Walker,  Thomas  B 58 

\\'alling:.  Plympton  A 241 

\\'anl,  Albert  L 13  ) 

Ward.  Edmund  R 4S0 

Ward,   Gershom  B 177 

Ware,  Robert  L 347 

Warner,   Xathaniel  F 2ji 

Washburn,  Jed  L 270 

Washburn,  \Mlliam  D gi 

Weaver,  Edgar 1S3 

Webber,  Edward  J 373 

Webber,  Afarshall  B 207 

Webster,  Hendrick  G 507 


1' 


Welch,  \ictur  J 

Wellcome,  J.  W.  li.,  Sr.. 

Wells,  Robert  J 

Werner,  Nils  (J 

Wheaton.  J.  Frank 

White,  Frank  T 

White,  William  G 

Wilson,  Joseph  P 

Windoni,  \\'illiani 

\\'instiin,    Philip    B 

\\  ise,  John  C 

Wolfer,    Heniy 

Woodward,  l-'ranc  R.  E. 
^\'^ight,  Jonathan  W .  .  . 

W)-man,  George  H 

W\man,  James  T 

Wvman,  ( )liver  C 


ige. 

266 

295 
464 

35<J 
264 

3-23 
28b 

422 
IIO 

^35 

3t'4 
348 
305 

2%7 

44 
403 


^'ale,  William  H 402 

Young.  Austin  H 29 

Zoch.   1  lernian  E i"]}. 


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